June 1865:

The Dimensional Veil has been breached, allowing monsters from beyond the Numinous to enter the human world of the Gaia American Union. They are the Eelees: reptilian invaders who blasted a dimensional pathway from their own realm into the human world in pursuit of conquest.

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Riding their monstrous spider-mounts, they begin a war with humanity that still rages seven years later. By sheer force of will, determination, and the resurgent powers of magic and technology, the Gaia Defense Coalition has forced a stalemate, but with little hope of a final victory.

 

Five disparate souls struggle to survive in this dangerous, new world: Nurse Matron Miriam Kosanavic, serving aboard the hospital train Aesculapius; Lakota “Demon Hunter” and ornithopter pilot Sky Wolf and his spirit-brother, the white cougar Torra; Jom, an escaped human prisoner from the Eelees, harboring a startling secret; and an Eelee shapeshifter who may be more powerful than anyone realizes.

 

And amid the chaos, a young orphan girl named Hope strives to find her voice, to sing a song for the future of humans and Eelees alike.

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REVIEW OF HOPE'S SONG:

From Aurealis Magazine, Issue 174

Hope’s Song by Larry Ivkovich, IFWG Publishing

Review by Joseph Sullivan

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Hope’s Song is a steampunk novella by Larry Ivkovich depicting an interdimensional war between humanity and alien invaders. The two sides begin as completely foreign to one another but, over time, discover that there is more to their conflict than it seems. As the battles become increasingly destructive, factions within both sides vie for their own agendas to succeed and change the course of their people.

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Hope’s Song is a relatively short novella but is written in such a way that Ivkovich conveys a lot to the reader even with the small page count. Each character, no matter how small their part, has an important role to play, and it feels as though everything in the novella has a place within the story. The result is a tight yet strong read.

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The main themes throughout the novella deal with everything that surrounds the war between humans and aliens: the destructive effects of the conflict, the motives behind it, how war can lead to otherisation of the opponent, and how class privilege can separate the elites of a society from the soldiers that fight and die in their names. While it is still science fiction, the war feels very fleshed-out and eerily realistic.

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Ivkovich’s cast of characters informs the conflict, populating it with believable people of different shades of morality. Soldiers are varied in their motives, from simple bloodlust to a desire to protect their people. Civilians deal with their suffering in different ways, from seeking peace to pushing for escalation in vengeance. Elites can afford to treat the war like sport, as one businessman profits off the war and sees hunting the enemy as amusement.

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Hope' Song is a recommended read for those who enjoy war stories,

classic science fiction, the aesthetics of steampunk, and novellas that make the most of page count.

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GENESIS OF THE IDEA FOR HOPE'S SONG:​​​​​​​

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After a visit to the Railroad Depot Museum in Dennison, Ohio several years ago, I was struck by the town’s history during the second World War. From the Museum’s website (https://dennisondepot.org/):

 

“Recognized as a National Historic Landmark, the Dennison Railroad Depot is the most significant remaining example in the nation of a railroad canteen still reflecting its WWII heritage. During WWII, 1.3 million service members were served free food by 4,000 working volunteers at the Dennison Depot Salvation Army Servicemen’s Canteen. These service men and women traveled by troop train along the National Defense Strategic Railway and stopped at the Depot as they were going off to fight in the war.”

 

Parts of the museum were actual train cars containing exhibits you walked through, including one of a hospital train car. I was inspired immediately to write a story based on this and, with my love for “portal stories,” and a touch of steampunk, “Hope’s Song” was born.