Publisher – Flame Tree Press

Published – Out Now

Price – £2.49 kindle eBook

Second episode in the Fractal mini-series, building on the heavily-praised worlds of Fearless and Resilient set in 2118AD, now accompanied by an awesome soundtrack.

A strange anomalous object is discovered in a mine shaft. Hours later, an intruder has broken into Guiseppe Bas, murdered Doctor Mattias Stavinson, and stolen the find. Mine Team Supervisor Jakob Tremayne blasts off in pursuit. Can he stop the murderous thief before he escapes.

NB this is the second of six planned novellas all set into the first universe while standalone be aware the first great story is The Fractal Series - Episodes - Europa by Allen Stroud

Science Fiction is often an extrapolation of today’s work with a nod towards how things may look with future events and technology. How do spaceships work; biology and even physics when you add new variables. In Allen Stroud’s next episode of the Fractal series Ceres the setting is how will mining work in the future of deep space and that sets in motion an exhilarating adventure of sabotage and theft.

Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the asteroid belt and by 2118 is the focus of industrial mining for war materials to be used across the solar system. Miners spend long contracts paying off their travelling costs in the hope of good finds that make their future fortunes. Jakob Tremayne is a mid-fifties long-timer acting as a Mine Team Supervisor and his day is about to get incredibly stressful. A mysterious find that breaks many of the standard rules for Ceres’ geology with its incredible mass stops work but then there is a theft and then a murder and Tremayne finds himself chasing the thief across space but finding his opponent has been planning this for quite some time.

If Europa was a locked room mystery this is in many ways a tale of industrial espionage and here the science fiction elements really ramp things up and then adds a flood of mysteries that point towards the possible future of this set of stories. With Tremayne’s part of the story, we get a reminder that in space if you’re away from Earth everything is fragile – you’re reliant on the outside walls of your ship or mining station not to breakdown or else doom awaits. It’s a system that expects people to play the rules and once someone does not a lot of people are in danger. Tremayne chases his thief partly to stop his own career being marked by an expensive theft but also it feels very likely his thief means to wipe away traces of the crime and that puts his whole team at risk. In space it is very easy to make you all vanish and put things down to an accident. Stroud makes this a chase though stations, space and spaceships and as traditional for this author is tense and terse told in Tremayne’s words in real-time. It adds depth and you get to feel for this practical mechanic like problem solver who takes things one step at a time. He is not the standard hero type and as such gets underestimated which makes his intelligence and resourcefulness come ever to the fore in the finale

There is an also interesting other voice in the story. Its not someone you’ll expect to hear, and it is something only an SF tale can give us – the murder victim! It’s a unique story and the rationale for it starts doing two things. This tale definitely starts to set the scenes for the stories followed in the Fractal Series novels; but it also adds in intriguing new mysteries that took me by surprise and starts to make me re-appraise the wider series. A tale that gives the reader hooks that I think will make you very keen to find out more in the future monthly releases for this set of episodes.

I really enjoy this science fiction series and this tale fleshes out the wider storylines that this may be evolving into and demonstrates how nimbly Stroud can tell different types of stories. That versatility keeps the reader invested and, on their toes, and this is making me keen to see what comes next. Highly recommended!