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Dan Simmons: All Dracula’s Children. Summary and analysis

In All Dracula’s Children, Harold Winston Palmer, an American executive, is part of an international delegation sent to Romania shortly after the fall of the Ceaușescu regime. Accompanied by local official Radu Fortuna, they travel through a country devastated by decades of repression, poverty, and state neglect. During their tour of hospitals, polluted villages, and overflowing orphanages, the visitors are confronted with horrific scenes: children sick with AIDS, inhumane living conditions, and the remnants of a brutal political regime. The narrative, seemingly sober and rational, becomes increasingly charged with symbolic tension until it reveals a darker dimension. Fortuna and Palmer belong to an ancient “vampiric family” that has survived by adapting to new forms of power. At the end of the journey, Palmer visits the mythical Dracula in Sighisoara, now a dying and decrepit old man, sick with AIDS, whom he recognizes as his “father.” Without surprise or rejection, he bids him farewell. Then, he finalizes the purchase of several local industries, thus sealing his role within a network that continues to operate silently while the old patriarch passes away on his deathbed.

Ray Bradbury: Night Meeting

“Night Meeting” is a short story by Ray Bradbury, published in 1950 in The Martian Chronicles. Set on Mars, colonized by humans, the story follows Tomás Gómez, an Earth colonist traveling along an old Martian road on his way to a party. On his way, he stops to contemplate the beauty and tranquility of the night landscape. However, his journey takes an unusual turn when he encounters an enigmatic Martian. Although they try to greet each other cordially and communicate, they soon discover that something insurmountable separates them.

Edgar Allan Poe: Silence—A Fable

In “Silence” (Silence—A Fable), a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in 1838 in Baltimore Book, a demon tells a story about a desolate region in Libya near the Zaire River. A disturbing landscape marks this land: a sickly river, gigantic water lilies, and a dark and turbulent jungle, all without calm or silence. One night, under a rain that turns to blood, the demon observes a majestic man on a rock. This man, lonely and melancholic, contemplates the desolate landscape. The demon invokes the elements to torment him, but nothing seems to move this man, who is tired of people and eager to be alone.

Isaac Asimov: Big Game

In “Big Game,” a short story by Isaac Asimov published in Before the Golden Age (1974), a group of friends in a bar discuss a time machine that has sent a mouse into the future without any harmful effects. The conversation takes an unexpected turn when one of them, Hornby, claims to have traveled to the past and discovered the true cause of the dinosaurs’ extinction. With his account, Hornby challenges common theories and proposes a surprising and unconventional explanation for the fate of these prehistoric creatures, leaving his friends intrigued and questioning what they thought they knew about ancient history.

The Stories of Philip K. Dick

Explore the best stories by Philip K. Dick, visionary of science fiction. Discover tales about alternate realities, artificial intelligence, and dystopian futures, such as “Foster, You’re Dead” and “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.” Read his complete stories and immerse yourself in his unique universe.

Ray Bradbury: The Lake

“The Lake” is a short, moving story by Ray Bradbury, published in May 1944 in Weird Tales magazine. The story follows Harold, a boy who makes his last visit to Lake Michigan before moving to the western United States. During that visit, he wanders away from his mother to remember his friend Tally, who disappeared in the lake a year earlier. Years later, Harold, now an adult and married, returns to the place of his childhood with his wife, unaware that fate has an unsettling and revealing experience in store for him.