Wild Type

It’s been a long time since I stayed up too late reading, but last night found me feverishly turning pages well after moonrise…not of a novel, but a short story. Anela, the indie author champion behind Amid The Imaginary, contacted me earlier this week and offered me her Insurrection serial in exchange for my honest review. After my recent challenges with writing that format, I was eager to see how another author approached short sci-fi.

I knew Anela for a sharp reader after her review of Blue Karma last year, but damn! That lady can write, too! Her first installment, Subversive, grabbed me from the first line. Gemson, a former intelligence agent, finds himself on the wrong side of the interrogation table. His inquisitor? None other than his own sister, Ellie. The twists keeps coming as Gemson and Ellie find themselves caught between the Establishment, humanity’s government since a devastating alien invasion, and the insurrection challenging it. Who is the Albatross, the rebellion’s enigmatic leader? Where do Gemson and Ellie’s loyalties truly lie?

Subversive recalls the politics of Ender’s Game, grafted onto the gritty future landscape of Battlestar Galactica. Ms. Deen writes well and handles the short story medium with a masterful touch. The Kindle version contains a smattering of technical/grammatical errors, but not enough to detract from the story. It’s fast-paced, smart, and keeps you guessing at every paragraph. Sci-fi fans shouldn’t miss this first installment in what promises to be a thrilling series. Get your copy on Amazon and hang on for the ride.