SCI-FI LIKE YOU'VE NEVER READ IT
SCI-FI LIKE YOU'VE NEVER READ IT
Book 2 of Tales from the Sehnsucht Series
Will the Manderians choose security over freedom?
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Through the eyes of alien characters, readers are taken on a rollercoaster ride of existential dilemmas, undercover double agents, and epic battles. Set against the backdrop of the Manderian Halden, this book delves into the gritty world of another regime that rises from the ashes of a violent past where survival is a constant struggle and trust is a luxury few can afford.
Keyla Damaer presents the second collection of short stories featuring characters from the Sehnsucht Series.
Embark on a dark adventure alongside Sigma to turn the tide of a lost war. Find the path to freedom with Hertak and Draken.
If you’re looking for a thrilling read, dive into this captivating collection now!
Kim Aaron ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Our book today is a collection of short stories tied together in time and space through the universe of its author’s imagination(1). And while this world of Damaer’s takes plenty of inspiration from the Star Trek Universe (a ship named MonCapitaine, anyone?), it is not, as far as I can tell, part of Star Trek proper. These worlds, its inhabitants, and everything else appear to be meant as a stand-alone vision.
Tales comprises 6 short stories, a glossary, and details on the main non-human species the book takes as its focus, The Manderians. The glossary and Manderian backstory are helpful, since Damaer lets her imagination run free in terms of non-English words the reader will want to look up.
Damaer has a matter-of-fact, self-contained writing style. Clearly the characters in these stories are meant to be the focal point, so here is not an author intent on getting noticed for linguistic acrobatics; instead, dialogue and rather spartan levels of description lead us through the stories, require us to clean the glasses of our mind’s eye and take a good look around.
Given all this, does the collection work as a stand-alone piece? Sure. I didn’t get to know what happened to the characters I came to identify with, but, if anything, this made me go to Damaer’s website and consider finding out more in the other five books of the series. And any writing that piques a reader’s interest so they get thinking about more books from the same universe is a good thing, right?
In short, I recommend The Manderian Directorate as six slices of a pie you can consume at your leisure. Take little bites or large, when you find nothing left but the crumbs you’ll be thinking about more.
(1) Star-Trek Fangirling: I can’t criticize here. I’ve got two Star Trek fan fictions of my own.
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