Spark of Attraction

Short Story in Pets in Space Anthology

By Cara Bristol

October 2016

Science Fiction Romance


Captain Dante Stone's emotions were as solid as his name. Since he'd become a cyborg, he'd found that although his brain was sharp, maybe sharper than before, his emotions that had been minimal before seemed to be non-existent after. But they weren't necessary. He had a crew quite capable of such things, and when they rescued a group of colonists after a vicious attack, he knew he wouldn't be the one to offer psychological support. But he would still check on them, give them assurances, and protect them.

But apparently, Dante needed protection himself. Upon arrival to visiting the group, he was attacked by a dog. An animal that had no business on his ship, and he'd ordered its removal. That was when the owner had verbally attacked him, and the dog physically so. Dante didn't know what surprised him more, a woman willing to stand up to him, a dog which apparently wasn't a dog, or the physical, and quite possible emotional, reactions Dante had to Miranda Lowell

Spark of Attraction was my favorite story in this anthology. Dante is quite inept in his courtship of Miranda, in fact, I wonder if he realized that was what he actually was doing. Miranda was the perfect heroine to break through his shell, and Sparky, the not-a-dog, was so unique and entertaining, and in fact, quite the hero. My only issue was that I couldn't believe that a key piece of information wasn't revealed earlier in the story.

Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com