Bird of Paradise Tree & Other Stories

Ian Aisch, author of the acclaimed sci-fi novel, Lost and Plooglitless, presents this intriguing collection of three sci-fi stories and two pieces of fiction. On a distant planet, earmarked for mining, sentient and highly sensitive 'trees' greet each dawn with a joyful and breathtaking display of spectacular colour in The Bird of Paradise Tree. The earthmoving machinery at the base camp emit noise and vibrations which inflict a terrible pain on the trees, threatening their very existence. Botanist Ben Starkey faces the daunting task of acting as a mediator between the trees and his fellow humans. Dark humour permeates Popsicle, a story about Spike, a wily manager of a drug-crazed rock star. Spike is single-minded in his determination to get rich while concealing, for as long as he can, a dark secret that resides in the rock-star's pantry. John and Deborah Challen invent a device to pacify children with behavioural problems in From Little Acorns Grow. To their horror, they discover that the device has suggestive powers they did not anticipate. A disgruntled employee becomes all too aware of the immense potential benefits the device can deliver for him. A young, naïve protagonist from a poor, rural town travels to the big city for a singing audition in There's a Light that Shines. The song the protagonist has chosen to perform is the mega hit of the sensational duo, Lorna Kiss and Jason Tell. Workaholic Walter returns to the town of his youth to visit his dying mother in A Return to a Peaceful Place. His mother longs to be taken to a 'lookout' where he played as a teenager. She is frail, blind and deaf; it is he who will discover how his idyllic past has changed.