RICHARD L. RUBIN
"Be wary lest you look too long into the void and find the void looking back at you."
~ Nietzsche
STORIES
BURKE FLETCHER SWORD & PLANET SERIES
THE WHITE GIANT'S MAP
Story #1 in the Burke Fletcher Sword & Planet series, appearing in Cirsova Magazine's Fall Special #1. This sword and planet tale mixes science fiction and fantasy in equal amounts. Our Earthborn hero Burke Fletcher, marooned on an alien world, accepts a treasure map from a dying enemy. The resulting quest leads to a deadly encounter with black magic. An action-packed science-fantasy adventure reminiscent of John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs!
“Special shoutouts to Richard Rubin for his first Fletcher story (think John Carter of Mars).”
THE RUINS OF THE DALGRE
Story #3 in the Burke Fletcher Sword & Planet series. Cover featured in Cirsova Issue #15. On his way to sell his services as a mercenary to a warring noble, Burke’s flyer is attacked and wrecked by a strange and monstrous creature plucked out of time. Stranded in the badlands, Burke comes upon a beautiful Rigelian woman being pursued by White Giants. The adventure unfolds to place Burke in a deadly confrontation with an evil alchemist who has unearthed a treasure trove of powerful weapons from the past.
STEALING THE ALCHEMIST STONE
Story #2 in the Burke Fletcher Sword & Planet series. Burke Fletcher and his wife, the lovely alchemist Llana, stage a daring raid to steal a powerful talisman from Baron Amalrik, but a crash landing leaves them facing off against a long-forgotten menace to their world of Rigel IV! Appearing in Cirsova Issue #9.
"What also makes this story such a fun read is the completeness of the alien world. Mr. Rubin makes his world rich and exotic and one gets a real sense of strangeness, danger and adventure. Sword and Planet done with colorful panache and great spirit."
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"Mr. Rubin does the old pulp writers proud in this episode . . . I would like to see him develop this world further. It is a worthwhile avenue of entertainment and escape, readers!"
"Stealing the Alchemist Stone had shades of John Carter and Conan and made for a great and entertaining read.”
THE TITAN OF ZHORN
Story #4 in the Burke Fletcher Sword & Planet series. Burke is hired by a decadent lord to join his expedition to find a powerful ancient weapon. When they arrive at their destination they learn that just because an ancient city has lay dormant and abandoned for over a thousand years that doesn’t mean that everything within it is necessarily dead. Appearing in Cirsova Issue #18.
SHREVE SWORD & SORCERY SERIES
DUEL AT DRAGONSPOINT VALLEY
Tale #1 in the Shreve Sword & Sorcery series. Shreve, a battle-hardened mercenary captain, hires out his band of warriors to a feudal lord seeking to wrest his lands back from an enemy force of trolls and other dark creatures. In the campaign, Shreve learns from a companion that an enemy commander is protected by a magical amulet. In the thick of battle, Shreve finds and confronts the commander, hoping to slay him and steal the amulet for himself. But an evil sorcerer has other plans!
“Rocked with great monsters and plenty of bloodshed.”
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“Enjoyed Richard Rubin’s take on sword and sorcery and would love to see more of his work here.”
THE SORCERER'S TOWER
Tale #2 in the Shreve Sword & Sorcery series. Shreve was not in the habit of accepting commissions from wizards, yet here he was. The job he’d taken was straightforward enough: slip into the tower of the mad sorcerer Alaric, steal a vial of Sorcerer’s Bane, and deliver it to his employer, the necromancer Berengar. Berengar had provided Shreve with a runestone-encrusted sword said to be endowed with a unique spell rendering the weapon indestructible and proof against sorcery. Quite likely those claims would soon be tested!
“I’m quite familiar with Richard’s work from other magazines like Cirsova, so it’s great to see him in the sword and sorcery genre.”
