Gardens of Earth by Mark Iles
Corporate greed supported by incompetent surveyors leads to the colonisation of a distant world, ominously dubbed 'Halloween', that turns out not to be uninhabited after all. The aliens, soon called Spooks by military units deployed to protect the colonists, can adopt the physical form of an opponent's deepest fear and then use it to kill them. The colony is massacred and as retaliation the orbiting human navy nuke the planet. In revenge, the Spooks invade Earth. In a last-minute attempt to avert the war, Seethan Bodell, a marine combat pilot sent home from the front with PTSD, is given a top-secret research spacecraft, and a mission to travel into the past along with his co-pilot and secret lover Rose, to prevent the original landing on Halloween and stop the war from ever happening. But the mission goes wrong, causing a tragedy later known as The Sundering, decimating the world and tearing reality, while Seethan's ship is flung into the future. The Spooks win the war and claim ownership of Earth. He wakes, alone, in his ejector seat with no sign of either Rose or his vessel. When he realises that his technology no longer works, his desperation to find Rose becomes all the more urgent - her android body won't survive long in this new Earth.Gardens of Earth is book 1 of The Sundering Chronicles. It tackles alien war, a future (dystopian or utopian, depending on who you ask), and a protagonist coping with his demons in an unfamiliar and stressful environment - not to mention immediate threats from a pathological serial killer, the remnants of Earth's inhabitants living in a sparse pre-industrial society under the Spooks, and returning human colonists intent on reclaiming Earth. Underlying, are issues of social justice, human and android rights, and love that transcends difference. This is classic science fiction, but the abilities of the Spooks provide an environment, and archetypal creatures within it, reminiscent of myth and magic fantasy. Truly cross-genre, Gardens of Earth is an exciting adventure, a heart-rending quest, and an eye-opening insight into the coping strategies of a veteran.| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781911409854 |
| ISBN 10 | 1911409859 |
| Title | Gardens of Earth |
| Author | Mark Iles |
| Series | The Sundering Chronicles |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Alnpete Press |
| Year published | 2021-10-18 |
| Number of pages | 264 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |