A struggle of family, mercy, and discernment
In Plain Sight by Chris Long is a dark Christian speculative fiction novella blending science fiction and Western elements in a story about compassion, fear, faith, family, and the cost of seeing too late what was there all along. a dark speculative Western about compassion, fear, faith, and the cost of seeing too late what was there all along.
When a stranger arrives at Astrid’s homestead, burned by the desert and desperate for shelter, she sees a man she is called to help.
Her husband sees a danger she refuses to name.
At first, hospitality seems simple. Feed the hungry. Shelter the weak. Love the stranger. But as fear spreads through the household and the stranger’s presence grows harder to ignore, Astrid is forced to ask whether mercy without wisdom can become its own kind of danger.
In Plain Sight explores what happens when compassion, wisdom, fear, and responsibility collide with an incompatible culture.
Through Astrid and her family, the story asks difficult questions about hospitality to strangers, the obligations of faith, the instinct to protect those we love, and the danger of dismissing warnings too quickly.
Rather than offering simple answers, the novella places mercy and discernment in tension and asks readers to consider where one ends and the other begins.
The lithographic art of Plain Sight by Chris Long was inspired by Chris’s late grandfather, Dr. Clyde Wieland.
Dr. Wieland collected many pieces of art, the main focus of his collection being Western art that depicted homesteaders, cowboys, Native Americans, and the American landscape. Chris possesses several pieces from his grandfather’s collection, including a set of lithographs.
In Plain Sight
Independently Published
Chris Long
https://singwriteread.com/books/in-plain-sight/
Dark Speculative Western / Science Fiction
979-8-9891485-2-3
August 31, 2026
979-8-9891485-3-0
War looms as Adelfo marches for Charlan to rescue Omoria from Samin.
Meanwhile, Astrid, Syzy, and Nearos travel to the capital to petition the president to intervene with military assistance. A conflict ensues within the ranks of the senate, while Nearos struggles with recent failures and his future.
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