THE CULT OF AZROTH
Tale #3 in the Shreve Sword & Sorcery series. Surviving a bandit attack on a caravan he was guarding, Shreve has his horse shot out from under him by Gwynn, a young virgin being sought by an evil cult intending to sacrifice her to a demigod. Shreve’s attempt to save her leads him into a weird plane of existence and a confrontation with the powerful demigod.
“A traditional story that hits all the marks.”
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
A RIGELIAN AFFAIR OF HONOR
An exciting and humorous time travel adventure! Two rival aliens engage in a duel to the death, which takes them from the early days of the United States republic to the ancient Mayan Empire! Appearing in The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here anthology, A Writers Co-op Production.
THE SACRED PLANET
A weird sci-fi flash fiction story, available for free at the Theme of Absence webzine. “It was a forbidden world. It had been a forbidden world for over seven centuries, and most of a war-torn galaxy had forgotten it even existed. But Sean Bannan knew of Subra IV and thought he knew why a death sanction had been enacted by the Allied Worlds to safeguard its seclusion. Once, Bannan had been a scholar, then a soldier, but now he was merely a refugee, or perhaps an adventurer, searching for answers to the last few questions that held any meaning for him.”
ROBBERY ON ANTARES VI
Far in the future, on a rugged mining world in a distant part of the galaxy, a bank employee is driven to the brink when he finds himself confronting a desperate bank robber. Click here for a free download of the story! Or buy the kindle version on Amazon for 99 cents.
AMAZON REVIEWS:
"I am engaged in the language of the author and find his writing exciting and spellbinding."
"Loved the build-up... all the way to the ending."
"Great read!! Would highly recommend!!"
THE BARFLEUR
A weird Sci-Fi war story. The spaceship battle at the edge of the Orion Nebula had been long and costly, and it wasn’t over yet, not even after six days of fighting. On the beginning of the seventh day, Captain Ian Wexler, at his command chair, gazed over the scorched, battered bridge of the Barfleur. This wasn’t over.
"Star-Trekky, good action, and a twist at the end. Very nice."
REBEL ASSAULT ON CYGNI IV
Appearing in The Weird and Whatnot: July 5, 2019. In the far future, the totalitarian Rigelian Imperium controls much of the galaxy. A rebel force has risen up to battle the Imperium's tyranny, but things have not gone well for the rebellion. In the aftermath of a disastrous raid to liberate a POW slave colony, a badly crippled rebel battleship is forced to dispatch a small raiding party on a high-stakes mission to obtain desperately needed fuel from the remote Rigelian Imperium mining colony on Cygni IV.
THE EXHUMATION OF COMMANDANT DE ALVARADO
A modern day ghost story, available for free at the Theme of Absence web-zine. A chill crawled down his spine as Captain Julian Escobar led his small militia detail through the empty streets of the old Spanish village. His irregular assignment was not to Escobar’s liking; this was not a good night for removing a body from its tomb—as if any night was.
"A great Gothic horror story which portrays evil very well."
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"Great horror story. I like this writer and his style."
"Very well written and thought provoking especially in our current environment."
COSMIC CONVOCATION: A SPACE OPERA ANTHOLOGY
Cosmic Convocation is an exciting collection of twenty tales of space opera and the opportunity to journey to the farthest reaches of the cosmos from the comfort of your favorite chair. This sci-fi anthology features two short stories penned by Richard. His first tale in this exciting anthology is a reprint of Rebel Assault on Cygni IV, an action-packed space opera adventure. In the far future, the totalitarian Rigelian Imperium controls much of the galaxy. A rebel force has risen up to battle the Imperium’s tyranny, but things haven’t gone well. In the aftermath of a disastrous raid to liberate a POW camp, a badly crippled rebel battleship is forced to dispatch a small raiding party on a high-stakes mission to obtain desperately needed fuel from the remote Rigelian Imperium mining colony on Cygni IV. Then there’s a brand new arrival in Richard’s Commander Saturn space opera parody series: Commander Saturn and the Criminal Mastermind of Aldebaran, a pulp fiction space adventure in the tradition and spirit of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon!
