LARC Transmissions (Anki Legacies) by S. Shane Thomas

LARC Transmissions (Anki Legacies) Reviews

• 
  Faith Jones

  Yes, this is what I was missing! Proper sci-fi imagination, where the first few pages have you swimming with augmented humans as they explore beneath a sheet of oceanic ice on Enceladus, one of the smaller moons of Saturn, as the indigenous life swarms up to see what they're doing and try to seduce them or nick their flippers, which anyone who's visited Cairo will find eerily familiar.
  
  LARC Transmissions, by S. Shane Thomas, “Tales from the League of Atlantis Reborn Colonies” is a collection of 46 short stories on the theme of humanity’s expansion to colonise other, Earth-like worlds using LARC spaceships, which take batches of Earth’s excess population off-planet at the rate of half a million at a time. Seven or so LARC ships have ploughed a route to separate destination planets for hundreds of years and many of these stories are set within a few years of their arrival.
  
  I should declare a format preference now, that I like the flowing complexity of novels more, but it isn’t legitimate to complain that LARC Transmissions isn’t a single developing tale because this project has been clearly billed as short stories, therefore any briefly introduced characters or fleeting coverage of themes is valid and in keeping with this format. That said, each short story is a moment in time from seven journeys as they draw closer to their arrival, so a semi-connected structure grows around rib-like episodes and, if you twist your head a bit, you can just about see it as the scattered chapters of a larger theme. This happens in folklore a lot, where for example the story of Noah is only a passing episode in the wider historical record of a tribe. If he’s been and gone in five pages it doesn’t matter because that glimpse was enough to be remembered. The book as a whole is not a single story but if there are enough points of impact, although it’s hell for an editor, the collection becomes publishable and that’s what it is, professionally publishable and enjoyable science fiction.
  
  Each of these stories has the feel of a creative writing exercise, where a student has to compose an original stand-alone scene on the subject of… within the theme of interplanetary travel and colonies. As the student has an unusually interesting and productive mind, it looks like they’ve just kept having ideas and running with them, twisting their tails and then moving on to the next in a sort of whirling, scattering explosion of imaginative concepts. I have to emphasise this: S. Shane Thomas has filled this book with his bounding imagination, transporting the reader to a wealth of situations and visions that fully justify the cover price. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it turns out he works for an advertising agency or in design and I’d even forgive him if he had imagineer printed on his business card because this writer has got something that so many others would kill or die for; an entertaining and original creative mind.
  
  Are the short stories too rapid? Possibly, although some people only want to read one or two a night or maybe something bite-sized on their e-book screen as they travel from A to B. I have to conclude that sci-fi short stories work if they are entertaining and if they present a new idea or different way of engaging a thematic question. By those criteria, LARC Transmissions is a very decent pack of short stories and, although inevitably some are more credible or entertaining than others, the laundry monster only appearing realistic if you’ve just returned from Cairo, I do recommend that you read this because it is worth it. In the book it says there’s more to see for free on the author’s website:
  www.LARC-Sci-Fi.com
  
  It's a good one. Now go and buy it.
• 
  Rik Ty

  This is a bit of a cheat - I am reviewing some excerpts from the LARC project --here goes:
  Shane Thomas has a fun project going on. He has a site where you can download several VERY short stories in audio form (nicely read by Shane himself).
  I downloaded about two thirds of the stories that were available -- just to sample, and in order to give a fellow indy some public feed back. I picked these stories BECAUSE they were short, and because they were in audio form, and because I could “read” them as I drove to work. The stories are so short, they almost defy review, but they are all related, and can be discussed as a grander project.
  The stories I sampled offered a variety of tones and approaches, all centering around life aboard a vast and busy Colonization Ship. There were aspects to the stories that were subversively funny (Thomas has a Dr Frankenstein-ish Gene Splicer named Dr. Jefferies (Professor Jefferies?) who seems to create life forms based on the best way to exploit planetary conditions (hmm, do you have a lot of heavy things to move? ants can lift ten times their body weights - splice a human and an ant, and send down an ANT-BOY - problem solved (for now))) Thomas also makes this Gene Splicer keep these children motivated by showering them with motherly praise and affection, and when they start talking about getting older and MARRYING her, she starts making mental notes about cellular age manipulation to keep them perpetually young. The character doesn’t seem evil, but she’s certainly “off” - enthusiastic - but “off” (she reminded me of the stylist/handler in the Hunger Games - Elsie Trinket?- similar - at least to me.)
  Thomas also uses the set up to tell stories involving the colonists themselves. In one I listened to, a family runs into trouble on a planet when a child gets bitten by a poisonous life-form. The boy’s pet succeeds in getting the boy help, and then gets insulted when the boy gives the credit for his rescue to the people who brought him the antidote. The story is very short, and I just gave it away, but as of this writing, I may not be remembering it completely, and there could still be cool things to discover in the very short story.
  There are darker stories in the samples, and some interesting thought experiments ( how much trouble would it cause if the unguarded thoughts you had in reaction to environmental stimuli instantly came true? Thomas strings together a handful of events that cause quite a bit of trouble - all in a few hundred words).
  A personal stand out for me was the invention of “smart cloth” -- which allows its user to utilize almost any attribute a covering might provide (invisibility/ protection/ blade edges etc.) -- which is a good story engine all on its own, Thomas presents the idea, and then takes it out for a quick spin in a slightly longer story involving dirty laundry on a rampage.
  These stories are built to be QUICK - there aren’t many examples of nuance or plot development. My overall impression is that Thomas is building something like a middle school X-Men project on a ship that travels to Bradbury planets. Which could be fun - but I could also be WAY OFF COURSE in my impression (it wouldn’t be the first time).
  Thomas’ mp3 files are free, and they seem like an easy way you could try a fellow - Knight’s work. I think he has longer works available as well; maybe someone could give a report on one of them?
  Thank you
  - Rik Ty
• 
  John Meszaros

  In S. Shane Thomas’ LARC Universe (short for the League of Atlantis Reborn Colonies), humanity has found the legendary city of Atlantis- and it turns out it's actually an ancient starship! By reverse-engineering the craft’s technology, the peoples of Earth build several massive space arks and launch them into the open sea of the galaxy to find new homes for humanity.
  
  LARC Transmissions is an anthology of more than forty short-short stories chronicling some of the adventures of the LARC colonists, along with other denizens of Thomas' universe.
  
  Through the course of the journey we the readers learn of the first rulers of the galaxy- the dragon-like Anunnaki (frequently shortened to Anki) and their created servitors, the shape-shifting Nephilim who brought knowledge and civilization to ancient man in the cities of Sumer and Babylon- though their motivations were far from pure altruistic desire to uplift a young species, as we soon learn.
  
  We also explore newfound worlds alongside the colonists, discovering a diversity of alien beings. Thomas clearly has an eye for speculative biology as we meet among others: telepathic, walking carnivorous plants; microscopic beings traveling inside mobile cities that resemble yellow anteaters; “ghosts” made of dark matter; giant intelligent crustaceans beneath the ice of Enceladus; and more.
  
  At least one of the LARC ships is also the home of some serious experiments in genetic tinkering by the brilliant, but somewhat morally-ambiguous Dr. Erin Jeffries. The doctor gives us human protagonists who have been supplemented with the ultra-resilience of tardigrades along with men and women granted immortality through genetic hybridization with Antarctic krill, plus a few other genetic marvels.
  
  The sweeping canvas of LARC Transmissions recalls Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles whilst the frequent sketches of alien biology bring to mind Olaf Stapledon’s Starmaker, or the Planetary Odyssies of Stanley G. Weinbaum. The stories of the Anki and Nephilim, meanwhile, are a good mixture of ancient mythology and the classic science fiction trope of Ancient Astronauts.
  
  Despite the short length of each tale, they manage to build together into an engaging narrative, and even the few stand-alone tales provide an interesting glimpse into as yet unexplored regions of the galaxy.
  
  Whether you have read Thomas’ other books or not, this anthology is an excellent journey through the universe that he has created.
  
• 
  CorrieGM

  The first story was very nice, it made me want to read more.
  The stories after that were quite disappointing for a while.
  After the first half of the book the stories got better and better.
  Advised for the persistent reader. She or he will be rewarded!