The Cauldron by Rocky Keele

“The Cauldron” is a 2009 science fiction novella by Rocky Keele. It is about a security officer who sees aliens land on a Spanish island, then tries to track them down before they can harm the people and places that he cares deeply about.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

Paul Jackson is a former U.N. Marine Corp soldier turned security officer on the Spanish island of La Palma. While patrolling the coast for pirates he sees an alien spacecraft splash down near the coast and takes his crew to investigate. He becomes concerned when they find some strange footprints heading towards the top of the volcano that makes up the island. Why is he concerned you ask? Maybe because his ex-wife (with whom he is still in love) is hiking the trail to the caldera? Or possibly it’s the fact that there’s a strategic astronomical observatory at the top? Or maybe it’s because the aliens are ruthless towards any humans they find in their path. Hmm… take your pick. No matter the reason, it soon becomes clear that the aliens have a very specific goal in mind – and its not one of those touchy feel good goals either, its something much, much worse than anyone could imagine!

“Froggy?” came a small voice, startling the entire Ka. Slu Nitook watched as a native, not much larger than himself, stood from behind the wall that surrounded the pool. The creature’s two forward looking eyes, placed in the center of its shaggy covered head, stared at the two females gathering water. Then it exploded in a shrill, high pitched screech. Slu Nitook centered his weapon’s aiming reticle on the creature’s face, directly between its eyes. The eyes were opened wide and the mouth continued making that annoying sound. It was a young pup, thought Slu Nitook, and remembering his own brood of young, decided to let it live. He called out to Har Koolah and Shulah Nabar to find cover. They could fill the water pouches later, he thought. Then he realized it was too late.

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• Setting this story on La Palma was brilliant! The location becomes an integral part of the story and makes the prospect of aliens being there all the more scary.
• The three intertwining plot lines made the story all that much more interesting. Seeing the events from three very different points of view allowed me to get a better overall understanding of what was going on. I mean, c’mon – you can’t get more different than a man, woman and alien point of view can you?
• In full disclosure I must admit that the author is my brother. Yep. I considered not reviewing “The Cauldron”, then I remembered that this is *my* blog and if I can’t promote my own nepotistic biases then what can I promote? Actually, I consider this story to be better than a lot of the others I have reviewed, so I wanted to point it out and let you be the judge. Feel free to leave a comment if you feel otherwise, or have any opinions on the subject.

• The bad:

• There’s no doubt “The Cauldron” is long – with its three story lines it’s more like a tiny novel than a short story. Reading it over the course of a few days helped, and allowed me to take my time and enjoy the plot lines.

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 31
• Word Count: 22,436

Where you can find “The Cauldron”:

• Thanks to the author and his generous agreement to let me host this story, you can read “The Cauldron” right here in our short story library!

Some Interesting Links:

• Your reading experience may be even better if you learn more about the Spanish island of La Palma by reading the Wikipedia article about it.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like Burn, about a farmer-turned-firefighter who accidentally summons the ruler of a distant world to help fight forest fires, by James Patrick Kelly.

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