Don Sawyer - Burning Gem

Don Sawyer - Burning Gem

Author: Alan Warren August 3, 2024 Duration: 31:22

The Burning Gem spins from chance meeting of a woman ready for adventure after years in a loveless marriage and a mysterious artisan who will show her another world.

Barbara has always had an uncanny ability to read others, but her full empathic skills emerge only after a part of her soul is crystalized into a flaming red gem. Desperate to escape her soul-crushing suburban life and to reconnect with the mysterious man who made her gem, she makes her way on foot through the terrifying NY subway tunnels to find an abandoned station.

Zoltan is a gem maker who lives an existence of opulent bitterness. Along with a network of other agents, his job is to catch souls and form them into magnificent jewels. He works with referrals only, and how his clients – rising CEOs, ambitious politicians, vainglorious religious leaders -- are selected is of no concern to him. He is 110 years old. While Zoltan’s contract with the hideous Mester – who may or may not be human – promises him wealth and extended life, it also prohibits him from touching another person, or even sharing his true name.

Zoltan risks everything to discover the true nature of the sinister cabal he has been part of.

Their base of operations is a long-forgotten 1873 subway terminal, now transformed into the Market, a hidden community of seers, shapeshifters, artisans with extraordinary skills, keepers of ancient knowledge. From here Barbara and Zoltan follow leads that take them to the ruin bars and dark alleys of Budapest in a desperate race to find the truth and neutralize the Mester before he kills them.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


For over a decade, the House of Mystery radio show opened a door into the minds of the most imaginative authors in literature. What If? Science Fiction/ Fantasy Writers curates the very best of those conversations, hosted by Alan Warren. This isn't just a series of interviews; it's a deep exploration of the creative sparks behind otherworldly civilizations, magical systems, and the fundamental questions that define speculative fiction. Each episode lets you sit in on a genuine discussion, hearing directly from writers about how they build their universes, develop characters who feel real against impossible backdrops, and where they find their most extraordinary ideas. You'll get a sense of the person behind the pages, their influences, and the sometimes surprising paths that led them to craft the stories that shape our dreams of the future and reimaginings of the past. Tune into this podcast for a thoughtful and engaging archive that celebrates the arts of science fiction and fantasy writing, offering listeners a lasting connection to the voices that continue to push the boundaries of fiction and science.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

What If?  Science Fiction/ Fantasy Writers
Podcast Episodes
Kristi Charish - Owl and the Tiger Thieves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:40
Through no fault of her own, Alix has found herself essential to the fate of the world as we know it. She didn’t mean for this to happen—she was quite happy being merely the notorious antiquities thief, and ex-archeologi…
Jenna Greene - Renew [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:24
Haunted by memories of those left behind, Lexil and Finn are forced to venture back into the Wastelands.The Unclaimed Cities are not the idyllic setting Lexil, Finn, and Ceera thought it would be. This new land has chall…
Edward Willett - Shapers of Worlds Volume II [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:35
Explore twenty-four imaginative tales crafted by some of today’s best writers of science fiction and fantasy, all guests on Aurora Award-winning podcast The Worldshapers during its second year, including international be…
Paul Bahou - Sunset Distortion [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:28
Lazer is an almost made it, middle-aged guitarist who plays in an 80's hard rock cover band at a Sunset Strip dive bar. While not quite a rock star, he plays to a packed house nightly. His blissful inertia is disrupted o…
Nzondi (Ace Antonio Hall) - Oware Mosaic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:00
Decades after a cataclysmic nuclear war, Ghanaian scientists develop technology that store consciousness onto data orbs called retcons. Seventeen-year-old forensic specialist, Feeni Xo, is a Enhuman (a radiation-enhanced…
D.C. Gomez - The Traitor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:05
Witches, Demons, and Shifters are all landing in Salem. But who do you trust?Eric’s search for Rafael, the Order’s betrayer, is leading to a dead end. Running out of time, he decides to enlist the help of some old acquai…
Robert  J. Sawyer - Oppenheimer Alternative [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:13
Writing with “a sense of wonder that hasn’t prevailed since the days of Heinlein” (Books in Canada), best-novel Hugo and Nebula Award-winner Robert J. Sawyer brings you “a truly science-fictional work of alternate histor…
Pat Daily - Spark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:52
In his mother’s last letter, she wrote, “Find me. Save me.” And Will Kwan had heard those words before. He’d heard them in a video game.Solar Prime Augmented Reality Park, or SPARK, is a theme park for gamers: a sprawlin…