The Forest of Unreason

By Robert F. Young

Mortby saw the hoof-marks first. It was the morning Reinman had come up missing, and he and the four other remaining members of the expedition had set out into the Kontawaba Forest in search of him. The hoof-marks were on the opposite bank.

Robert F. Young was a Hugo nominated author known for his lyrical and sentimental prose. His work appeared in Amazing Stories, Fantastic Stories, Startling Stories, Playboy, The Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, Galaxy Magazine, and Analog Science Fact & Fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilder Publications, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781515446064

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The Forest of Unreason

by Robert F. Young

©2020 Positronic Publishing

The Forest of Unreason is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales or institutions is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except for brief quotations for review purposes only.

ISBN 13: 978-1-5154-4606-4

The Forest of Unreason

Mortby saw the hoof-marks first. It was the morning Reinman had come up missing, and he and the four other remaining members of the expedition had set out into the Kontawaba Forest in search of him. The hoof-marks were on the opposite bank.

Mortby held up his hand as a signal for the other to halt, and waded through the shallow water. He was not officially in charge of the expedition, but having talked the Office of Galactic Research into organizing it, he felt justified in taking command during an emergency such as this one. There were two series of marks, he saw when he reached the other side of the brook; one aeries led out of the forest, the other, back into it; and each mark, he noted further, was split down the middle by narrow prominence. In addition to the hoof-marks, there was a pair of rounded impressions at the water’s edge, clearly indicating that the creature—whatever It was—had knelt down