Wildside: Steven Gould

It's another world: a pristine earth where mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers still roam. There are no laws, no cities, no highways, no pollution - no people. It lies just beyond the heavy wooden door, hidden at the back of the barn, through a tunnel that enters a hillside in South Texas, but doesn't come out the other side. It belongs to Charlie, a whole world accessible only through the doorway on the ranch his uncle left him free and clear. But to explore a planet, you need money. And equipment. And the money to buy the equipment. Money to live on while you explore; money for taxes on the ranch and to pay for the training needed to survive in a completely wild world. So Charlie captures some extinct birds - passenger pigeons - and sells them on the tame side to finance his venture. He sells more than a dozen, and Wildside Investments is born. That is the beginning of the end - for how can you keep a secret like that one anyone gets wind of it? Charlie and his trusted friends will have to fight for the preservation of the Wildside - and their own lives. Cover art by Nicholas Jainschigg.