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As a youngster growing up in the cobbled streets of Stockport, UK, Clayton Graham read a lot of science fiction. He loved the ‘old-school’ masters such as HG Wells, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov and John Wyndham. As he left those formative years behind, he penned short stories when he could find a rare quiet moment amidst life’s usual distractions.
He settled in Victoria, Australia, in 1982. A retired aerospace engineer who worked in structural design and research, Clayton has always had an interest in science fiction and where it places humankind within a universe we are only just starting to understand.
Clayton loves animals, including well behaved pets, and all the natural world, and is a member of Australian Geographic.
Combining future science with the paranormal is his passion. Milijun, his first novel, was published in 2016. Second novel, Saving Paludis, was published in 2018. They are light years from each other, but share the future adventures of mankind in an expansive universe as a common theme.
The sequel to Milijun, entitled Amidst Alien Stars, is at the editing stage, with release scheduled for late 2019.
In between novels Clayton has published Silently in the Night, a collection of short stories where, among many other adventures, you can sympathize with a doomed husband, connect with an altruistic robot, explore an isolated Scottish isle and touch down on a far-flung asteroid.
He hopes you can share the journeys.
Reviewed by Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers' Favorite
Without intending to disparage our contemporary writing world, I must observe that Silently in the Night by Clayton Graham harkens back well and fondly to the golden years of speculative short-story fiction collected from great masters like Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke. In addition to clever and intriguing plots, never gratuitously complicated but always with a satisfying twist, these simple but startling tales unfold with zeal and concisely controlled acceleration. Or, to switch analogies, imbibing them is like popping juicy morsels on impulse rather than methodically pacing oneself at a sumptuous feast. Something to be consumed immediately upon the craving. Something to make one smile. And you will. You will also, at times, find yourself quite amazed.
One of the more amazing tales in Clayton Graham’s short story collection of speculative gems, Silently in the Night, is the one titled Vanguard, about a drilling operator on the dark side of the Moon who finds what he’s been seeking – a cavern big enough to economically house his mining colony’s entire population – only to discover something quite extraordinary and dramatically life-changing hidden within its dark and glassy walls. Something once alive. Maybe still. And, most certainly, not human. Graham handles this immediately enticing and engaging plot with the same brisk pace as all his other stories, lending a subtle sense of urgency to whatever revelation ultimately awaits … perhaps even this perfectly karmic ending. Populated by aliens and robots and plenty of frail humans, Silently in the Night exposes the relationships between them, and what it means to live and die. Morsels to enjoy.
