The English Dead

By Vaughan Stanger

The English Dead is a science fiction short story that explores the abiding mystery of whether George Mallory and "Sandy" Irvine could have reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1924, twenty-nine years before the first successful ascent by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

From the review of The English Dead in The Fix (14/1/08): "'The English Dead' is an excellent story and fundamentally good SF... The climbing lingo reads authentically to a layman like myself. The obsessions of the tale’s central characters are well-portrayed, informing their decisions and actions as they move towards a convincing conclusion." The English Dead was originally published in Issue 36 of Hub (December 2007).

This story will appeal to anyone who likes thought-provoking SF combined with high adventure and an intriguing mystery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vaughan Stanger
• Release date: Aug 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476092393

Vaughan Stanger

Until recently, Vaughan Stanger worked as a research manager at a British engineering company. From 1997 to 2011, he wrote science fiction and fantasy stories in his spare time, effectively setting himself homework. The results of this head-scratching were published in Nature Futures, Interzone, Postscripts, Daily Science Fiction and Music for Another World, to name but a few. Translations of his stories have appeared in nine languages.In January 2012 Vaughan became a full-time writer. Currently he's busy writing an SF novel. The head-scratching has got worse if anything. There are also some new stories in the works, plus further e-book compilations of his previously published stories to come.

Book preview

The English Dead

Vaughan Stanger

Smashwords Edition

Copyright Vaughan Stanger August 2012

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Table of Contents

Cover

Title

Introduction

The English Dead

Bibliography

About the Author

About the Illustrator

More Ebooks by Vaughan Stanger

Spread the Word!

Introduction

My Everest obsession began when I was aged ten or so. I have a clear recollection of coming across a hardback book on the subject in my local library. Before long I was absorbed in the minutiae of the various pre-war expeditions to scale the mountain from the Tibetan side of the Himalayas. For some reason, these abortive and sometimes fatal attempts captured my attention far more than the successful ascent of Hillary and Tenzing in 1953.

As with all childhood obsessions, it eventually faded, but the discovery of George Mallory's corpse on the upper slopes of Everest in March 1999 served to resurrect my interest. The short story you're about to read is the result.

In fact, some of the blame for this story's existence must be laid at my illustrator's door. You see, way back in December 1999, Tony Hughes gave me a book titled