The gods are not dead.
They are waiting in the dark between
the stars.
The Cursed
by Costi Gurgu
Genre: Space Opera Horror
The Earth is compromised and forbidden. The human Imperium
stretches throughout the galaxy. It terraforms planets with indigenous life,
destroying it. An organization fights against these terraforming projects, and
it is pronounced a terrorist organization by the government and the Imperator.
JO WARWICK, the heiress of Warwick Galactic Enterprises, is
on an archeological mission on the forbidden Earth. She contracts an unknown
disease, and her expedition leaves Earth. While in space, the disease kills
everyone on board but her, as she seems protected by an invisible shield.
Captain TOSHI HUNTER and his crew are activists fighting
against the terraformation projects, and after a failed attack on one of these
projects, they are pursued by the imperial ships. The chase goes on, but they
manage to escape.
And by chance, they discover the unmoving, silent ship of Jo
Warwick. They board it and see the massacre inside, but manage to save Jo.
Jo and Toshi begin
their adventure in uncovering the truth and the origin of this mysterious
disease that now threatens the galaxy, while being hunted by the imperial
troops.
What readers are
saying:
“…Prose that is gritty, direct, and sometimes a touch awkward powers a voyage of grand proportions as a diverse cast, ancient aliens, sensory worldbuilding, and space battles entertain with thrilling action. In this quick read, Gurgu reveals the foolishness of humanity, moral dilemmas, the folly of war, and the hope of second chances in a hearty science fiction adventure.” _BookLife Review
“…Ultimately, The Cursed delivers the pleasures
of expansive science fiction: big stakes, bigger ideas, and heroes whose
personal journeys matter as much as the fate of the galaxy. Gurgu offers an
energetic, imagination-rich ride that will appeal to readers eager for
adventurous sci-fi drama—and leaves the door open for further exploration among
the stars.” —CANREADS BOOK REVIEW
“Overall, the author has a keen knack for mixing and
melding SF and the supernatural in all kinds of intriguing ways. Clear
allusions to vampirism would be too obvious; Gurgu opts instead for more
obscure archetypes: When was the last time one read about a wendigo in outer
space? A fast-paced and fun adventure beyond the stars.” - _Kirk’s Reviews
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads
Captain Toshi Hunter was concentrating on sailing the turbulent skies of Digma4, a planet rapidly becoming the target of imperial interest. Though green and abundant in water and teeming with alien life, Digma4’s bio-system was so different from Earth’s that nothing edible for humans could grow in its soil, the water contained life incompatible with humans, and the bio-system on Digma4 was actively seeking ways to integrate the biomass brought by humans into its digestive system.
In other words, as
with every other inhabitable, living planet similar to Earth, there was a
biological and chemical incompatibility, so the only way out of the conundrum
was terraforming. Every planet the humans had colonized had been terraformed,
its ecosystem destroyed and brought to Earth standards. Humanity was like a
plague, burning through the galaxy.
Toshi was a member
of the Free the Galaxy Society, a radical
organization looking to protect planets full of life that wasn’t earthlike.
Planets full of life, full stop. He’d been a member since his wife had become a
member and brought him on board. His wife had since died on a mission, but he’d
continued the job in her honor.
“Status?” he said
louder than he was supposed to. The storm outside the ship made everything seem
noisier and messier.
“Three minutes to
target,” reported Suzy, eyes on the digital map. “Prepare
payload.”
“Preparing payload,”
said Monty from his station. He was the chief security
officer on the ship and in charge of weapons. His title had been Toshi’s
choice despite the fact that Monty was the only security guy on board. But
Chief Security Officer had a nice ring to it. Not that he could put in a resume
that his previous job with a fancy title had been on a terrorist ship, as they
were deemed, for sabotaging terraforming projects across the galaxy.
“Release in two
minutes,” said Toshi.
“Release in two
minutes,” repeated Monty, preparing the rocket to be launched.
“How many targets do
we have on Digma4?”
“Twenty-seven,” said
Suzy, smiling.
