Galactic Misadventures: Follow Ray M. Holler’s Unlikely Escapades in a Surprisingly Busy Milky Way

All Quiet in the Milky Way: Ray M. Holler’s Adventures vol. 1 is a hard SF/space opera collection of short stories and novelettes that take place at one unspecified point in the distant future in our Galaxy which turns out to be not-so-empty after all. The stories follow the adventures of Ray M. Holler, officially an independent logistics service provider, unofficially a smuggler, and a breaking-and-entering specialist, with a troubled past and somewhat less troubled present. Given the company he keeps, he often finds himself in stressful situations, but with the right ratio of luck and bullshit, he always manages to escape relatively unscathed.

My muses, inspirations, and influences

To answer the question of what inspired me to write these stories, we need first to go back a couple of decades, back to when I first picked up a pen and started writing stories. Because it was already back then, in those early days, that I wanted to create my own universe, a well-defined world that felt real and tangible, and most importantly, that I could revisit and build on in subsequent stories. My early attempts at building such a universe were largely unsuccessful and I dedicated most of my time to writing standalone tales, but the idea persisted, albeit in a diminished form, somewhere at the back of my mind.

Fast-forward to 2018, when I wrote “Winning Hands” – the first story of the collection. Like my other stories, this was supposed to be a one-off, standalone tale, but once I finished it and edited it, I realized it may have what I needed to start building the universe I envisioned all those years ago – a central character to build around, the environment to expand, and all that.

Speaking of the main influences, I need to mention Star Trek for its rich tapestry of complex characters, different alien species, and underlying moral and ethical themes, The Expanse series for the realism it brings to the science fiction genre, and its expertly executed exploration of political philosophy, and finally the real world we all inhabit, which continues to prove to be perhaps the greatest source of inspiration from them all.

Who is this for?

The collection is for anyone who enjoys fast-paced, episodic science fiction with a dash of humor, sympathetic characters, and an abundance of colorful alien species, set in a Universe that, despite its remoteness in time and space, still resembles our own. So, while it is primarily meant as an easily digestible, escapist read for readers of all ages, it doesn’t exist in complete isolation. For one, the stories take place at a time when the Galaxy is at relative peace – there might be some regional conflicts here and there, and tensions between major and minor political powers, but there are no large-scale wars, or catastrophes. Kind of like where we are now in the world – we are living in the most peaceful era since basically the dawn of mankind, although things seem to be taking a turn lately.

What does the future hold for Ray M. Holler?

As the subtitle suggests, this is only the first serving of Ray’s stories – I am already working on more. Since his Universe is simply too vast to be explored from a single perspective, I will

also be releasing standalone stories and novelettes that will expand on the world-building and tackle other interesting themes, facets, and issues. The first of these stories – And the Universe Opened Up: A Short Story from Ray M. Holler Universe – was published in July this year on Amazon. It is set over half a century before the stories in the collection and recounts the encounter between mankind and an alien species that forever changed the course of not only human history but that of the entire Galaxy.

About the author

I am a Czech science fiction and speculative fiction author, currently living and working as a University librarian in Malta. Although I write in both Czech and English, doing so in the latter language somehow feels easier and more natural, as much as my inner patriotic me hates to admit it. My work appeared (or is forthcoming) in a variety of venues, including New Myths, Kzine, Theme of Absence, Bewildering Stories, XB-1 (Czech SFFH magazine), and others.

I wish to express a heartfelt thank-you to Authors’ Lounge for giving me the opportunity to discuss Ray M. Holler Universe in detail. You can buy a copy of All Quiet in the Milky Way: Ray M. Holler’s Adventures vol. 1 here (the standalone stories are available from the series page), and connect with me on Facebook, or X.