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Nastragull #2
Hunted
After escaping from pirates with an emperor’s ransom in loot in NASTRAGULL: Pirates, young Alec Horn takes refuge in a roving collective of space stations and massive starships called New Frontier. A freewheeling neutral territory, New Frontier is an ideal place for him to regroup and outfit an expedition to rescue the colleagues captured along with him. For Alec is actually Alec von Hornet, noble son of the noble house of Hornet, military leaders of the Nastasturus Federation. He's already managed to rescue Alexa, the pirate girl he's fallen for, from the clutches of the notorious Zoris af Sun—an artist of questionable and downright cannibalistic tastes.
But Alec has made immensely powerful enemies, who will spare no expense to destroy him and recover what they consider rightfully theirs. Along with fleets from Nastasturus and the rival Florencian Federation, three massive pirate armadas descend like locusts upon New Frontier, triggering a cataclysmic battle.
Crippled and flung deep into space by an explosion, Alec's ship becomes the quarry of every bounty hunter, news agency, pirate, pirate hunter, and government in the sector. His fate hinges on who finds him first...and whether that person is swayed by the record-setting bounties offered for Alec's head. Meanwhile, the voice of Nastra, the universe, is speaking again to Alec—as well as to his shadowy enemy, the inhuman Marquessa de la Hoff. But there can be only one Listener—and the Marquessa is willing to trigger universal war to be that One.
But Alec has made immensely powerful enemies, who will spare no expense to destroy him and recover what they consider rightfully theirs. Along with fleets from Nastasturus and the rival Florencian Federation, three massive pirate armadas descend like locusts upon New Frontier, triggering a cataclysmic battle.
Crippled and flung deep into space by an explosion, Alec's ship becomes the quarry of every bounty hunter, news agency, pirate, pirate hunter, and government in the sector. His fate hinges on who finds him first...and whether that person is swayed by the record-setting bounties offered for Alec's head. Meanwhile, the voice of Nastra, the universe, is speaking again to Alec—as well as to his shadowy enemy, the inhuman Marquessa de la Hoff. But there can be only one Listener—and the Marquessa is willing to trigger universal war to be that One.
356 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2013
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Erik Martin Willén
13 books27 followersErik Martin Willén has been creating science fiction worlds since he was a young boy, including working with a friend on a short-lived comic book version of Nastragull. Erik loves creating worlds of epic proportion and exploring those worlds in the stories he creates.
Erik currently lives in a small village in south Sweden where he is working on the next Nastragull novel, the first in a new series called Vixens, and is anticipating the release of his first suspense novel, The Lumberjack which releases in 2018 on Valentine's Day.
Erik currently lives in a small village in south Sweden where he is working on the next Nastragull novel, the first in a new series called Vixens, and is anticipating the release of his first suspense novel, The Lumberjack which releases in 2018 on Valentine's Day.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 4, 2014
The author did an excellent job of developing a storyline that was full of epic space battles and political intrigue. I could not stop reading once I pick the book up. It is full of twist and turns in the story that keeps you asking, "what can possible happen next?"
I love the way Erik Martin Willen developed his characters in the first book of the series, Pirates, and continues to build on them as you read this epic adventure. I really liked the way I could identify with the hero and how he came to life as the story progressed.
I really liked Nastragull Hunted by Erik Martin Willen and I highly recommend this book.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]
I love the way Erik Martin Willen developed his characters in the first book of the series, Pirates, and continues to build on them as you read this epic adventure. I really liked the way I could identify with the hero and how he came to life as the story progressed.
I really liked Nastragull Hunted by Erik Martin Willen and I highly recommend this book.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]
August 11, 2016
THE NASTRAGULL SERIES (part 2)
The second part in my series was actually supposed to be the continued story in part one (Pirates) and due to the large volume I decided to divide the first book into two. Since then I feel that I have developed quite a bit as an first time author and the fans will noticed that I have developed as a writer in the rest of the parts.
Writing a great story is like drawing a beautiful painting. Sometimes an artist will use a favorite color, and at other times a lesser favorite. Why? Because all the different colors are needed to complete the artwork.
The Prologue
Writing a prologue for a science fiction story is apparently a big no-no. Well...whatever. Whoever came up with this idiotic "rule" is a shithead! Several comments have been made about my prologue, questioning whether it's necessary to my story. How can anyone know? Have they read the entire story? Of course not; I haven't published them all yet.
Actually, the prologue to Nastragull is very necessary for the overall story—and when I wrote it; I sure didn't know that I'd broken any unwritten rules. Then again, even if I had known, I would probably have written it anyway.
Show & Don't Tell
This is a very important rule for me as an author, and even though I feel that I have found my own authorial voice, I'm still learning. I prefer detailed descriptions that give the reader an experience through action, thoughts, feelings/emotions etc. rather than through my description or summary.
However, In Hunted there are a couple of sections where I choose to break that rule. I felt it would be necessary for the reader to know what was happening around the near universe, while the main plot was focused on the story's characters in the story. If I hadn't done this, none of you would have read Pirates yet—I would still be writing it. Hopefully I will develop and learn as I go, so please be patient!
Sex & Violence
There are parts of my story that I didn't enjoy writing, but I wrote them anyway, because they were necessary—especially the detailed acts of violence, and the sex scenes. All of them are part of the story; and for that reason, I wrote them and will keep writing them. There are many great authors out there who sometimes write things I dislike; they glorify violence to an extreme, at times turning it into comedy. Hence the reason I write the way I do.
I don't and I won't glorify violence in my stories; I want the reader to be disgusted by it, and realize that violence exists all the time, everywhere, in real life: from wars to domestic violence. Any form of violence is to be avoided if possible; however, sometimes it's necessary to use violence in self-defense and protection of others...and not just in a novel.
