Jim Hamilton

Suggested reading order for The Chaos Series:

The Chaos Machine*

The da Vinci Butterfly (optional)

Second Contact*

Mankind 2.0*

Colony Ship New Hope

The Goddess of the Gillani

The Race at Valli Ha'i

Vacation on New Haven

Before the Fall (part 1 of 2)

After the Fall (part 2 of 2)

*Combined in "The Chaos Trilogy"

Other standalone works:

Raising Miss Ellie (A Boomer Novella)

The Conqueror (A Valentine's Day Short Story)

Stranded in Eloi (A Humorous Romance)

HELP US (A Humorous Short Story)

Falling in Love at the Cos (A Halloween Novelette)

I've been an avid science fiction fan for most of my life, but only as a consumer and never a contributor. Several years ago, I decided to change that by publishing my first novel. For roughly twenty years, I had been toying with the basic story line and various plot devices and I finally managed to put my thoughts into words.

I personally believe that it's possible to have an engrossing science fiction novel without sex, violence, and mass destruction. I also like to think the best of mankind and that good always wins out over evil. That rational minds might persist whenever conflict occurs. That we can all somehow learn to get along with each other. And that a little bit of humor never hurt anyone.

The reality, of course, is that the statistical distribution of true psychopaths within a population of eight-plus billion people guarantees that the world will never be free of those who want to harm others. However, there are plenty of stories out there with a plethora of dystopian futures to choose from. One of the benefits of writing your own stories is that you can make them anything that you want them to be. You can even solve all of mankind's problems in a kinder and gentler manner.

My first three books, "The Chaos Machine", "Second Contact", and "Mankind 2.0", have been combined into one book as "The Chaos Trilogy". While there may not be sex or violence in any of these, there is definitely love, romance, and danger. And, oh yeah, lots of food.

If you find "The Chaos Trilogy" enjoyable, "Second Contact" is chronologically followed by two more Cassiopeia Adventures: "Colony Ship New Hope (New Haven or Bust!)" and "Goddess of the Gillani." 5,341 years later, in "The Race at Valli Ha'i", some distant relatives of Cassiopeia use her legacy to save the Universe and end the Universal Depression. They return in the sequel, "Vacation on New Haven", that also revisits the characters in "Colony Ship New Hope".

A prequel to the series, "Before the Fall," describes the early history of Shoomar leading up to the departure of the colony ship New Hope. "After the Fall" completes the story of what finally happened to Shoomar after the colony ship left for New Haven.

There is an orphan chapter to "The Chaos Machine" about how Leonardo da Vinci became a Renaissance Man. "The da Vinci Butterfly" is based on a reference that da Vinci made about a mysterious cave in his childhood.

On the other hand, if you like your stories more down-to-Earth, you might enjoy "Raising Miss Ellie." Set in present-day America, somewhere between Mobile and Memphis, it's a novella about an elderly woman who offers refuge to a young runaway. However, the more she learns about him, the more she begins to wonder what he's running from. And why.

"The Conqueror," is a short story that I wrote for Valentine's Day. It has generally been described as "cute" by everyone who has read it.

"Falling in Love at the Cos" is a Halloween story with a haunting twist at the end.

And finally, my most recent novel, "Stranded in Eloi" (a Christmas romance with an unusual twist). Set in present-day America in the small town of Eloi, Kansas, three strangers become stranded and their lives become forever entangled with the local townsfolk.

I hope that you will have as much fun reading these as I did in writing them. Regardless, may you have many Happy Landings!

[Follow me on Twitter @Chaosity8]