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Sliding Void #3
Red Sun Bleeding
It should have all been so easy for Captain Lana Fiveworlds, owner of Fiveworlds Shipping and master of the free trader starship ‘Gravity Rose’. A simple supply run to a mining operation in deep space on a world called Abracadabra. Alright, so the mining operation was illegal and the world unclaimed… that’s why the job paid so damn well. But now she’s stuck on a hothouse jungle planet, sweltering under the light of a dying red sun with not only oddly missing miners, but vanished crewmen too.
The exiled barbarian prince Calder Durk had disappeared, presumed dragged over the mining camp’s laser fence by one of the not-so-pleasant local predators. The skipper may or may not be in love with him, but you can never leave one of your own behind. Lana’s android has a bad feeling about the place, and she also has to contend with an arrogant mission leader who is part of humanity’s near immortal super-rich ruling class.
Things are looking bad, and that was before the space pirates her rivals have paid to put her out of business jumped in-system looking to hijack her ship.
Sadly for the crew of the Gravity Rose, matters can get even worse when they discover why nobody’s ever survived Abracadabra long enough to put it on the charts. For this is one world with a terrible secret. And it just might be the last one for everyone trapped down on the planet.
The exiled barbarian prince Calder Durk had disappeared, presumed dragged over the mining camp’s laser fence by one of the not-so-pleasant local predators. The skipper may or may not be in love with him, but you can never leave one of your own behind. Lana’s android has a bad feeling about the place, and she also has to contend with an arrogant mission leader who is part of humanity’s near immortal super-rich ruling class.
Things are looking bad, and that was before the space pirates her rivals have paid to put her out of business jumped in-system looking to hijack her ship.
Sadly for the crew of the Gravity Rose, matters can get even worse when they discover why nobody’s ever survived Abracadabra long enough to put it on the charts. For this is one world with a terrible secret. And it just might be the last one for everyone trapped down on the planet.
- GenresScience FictionEbooks
152 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 6, 2013
7 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Hunt
39 books346 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Stephen Hunt is a British writer living in London. His first fantasy novel, For the Crown and the Dragon, was published in 1994, and introduced a young officer, Taliesin, fighting for the Queen of England in a Napoleonic period alternative reality where the wars of Europe were being fought with sorcery and steampunk weapons (airships, clockwork machine guns, and steam-driven trucks called kettle-blacks). The novel won the 1994 WH Smith Award, and the book reviewer Andrew Darlington used Hunt's novel to coin the phrase Flintlock Fantasy to describe the sub-genre of fantasy set in a Regency or Napoleonic-era period.
Stephen Hunt is a British writer living in London. His first fantasy novel, For the Crown and the Dragon, was published in 1994, and introduced a young officer, Taliesin, fighting for the Queen of England in a Napoleonic period alternative reality where the wars of Europe were being fought with sorcery and steampunk weapons (airships, clockwork machine guns, and steam-driven trucks called kettle-blacks). The novel won the 1994 WH Smith Award, and the book reviewer Andrew Darlington used Hunt's novel to coin the phrase Flintlock Fantasy to describe the sub-genre of fantasy set in a Regency or Napoleonic-era period.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 6, 2016
5 Stars
Red Sun Bleeding is the third book in the Sliding Void serial series by Stephen Hunt. These are fantastic works of science fiction that are tailor made for fans of the genre. They blend traditional fantasy elements with those of hard science. This was released originally as a serialized novel.
The fantasy elements are fun, but the science is what makes it awesome.
"“It’s the opposite of terraforming, dear boy. You change the pattern of your body to adapt to the local world, rather than modifying a planet into your preferred habitat. Just select a successful local species and reverse-engineer its DNA, then redesign your own body on the same pattern. A curious decision for Abracadabra, though, unless the settlers belonged to some extreme environmentalist sect. Such practices are normally reserved for worlds with acute deviations from the norm – toxic atmospheres, high gravity, gas giants and the like. It’s a tad hot for humans outside, but nothing that a little air conditioning and a decent ship suit can’t cope with. They really did go native.”"
I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the writing...Zeno steals the pages that he is on...
Sliding Void:
"“For all the analogies heaped upon the understanding of such devices – think of it as knife to slice into the deeper realities of the universe – think of it as a translation device to convert the mathematical language of one reality into another – think of it as a piano’s tuning fork to . . . no, think of it as a big steaming shizzle-pile of the wrath of the gods, able to mangle the stuff of creation, mould it into spears and hurl it like one of Vega’s thunderbolts across the Creators’ phantasmal realm. Calder’s barbarian explanation made as much sense as any the sims had provided with their talk of advanced Brane theory, affine-parameters and T-duality.”"