THE HALLOWED HALL
A modern ghost story, available for free at the Theme of Absence web-zine. On the day a radical workers' union is set to be closed down forever, two old friends come together to share a bottle of Cognac and reminisce about old times. But their revels are interrupted by the appearance of a ghost from the union's colorful past-a union organizer executed for a crime he didn't commit.
​ “Richard Rubin once again shows his ability to transport us to another time and place. We feel as if we are sitting in the room with the characters. Can’t wait for the next story.”
COMMANDER SATURN AND THE DEADLY INVADERS FROM RIGEL
Richard L. Rubin's short story Commander Saturn and the Deadly Invaders from Rigel appears in Issue #4 of Broadswords and Blasters magazine. An action-packed, pulp fiction space adventure in the tradition and spirit of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon!
AMAZON REVIEW:
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"An engaging and funny space opera."
COMMANDER SATURN AND THE PIRATES OF GANYMEDE
Appearing in Issue #7 of Broadswords and Blasters magazine: Commander Saturn and the Pirates of Ganymede, the exciting sequel to the space commander’s adventure in Issue #4. Commander Saturn and his sidekicks are summoned to the asteroid mining colony on Ceres where a band of pirate raiders have been robbing mining shipments.
COMMANDER SATURN AND THE AIR BANDIT OF MARS
BEHOLD THE CLOCK
“Interesting, fun and satirical.”
In the spirit of the old Twilight Zone, a weird science fiction short story, available for free at the Theme of Absence web-zine. Researcher Brian Hampton frowned as he gazed about the lavishly furnished conference room atop a high-rise in downtown Geneva. Where was everybody--the other thirty distinguished professors and scientists who were supposed to be gathered here around this conference table? This was the designated time to set the Countdown Timepiece, the symbolic clock designed to alert the planet to how close it was to Zero Hour-the straight-up position on the Timepiece's unique clock face-and Armageddon.
ARTICLES
Interview with Richard L. Rubin | Apr 12, 2022
Interview with Richard L. Rubin | Aug 2, 2019
Review of UBIK, a Sci-Fi Novel by Philip K. Dick | Aug 23, 2015
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Review of Pigeons from Hell, a Short Story by Robert E. Howard | Jul 7, 2015
Review of A Maze of Death, a Sci-Fi Novel by Philip K. Dick | Jun 4, 2015
Review of Alien Star Swarm, a Sci Fi Story by Robert Sheckley | May 31, 2015
Review of Planet of the Apes, a Novel by Pierre Boulle | Jun 11, 2015
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Tracy the Prison Cat, by my former client Paul Hensley. See People v. Hensley, 59 Cal.4th 788, 175 Cal.Rptr.3d 213, 330 P.3d 296 (2014).
BIO
Richard L. Rubin graduated from U.C. Berkeley, with a B.A. in Philosophy, and subsequently obtained a law degree from U.C. Hastings College of Law. For 30 years Richard worked as an appellate lawyer, including the defense of several clients facing the death penalty in California.
Richard has been writing science fiction and fantasy since 2008. His flash fiction story To Soar like a Bird is available for free as the February 2018 Dark Fiction selection at Eastern Iowa Review. His short story sci-fi thriller Robbery on Antares VI is available on Amazon. Science fiction stories written by him also appear in Cirsova magazine, Savage Realms Monthly, Cosmic Convocation, The Weird and Whatnot magazine, Broadswords and Blasters magazine, Theme of Absence web-zine, and the Aurora Wolf journal of science fiction and fantasy. Richard is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Susanne, and their two cats, Lindsey and Megan.
Richard can also be found on LinkedIn and Amazon.
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LINDSEY
MEGAN
In Memoriam
GLADSTONE
CONTACT
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