The Journal of Anther Strein

Observations from a Wandering Naturalist in a Fantasy World

Written by Lachlan Marnoch
with Illustrations by Nayoung Lee

Welcome to my monthly fiction series! New posts to appear on the first Monday of every month, at 11am Australian Eastern Time.

Anther Strein is a travelling naturalist in the science fantasy world of Pendant. In her studies of the astounding animals and plants of her surroundings, a question has often nagged her - how did such diversity come to exist, and how does it adapt to the ever-shifting conditions of the natural world? A dangerous idea is forming at the back of her mind: one in which gradual change, rather than instantaneous creation, is the main driving force of the natural world.

Join Anther on her journey across the continent Proesus, as she records her observations of bizarre animals and plants - and unravels the mysterious relationships between life, magic and natural selection in an enchanted world.

• Foreword

1. The Austia of Leafshrine

2. The Great Trees of Erefal and a Farewell to Leafshrine

3. Blackweed, the Floor of the Forest and the Way Ahead

4. The Habits and Hazards of the Mighty Rowax Ape

5. The Humble Ovix and the Changes Wrought in Her Form

6. Familiar Faces: My Kin, the Paluchard

7. Grændels Stalk the Sunken River

8. The Blind Creatures of the Caves Below

9. The Various Vermin of a Veduka City

10. A Tour of the Veduka River, Part I

11. A Tour of the Veduka River, Part II

12. A Plan Amended in Delta City

13. At Sea with the Remarkable Maragana

14. A Fierce Marine Rivalry and a Curious Resemblance

15. The Clever, Cooperative Cruelty of the Occisor

16. The Marine Platypus and an Ancestry Unveiled

17. On Terrors from the Deep and Other Oceanic Mysteries

• Appendices:

  • Glossary

  • List of Places

  • List of Species by Taxonomical Classification

Image by Charles Darwin