She was in her early
twenties, but an activist to her core. Her family was well-positioned in the Tri-System, and condemned her life choices. But she
couldn’t stand them and their life values. The prosperity of her family built
on the grave of ecological niches so unique that the galaxy hadn’t repeated
them anywhere. What humans had done to these planets had been a crime. On a
galactic level. So, yes, she liked blowing things up. Things that constituted
planet killers. Life killers. Life as Nature intended for those planets, for
those systems.
“Release,” said
Toshi and Monty pressed the button.
A rocket flew toward
the terraforming station floating in Digma4’s atmosphere. Twenty-seven
stations! That was a lot. Someone wanted this job done quickly. Someone who
wanted to please the imperator and gain some advantage. Toshi felt extra
satisfaction in knowing his job would now jeopardize the efforts of some bureaucrat
to kiss the imperator’s ass.
The station blew up
with extra fireworks for effects.
One down, twenty-six
to go. He could do this all day. But after this mission, they were taking a
vacation to do a little bit of treasure hunting. They had on board the son of a
dear friend, an astrophysicist and amateur treasure hunter, Gato. Young Gato was
not involved in their sabotaging activity, but was there to actively pursue his
dream of unraveling the biggest mysteries of galactic history. And bring home
some treasure that could turn into some riches for them. They needed it, as
Toshi was nearing retirement. And Monty had said he’d follow him to whatever
corner of the galaxy he’d retire to.
They sailed the
boiling atmosphere of Digma4 for another few hours and blew up seven more
terraforming stations. Then Susie whistled.
“Gentlemen, we have
a problem.”
“Problem?” said
Comet. Of Iroquois descent and in his mid-forties, he was a long-haired zealot
and the mission’s doctor and scientist. He liked to sit with them on the flying
deck just to see for himself the destruction they left in their wake. Of all of
them, Comet was the true believer, the orthodox, the religious kind of nut
everyone was afraid of when talking of terrorist groups sabotaging humanity
across the galaxy.
“There’s an imperial
battleship in orbit. They’re scanning for us.”
“How the hell?” Comet
was beside himself.
“I’ve got to say,
they arrived pretty fast,” agreed Toshi.
“Do we have time for
one more?” asked Comet.
“We’re five minutes
out from the next target,” said Suzy. “And the battleship is an hour away from
us. So yes, we do have some time to blow one more thing up.”
“Did you plot our
way out of here?” said Toshi, not taking his eyes off his screens.
“Route plotted and
inserted in the navigator. With the press of a button—”
“Got it,” said
Toshi. “Monty, prepare release.”
“Release prepared.”
“Incoming!” Suzie’s
voice was sharp.
“They found us?”
“They found us. Four
rockets are cruising toward us.”
“Release, Monty.
Now.”
“Payload released,” said
Monty.
“Suzie, take us out
of here.”
As promised, Suzie pressed a button and the automated pilot took control of the ship. They cleared the atmosphere in a couple of minutes. The rockets followed.
Costi’s fiction has appeared in Canada, the US,
and Europe. He has sold 8 books and over 50 stories for which he has won 32
awards. He was three times a finalist for the Canadian Aurora Awards.
His latest sales include the anthologies Tesseracts 17, The Mammoth Book of
Dieselpunk, Dark Horizons, Street Magick, Water, and Alice Unbound.
His bestselling novel RecipeArium has won three awards (Kult, Nemira, and Vladimir Colin) and was a 2018
finalist for the Aurora Awards.
His novels, “Servitude”, “Green Corrosion”, “Pink Corrosion”, and
“Black Corrosion” were published in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. And his latest
novel “The Cursed” was launched on April 1st, 2026.
“Green Corrosion” has won four awards (Book Excellence, The Typesmith
Writers, The International Impact Book, and the Maincrest Media Award).
“Black Corrosion” has been an Amazon Bestseller for three weeks and is
a finalist for Canreads Awards 2026.
To find out more about Costi Gurgu visit https://costigurgu.com/
Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * Bluesky * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
No comments:
Post a Comment