Red Star Falling

by Ian Hocking

In 2028, a mysterious group known as Meta begins sending agents back through time. Nobody knows who these time travellers are, or their purpose.

Exactly 120 years earlier, murdered agent Saskia Brandt opens her eyes in a Geneva mortuary locker. Medical technology from 2028 has given her a few more hours of life.

Completing her mission will take her to the north face of the Eiger—treacherous, unclimbed, enshadowed—and a reckoning with a Georgian outlaw, Soso: the man who killed her.

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Red Star Falling is a thoughtful, character-based science fiction novella with a philosophical edge, written by the winner of the Red Adept Science Fiction Award.

65 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2013

About the author

I'm a university lecturer and researcher based in Canterbury, UK.

For the most part, I write thoughtful, character-based science fiction thrillers with a philosophical edge, like 'Deja Vu', which has been republished by Unsung Stories.

Déjà Vu won the Red Adept Science Fiction Award.

Otherwise, I have been known to write comedy fiction.

Drop me an email if you like: ihocking@gmail.com. I also maintain a mailing list for those interested in keeping up with my work.

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would love/hate to have a glimpse into Hocking's mind. Oh, wait, maybe, having read several of his books, I have. I still don't understand, but I do keep coming back. YMMV, a lot.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

This is a short, quick read on the remaining hours of Saskia’s life. After being mortally wounded in The Amber Rooms, Saskia wakes up to find herself in a morgue. Her memory is a little fuzzy, but she know that she only has a few more hours to live from the technology in her brain. The story follows Saskia as she tried to finish her mission with Soso before she dies (completely.)

It was a while since I last read The Amber Rooms, but there were some recaps in this novella. I suggest reading the books about Saskia Brandt before reading this novella. You would be lost if you jumped right into this book.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book shortly after reading Hocking's Amber Room. This is a short ebook that you should read after you have read his Saskia Brandt novel. The novel is available, but it seems this short read has been brought up by an online publishing company (I went looking for them recently and took me a while to track it down).

I really enjoy Hocking's writing and loved the Brandt character. I was sad to leave her at the end of his novel, and that rarely happens for me...that may be why I liked this short read so much. It filled the need for a little more Saskia Brandt and gave some answers that the novel did not.

[Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short little read about Saskia, fulfilling her mission in whatever way possible. More along the lines of a sci-fi thriller.

I enjoyed the story but there where times I felt it was a little confusing.