The sex scenes...well, what can I say? Love scenes offer an excellent means of character development and make the story more interesting reading, I think—and frankly, you rarely see them in science fiction stories.
There's a section in Hunted that will make some people ill, and I expect it to generate even further discussion -- and disgust. On more than one occasion, I have discussed with my editor and one of Hollywood's more successful producers—both of whom have become mentors to me—whether I should remove several paragraphs and tone certain scenes down, because they are very gruesome and graphic. Both of my mentors, who know the story, insisted that I keep it just the way I had intended, and so I did. So yeah—you might not want to eat before you read the last chapter of Book 2.
There have been a few reviews comparing my first book, Nastragull: Pirates, to porn, and BDSM porn at that. Well, the Nastragull series is not porn; nor should it be compared to such, because the sex scenes are there for entertainment and character development only—not as the main thrust of the story (if you'll excuse the pun). If you're into porn, then my books will disappoint you.
One of my favorite authors is Wilbur Smith. When I was young, my parents insisted that I read as many books in English as possible, and eventually Smith became a favorite. Many of his stories have some sexual content and detailed violence/gore. To me, these scenes enhance the story, as is their intent. Nastragull is similar; when there is violence, it will be violent—to discourage such acts, not encourage them. When there is sex, there will be sex, more to encourage than discourage such a wonderful gift from Mother Nature. All this will be part of the series. Some volumes will have more than others, and it all depends on the story context, nothing else.
The second part in my series was actually supposed to be the continued story in part one (Pirates) and due to the large volume I decided to divide the first book into two. Since then I feel that I have developed quite a bit as an first time author and the fans will noticed that I have developed as a writer in the rest of the parts.
Writing a great story is like drawing a beautiful painting. Sometimes an artist will use a favorite color, and at other times a lesser favorite. Why? Because all the different colors are needed to complete the artwork.
The Prologue
Writing a prologue for a science fiction story is apparently a big no-no. Well...whatever. Whoever came up with this idiotic "rule" is a shithead! Several comments have been made about my prologue, questioning whether it's necessary to my story. How can anyone know? Have they read the entire story? Of course not; I haven't published them all yet.
Actually, the prologue to Nastragull is very necessary for the overall story—and when I wrote it; I sure didn't know that I'd broken any unwritten rules. Then again, even if I had known, I would probably have written it anyway.
Show & Don't Tell
This is a very important rule for me as an author, and even though I feel that I have found my own authorial voice, I'm still learning. I prefer detailed descriptions that give the reader an experience through action, thoughts, feelings/emotions etc. rather than through my description or summary.
However, In Hunted there are a couple of sections where I choose to break that rule. I felt it would be necessary for the reader to know what was happening around the near universe, while the main plot was focused on the story's characters in the story. If I hadn't done this, none of you would have read Pirates yet—I would still be writing it. Hopefully I will develop and learn as I go, so please be patient!
Sex & Violence
There are parts of my story that I didn't enjoy writing, but I wrote them anyway, because they were necessary—especially the detailed acts of violence, and the sex scenes. All of them are part of the story; and for that reason, I wrote them and will keep writing them. There are many great authors out there who sometimes write things I dislike; they glorify violence to an extreme, at times turning it into comedy. Hence the reason I write the way I do.
I don't and I won't glorify violence in my stories; I want the reader to be disgusted by it, and realize that violence exists all the time, everywhere, in real life: from wars to domestic violence. Any form of violence is to be avoided if possible; however, sometimes it's necessary to use violence in self-defense and protection of others...and not just in a novel.
The sex scenes...well, what can I say? Love scenes offer an excellent means of character development and make the story more interesting reading, I think—and frankly, you rarely see them in science fiction stories.
There's a section in Hunted that will make some people ill, and I expect it to generate even further discussion -- and disgust. On more than one occasion, I have discussed with my editor and one of Hollywood's more successful producers—both of whom have become mentors to me—whether I should remove several paragraphs and tone certain scenes down, because they are very gruesome and graphic. Both of my mentors, who know the story, insisted that I keep it just the way I had intended, and so I did. So yeah—you might not want to eat before you read the last chapter of Book 2.
There have been a few reviews comparing my first book, Nastragull: Pirates, to porn, and BDSM porn at that. Well, the Nastragull series is not porn; nor should it be compared to such, because the sex scenes are there for entertainment and character development only—not as the main thrust of the story (if you'll excuse the pun). If you're into porn, then my books will disappoint you.
One of my favorite authors is Wilbur Smith. When I was young, my parents insisted that I read as many books in English as possible, and eventually Smith became a favorite. Many of his stories have some sexual content and detailed violence/gore. To me, these scenes enhance the story, as is their intent. Nastragull is similar; when there is violence, it will be violent—to discourage such acts, not encourage them. When there is sex, there will be sex, more to encourage than discourage such a wonderful gift from Mother Nature. All this will be part of the series. Some volumes will have more than others, and it all depends on the story context, nothing else.
November 3, 2013
I feel the book is a little all over the place at times, sometimes covering events spanning weeks in a couple lines only to slow down and make detailed descriptions of pretty nasty sexual acts. The author writes well (although, this version needs some proof-reading as there are several misspellings here), but I'm not sure if this genre is for me.
March 29, 2014
This is the second book in the Nastragull series. The first was a mash-up of a ton of genres and was really dark, different and intriguing. This one kind of just went back and forth between sci-fi space battles and the erotic romance blossoming between the two main characters. It felt a bit more diluted than the first and wasn’t quite as gripping.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews