From the main web site:
Mask of the Ferret by Alan Loewen and Ken Pick
Chief Engineer, Nuyann felt the presence that hunted him - like a predator. From fear, Nuyann wet his pants. The interstellar craft, Coventry, transports cargo and people to various interstellar systems. The passengers keep Captain Carroll's vessel in business and today one of them brings aboard a killer. Jill Noir is an Artificial who abhors her animal qualities, even more so she despises the creators who own her. The item housed in the cargo bay is her path to freedom. Father Eric Heidler is looking for the Carcosa artifact, stolen by its courier. Although detesting violence, Father Heidler will exercise whatever means necessary to reclaim the artifact, including death.
Quite an imaginative universe, Mask of the Ferret boasts para-humans - humans with animal characteristics, and then there are Artificials - animals re-engineered into humans. Mr. Loewen and Mr. Pick obviously make a splendid team, for their combined imaginations make this an absorbing and clever read. Together with a distinct animal-like cast, including wholly human characters, support the suspenseful plot. This is a fascinating tale!
Canticle of the Wolf by Alan Loewen
Italy in twelve thousand and ten experiences the worst snow fall, and the terror of one lone wolf.
Their livestock slaughtered even when confined behind walls and locked gates. The townsmen feel defeated as their efforts prove futile. Approaching the gathered townsmen, Brother Francis of Assisi scans the carnage before him and avows to go find the wolf.
A pleasing tale that is imaginative and feeling. Canticle of the Wolf is about how God wanted a village to witness Brother Francis' godliness. I am charmed by this endearing story when Brother Francis attends to the wolf's wounds without hesitation but with care. The alluring characters create an enchanting read as the wolf and Brother Francis share their tales of man's betrayal, but how good may come from the experience.
And from another site:
When I read Ken Pick’s and Alan Loewen’s scene where the ship jumps into hyperspace, I felt like I was on the bridge.
And one other:
One of our requirements for the anthology was that the science in the stories must be believable, if farfetched. No fair "reversing the polarity of the warp drive and channeling it through the deflector array"! Having said that, we should note that some of the stories are far into the future or are alternate realities, and do have the elements of fantasy. Craig Loewen's "Canticle of the Wolf" which is a re-written St. Francis and the Wolf story (the wolf is a genetically altered wolf sent back in time), and Craig and Ken Pick's "Mask of the Ferret" which features animal/human hybrids and a psychic artifact from an interdimensional zone yet is a very believable universe) come to mind.
I love it! ;-)
This post will be public for a short time as I want Ken to see it.