As First Officer on the part passenger ship, part space freighter, The Fiscal Restraint, Jack Dexter (Dex to his friends) thinks he knows all there is to know about "Murphy's Law": If anything can go wrong, it will. And on the perpetually under-staffed, under-funded Restraint, it generally does.
But he never expected to actually meet Murphy. The real Murphy. Dex hires Orville Sod onto the Restraint just before the ship makes the jump to deep space. Unfortunately, by the time that Dex figures out that Orville is a real-life "Murphy"—one of those sad souls who attract more than their fair share of calamity—things have become, uh, complicated.
A VIP is almost killed... Food systems have shut down... The navigation computer has been destroyed.
Well, at least things can't get any worse...
Oh...wait...
About the Author
Douglas Smith is a five-time award-winning author described by Library Journal as "one of Canada's most original writers of speculative fiction."
His latest work is the multi-award-winning YA urban fantasy trilogy, The Dream Rider Saga (The Hollow Boys, The Crystal Key, and The Lost Expedition). His other books include the urban fantasy novel, The Wolf at the End of the World; the collections Borderlanz, Chimerascope, Impossibilia, and La Danse des Esprits (translated); and the writer's guide Playing the Short Game: How to Market & Sell Short Fiction.
Published in 28 languages, Doug is a 4-time winner of Canada's Aurora Award, most recently for The Hollow Boys, as well as the juried IAP Award for the same book. He's also been a finalist for the Astounding Award, CBC's Bookies Award, Canada's juried Sunburst Award, the juried Alberta Magazine Award for Fiction, and France's juried Prix Masterton and Prix Bob Morane.
His short fiction has appeared in the top markets in the field, including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, InterZone, Weird Tales, Baen's Universe, Escape Pod, On Spec, Cicada, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, and The Year's Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction (vol.2).
Doug lives near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
"The man is Sturgeon good. Zelazny good. I don't give those up easy." —Spider Robinson, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner
"A great storyteller with a gifted and individual voice." —Charles de Lint, World Fantasy Award winner
"His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think." —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner
"Stories you can't forget, even years later." —Julie Czerneda, multi-award-winning author and editor
