THE MAKER OF WIDOWMAKERS’ ARM by Cameron Cooper
Ptolemy Lane Tales 3.0
Space Opera Science Fiction Novelette
More books by Cameron Cooper
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Ptolemy Lane faces two problems.
A severed arm found on the roof of the highest building in Georgina’s Town sends Ptolemy Lane on the hunt for the rest of the body. It neatly distracts him from the fact that Diya Sandor, former ship captain and new town resident, has left him.
But when both issues intersect, the fallout can’t be ignored.
The Maker of Widowmakers’ Arm is the third Ptolemy Lane space opera science fiction story by award-winning SF author Cameron Cooper.
The Ptolemy Lane Tales:
1.0: The Body in the Zero Gee Brothel
2.0: The Captain Who Broke the Rules
3.0: The Maker of Widowmakers’ Arm
4.0: The Ancient Girl in the Autopod
5.0: The Return of the Peacemaker
5.5: Ptolemy Lane Tales Omnibus
This series can also be bought as a Special Bundle
{Also see: Space Opera, Science Fiction, Novels, Novelettes}
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Reviews
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Things may be done a bit differently out Georgina's Town, but out of necessity. Theirs is a way of life that does not allow much margin for error. A severed arm is only the beginning of this murder mystery that will lead Ptolemy Lane and 99 down an elusive trail of clues.
This installment is a bit darker and slow moving that the previous two, but still an excellent read. Each has its own flavor as different elements of the world and characters are explored. This one felt more like a police procedural - staring a hard boiled PI in a futuristic sci-fi version of an old west frontier town. What I liked best about it was the further exploration of serials and humans woven through the story and what that really means.
Ptolemy discovers he cared for someone who has left him; it saddened me but made him feel a little more human and less cold to me. I find Ninety-Nine a most interesting character, as Lane begins teaching him the "tricks of the trade" when a new and very unusual murder scene is reported. Once again the author has given us a mystery that the sheriff, in what I call his "Sherlock" method, solves the case. Along the way, we learn more about this domed city and its citizens in this great world-building Space Opera series. I can't wait to read what the author has up their sleeve for Ptolemy's next case.
I've grown to like and empathise with Ptolemy Jovan Lane even more with each novel in the series as we get to know him. This novel creates mystery and suspense along with an insight into Jovan's hidden emotions that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The twists of the story's unexpected turns kept me spellbound and I was captivated from the first page by how well Cameron Cooper has packed so many components into such a small slice of Jovan's life.
Each novel in the series is rich in detail which lets me get to know more about Jovan, as well as the unusual space port society and residents of Georgina's Town where he is Sherif.
I highly recommend this latest addition to the Ptolemy Lane series and suggest it is best enjoyed by starting with the first book and enjoying each of them, and in series order.
New Twists and Turns
The Maker of Widowmakers’ Arm, by Cameron Cooper, is the third novella in the Ptolemy Lane series. Each installment brings new and fascinating aspects of creativity. This time, the peacekeeper is tracking down the origins of an arm/weapon, that gives the reader new insight into this multifaceted character. Introspection accompanies him as he seeks the murderer in Georgina’s Town, the domed city where he lives. I love this series and can’t wait for the next installment. Lane is utterly complex and leaves the reader wanting more.
A broken relationship, and severed body parts. A complex world which is presented with mystery , intrigue and entertainment. Thought-provoking and completely engaging. I continue to enjoy this series.
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Excerpt
EXCERPT FROM THE MAKER OF WIDOWMAKERS’ ARM
COPYRIGHT © CAMERON COOPER 2022
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Pillar was on the other side of the plaza. We stepped into the building and then into one of the elevators which served the forty-two upper levels and the twenty-three lower levels. Two other people were in the car. I judged they were harmless, and entered my code into the car controls to give me access to the roof, which was denied to other citizens. The doors shut and we were whisked upward.
The other two people got off on different floors, leaving me with Ninety-Nine, who watched the control panel roll through the floor numbers with a nervous expression, clutching his terminal against his chest.
We stepped out into the bright sunlight once more. Ninety-Nine came to a halt, looking up at the glass-like dome. “I can almost touch it….” Awe rang in his voice.
“You can’t. Not from here. And you wouldn’t want to. It would freeze your fingers.” I kept moving, intending to take a circuit around the edge of the roof to find Doc.
Doc stepped out from around the side of the elevator housing and beckoned.
We moved around to the other side of the roof. This side got sunlight all day. Doc headed for a man who stood by the elevator housing, staring out through the dome at the sterile, rock-strewn landscape outside. The man’s face was grey.
“Building management,” I murmured for Ninety-Nine’s sake.
Doc stopped with one shoulder almost against the wall, and beckoned again.
We went up to him.
The arm laid on the dusty floor of the roof, right up against the elevator housing, so the elbow was tucked into the crease between roof and wall. The fingers were slightly curled, the way they did when you relaxed. It hadn’t been covered up in any way.
The shoulder end of the arm had been hacked at with something sharp, leaving jagged edges in the skin and meat beneath.
Ninety-Nine turned away, swallowing.
I bent closer to inspect the business end. They’d cut through the soft tissues right at the shoulder joint. The end of the humerus wasn’t a nicely curved ball anymore. It had been wrenched out of shape, the titanium pitted and bent.
“Like snapping a chicken wing off,” Doc guessed.
Ninety-Nine gave a soft moan.
“Looks like, yeah.” I straightened. “Serial number?” I could have determined the number for myself by tasting the blood, but that was a skill I kept to myself, mostly, and Doc would have already checked the serial number for himself with his hand-processor while waiting for me to arrive.
Doc Lowry held his terminal out to me. I took it and scanned the screen. I’ve had a lot of practice skimming serial registrations, and knew where to look for a fast summary.
“Sejad Pascale,” I read off. “Technician model. Made after the Purging—”
“Isn’t everyone born…built after the Purging, out here?” Ninety-Nine said.
I stared at him, more because he’d had the balls to interrupt, than for the quality of his question.
“There’s some still around from before the Purging, kid,” Doc told him. “Very few, but the biotechs keep ‘em going and going.”
“The Purging was five hundred years ago!”
“Nearly six hundred, actually,” I said. I lifted the terminal. “Built in a serial-owned facility on Thasauria b in 3372 PCE. First assignment to a high tech manufacturing plant on Thasauria. No other entries.” I looked up. “Revealing as usual. Ninety-Nine, look up the town registry. See if there’s a Sejad Pascale.”
“Figure he’s using the same name after all this time?” Doc Lowry asked.
I nearly pointed out that I was still using the name assigned to me, but stopped myself. Fact was, I had a few spares up my sleeve for times when the baggage that came with Ptolemy Jovan Lane was inconvenient.
Doc shifted his boot, to point the toe at the severed arm. “Sun is drying it out. It’s been here a day, at least.” He met my gaze.
“The scrubbers.” I pulled out my own, smaller terminal from my coat pocket and searched for the name I needed, then requested a connection.
Ninety-Nine was frowning at Doc and me.
“Spit it out,” I told him.
“Why aren’t you checking with the First Aid Stations? He lost an arm.”
Lowry just chuckled.
“No blood pooled around the arm,” I told the kid. “Pascale was dead when they took the arm off.”
“But why?” Ninety-Nine sounded utterly bewildered. And outraged.
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