Red Sun Bleeding is the best book in the series by a long shot. It is filled with action, suspense, and adventure. It is the longest story so far and that helps quite a bit. The series develops into more of a straight forward science fiction one as things have progressed. The twists make Red Sun Bleeding a blast. I love the science, the characters, and the world building.
I really hope that there is more to come from in this series as the ending of this book is really no conclusion. I loved it.
Red Sun Bleeding is the third book in the Sliding Void serial series by Stephen Hunt. These are fantastic works of science fiction that are tailor made for fans of the genre. They blend traditional fantasy elements with those of hard science. This was released originally as a serialized novel.
The fantasy elements are fun, but the science is what makes it awesome.
"“It’s the opposite of terraforming, dear boy. You change the pattern of your body to adapt to the local world, rather than modifying a planet into your preferred habitat. Just select a successful local species and reverse-engineer its DNA, then redesign your own body on the same pattern. A curious decision for Abracadabra, though, unless the settlers belonged to some extreme environmentalist sect. Such practices are normally reserved for worlds with acute deviations from the norm – toxic atmospheres, high gravity, gas giants and the like. It’s a tad hot for humans outside, but nothing that a little air conditioning and a decent ship suit can’t cope with. They really did go native.”"
I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the writing...Zeno steals the pages that he is on...
Sliding Void:
"“For all the analogies heaped upon the understanding of such devices – think of it as knife to slice into the deeper realities of the universe – think of it as a translation device to convert the mathematical language of one reality into another – think of it as a piano’s tuning fork to . . . no, think of it as a big steaming shizzle-pile of the wrath of the gods, able to mangle the stuff of creation, mould it into spears and hurl it like one of Vega’s thunderbolts across the Creators’ phantasmal realm. Calder’s barbarian explanation made as much sense as any the sims had provided with their talk of advanced Brane theory, affine-parameters and T-duality.”"
Red Sun Bleeding is the best book in the series by a long shot. It is filled with action, suspense, and adventure. It is the longest story so far and that helps quite a bit. The series develops into more of a straight forward science fiction one as things have progressed. The twists make Red Sun Bleeding a blast. I love the science, the characters, and the world building.
I really hope that there is more to come from in this series as the ending of this book is really no conclusion. I loved it.
January 26, 2022
I received a copy of this book from the author.
The phrase that comes to mind is, out of the frying pan and into the fire, when thinking of the latest escapades of Lana and her crew.
Book three is as fast paced and exciting as the previous two books in the series.
Having read this far I feel that I’ve really got to know the characters, although the occasional comment leaves me wondering if I do.
The only way that I’m going to find out is to read the rest of the series.
The phrase that comes to mind is, out of the frying pan and into the fire, when thinking of the latest escapades of Lana and her crew.
Book three is as fast paced and exciting as the previous two books in the series.
Having read this far I feel that I’ve really got to know the characters, although the occasional comment leaves me wondering if I do.
The only way that I’m going to find out is to read the rest of the series.
April 29, 2020
A great end to the "trilogy" that makes up the first 3 books of the series.
Leaves one asking questions.
Leaves one asking questions.
March 14, 2013
This is the third and final novella in the trilogy featuring Lana Fiveworlds and the crew of the space ship the Gravity Rose. It continues where we left off in Transference Station where Calder is lost among the jungle on the planet Abracadabra. There he must survive the wild beasts of the planet, with some help (or possible hindrance) from the nervous wreck of a driver and a robot who wipes its own memory every day.
Meanwhile, Lana and android Zeno search for Calder and find out what the secret of the planet is and what was really going on there. That's until pirates arrive to take what they want and make a great profit.
This is a great conclusion to the series, packed full of great sci-fi ideas. It's still funny but has some interesting thoughts about the universe. A fantastic end to the series and I hope Hunt writes some more!
Meanwhile, Lana and android Zeno search for Calder and find out what the secret of the planet is and what was really going on there. That's until pirates arrive to take what they want and make a great profit.
This is a great conclusion to the series, packed full of great sci-fi ideas. It's still funny but has some interesting thoughts about the universe. A fantastic end to the series and I hope Hunt writes some more!
January 24, 2014
Really, really good fun. A 3.99 star book. Just lacked some depth perhaps.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews