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Ell Donsaii #10
Wanted
“Wanted" is the tenth of a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii’s nerve mutation makes her a genius and provides astonishing athletic abilities. In “Wanted,” President Stockton continues her efforts to imprison Ell in order to protect the world from some of Ell’s dangerous new technology. While the President rightfully wants this technology to be restricted, she wants it to be controlled by the government. Ell doesn’t want even the government to have the terrible destructive potential of a technology that can cut through absolutely any material in the world! When the FBI and CIA prove to be unable to find and capture Ell, the President instructs them to imprison Ell’s friends. However, the President hasn’t considered just how many technological advantages Ell would have in any effort to spring her friends from prison.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2014
About the author
Laurence E. Dahners
63 books709 followersI was born on the island of Cyprus where my dad was employed as a mining engineer. We moved to the Philippines (more mining) when I was three and then to Arizona when I was 9. I went to med school at the University of Arizona and did a residency in Orthopaedics at the University of Kansas. I taught Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill until I retired in 2017.
I've always loved science fiction and it's been great fun getting to write some. I also like music and have a little home recording studio. You can read more, listen to some music and look at some of my art, at http://laury.dahners.com/ if you like.
If you want to contact me, or be put on my email list to be notified when new books come out, just email me at ldahners@gmail.com
Laury Dahners
I've always loved science fiction and it's been great fun getting to write some. I also like music and have a little home recording studio. You can read more, listen to some music and look at some of my art, at http://laury.dahners.com/ if you like.
If you want to contact me, or be put on my email list to be notified when new books come out, just email me at ldahners@gmail.com
Laury Dahners
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 27, 2024
An OK read.
February 5, 2014
Number ten and getting better each time
This book is a great continuation of Defiance. I got a kick out of seeing traps laid and plus thwarted. President Stockton makes a good villain and all good Snidely Whiplash villains have a hero to fixate upon. Great story Dr. Dahners!
This book is a great continuation of Defiance. I got a kick out of seeing traps laid and plus thwarted. President Stockton makes a good villain and all good Snidely Whiplash villains have a hero to fixate upon. Great story Dr. Dahners!
March 2, 2021
I haven’t come up with a better term so I will call these books “competency porn” (think Sherlock Holmes and James Bond). I LOVE competency porn so I blew through all the Ell Donsaii books in about two weeks. As a result I’m giving books 1-16 the same review. While these books largely hit my sweet spot, I recognized several imperfection but, before listing those, I want to first say I greatly enjoyed these books and so I encourage anyone who enjoys “competency porn” (I really hate that term) to give them a try.
The first problem is actually kind of a small, yet somewhat annoying: I had read the author’s Vaz series (alos recommended competency porn) immediately before this one. In fact the Ell Donsaii blurb did not make the book sound appealing to me and so I only gave them a try because I liked the Vaz series so much. Unfortunately this resulted in realizing the author re-used story lines. While this is disappointing it only slightly diminished my enjoyment and the Ell series, with its 16 books to Vaz’s 4, quickly moves beyond this issue.
The second problem is the author writes by recipe and that recipe is: Have multiple secondary story lines that remain unresolved at the end of the book to make the reader buy the next book. An example would be a main story line about terraforming Mars accompanied by a side story line about a vaccine. The Mars story will be resolved by the end of the book but the author will also have spent pages setting up a will he/won’t he for a character to secretly try the vaccine. While the author almost universally handles multiple story lines well, in the end I found this approach truly unfortunate as this author is good enough to keep readers coming back without this manipulation. In short, this author’s books would have been much better if treated as stand alones rather than installments.
Finally, from my point of view, the books are short. The three samples I took from the series were: 217, 210 and 210 pages. I view anything under 300 pages as short and prefer books 350 pages or longer. I must admit, however, that I got all of these books for $4 off Amazon so I don’t really feel shorted. Had I seen these books on a shelf in a book store I likely wouldn’t even have picked them up based on how thin they are.
Bottom line: While not perfect, these books are pretty easily worth the read for any lovers of competency porn.
The first problem is actually kind of a small, yet somewhat annoying: I had read the author’s Vaz series (alos recommended competency porn) immediately before this one. In fact the Ell Donsaii blurb did not make the book sound appealing to me and so I only gave them a try because I liked the Vaz series so much. Unfortunately this resulted in realizing the author re-used story lines. While this is disappointing it only slightly diminished my enjoyment and the Ell series, with its 16 books to Vaz’s 4, quickly moves beyond this issue.
The second problem is the author writes by recipe and that recipe is: Have multiple secondary story lines that remain unresolved at the end of the book to make the reader buy the next book. An example would be a main story line about terraforming Mars accompanied by a side story line about a vaccine. The Mars story will be resolved by the end of the book but the author will also have spent pages setting up a will he/won’t he for a character to secretly try the vaccine. While the author almost universally handles multiple story lines well, in the end I found this approach truly unfortunate as this author is good enough to keep readers coming back without this manipulation. In short, this author’s books would have been much better if treated as stand alones rather than installments.
Finally, from my point of view, the books are short. The three samples I took from the series were: 217, 210 and 210 pages. I view anything under 300 pages as short and prefer books 350 pages or longer. I must admit, however, that I got all of these books for $4 off Amazon so I don’t really feel shorted. Had I seen these books on a shelf in a book store I likely wouldn’t even have picked them up based on how thin they are.
Bottom line: While not perfect, these books are pretty easily worth the read for any lovers of competency porn.
June 3, 2020
Ports
Ports that transmit through an unknown dimension, which Dahners calls a fifth dimension, are the backbone of the Ell Donsaii saga. They are near-magical and very dangerous. Dahners raises the question: "Is technology safer and better used by private ownership or in government control?" A female President named Stockton ( Nancy Pelosi's home town), believes only government. Ell Donsaii disagrees. So, the President uses the full power of her position to ORDER the technology given to a government committee, chosen by her, Donsaii refuses and gets placed on a Federal most-wanted list when she escapes from prison. She uses her wits, money, and port technology to elude capture. In the last several books I have noticed more attention given to politics, though not openly. Fun story.
Ports that transmit through an unknown dimension, which Dahners calls a fifth dimension, are the backbone of the Ell Donsaii saga. They are near-magical and very dangerous. Dahners raises the question: "Is technology safer and better used by private ownership or in government control?" A female President named Stockton ( Nancy Pelosi's home town), believes only government. Ell Donsaii disagrees. So, the President uses the full power of her position to ORDER the technology given to a government committee, chosen by her, Donsaii refuses and gets placed on a Federal most-wanted list when she escapes from prison. She uses her wits, money, and port technology to elude capture. In the last several books I have noticed more attention given to politics, though not openly. Fun story.
January 6, 2024
Good story good character continue
I've very much enjoyed this series thus far, and the author's science (speculative and actual) is fascinating. His writing is crisp, and he's a good plotter. Unfortunately, he's really terrible at doing basic research about areas with which he's obviously completely unfamiliar, which DO NOT fall into the "speculative fiction" or suspension of disbelief portion of the story. He needs a LOT of research in American civics, history, separation of powers, jurisprudence, and the law. Also regarding the difficulty of putting disguise makeup on oneself everywhere, and ESPECIALLY the challenges of removing any such makeup that could survive any kind of physical exertion. He needs some SERIOUS work on writing accents.
I've very much enjoyed this series thus far, and the author's science (speculative and actual) is fascinating. His writing is crisp, and he's a good plotter. Unfortunately, he's really terrible at doing basic research about areas with which he's obviously completely unfamiliar, which DO NOT fall into the "speculative fiction" or suspension of disbelief portion of the story. He needs a LOT of research in American civics, history, separation of powers, jurisprudence, and the law. Also regarding the difficulty of putting disguise makeup on oneself everywhere, and ESPECIALLY the challenges of removing any such makeup that could survive any kind of physical exertion. He needs some SERIOUS work on writing accents.
September 17, 2026
Elephant of a problem
Throughout the book, Ell is hounded by the POTUS for a law passed by Congress. Yet at the same time it is repeatedly mentioned that people both in the US and worldwide love Ell personally. It seems almost inconceivable then, that these same people would not have applied extreme pressure on their Congress critters to chastise the POTUS, rescind their ill-conceived law, and even impeach the POTUS. Unlike the real political quagmire we’ve had in the US these past 10 years, there is NO indication that the book’s POTUS enjoys even remotely similar levels of fanatical devotion from her base, so it is perplexing she should continue to remain unimpeded by her own government for so long. Hence 3 stars. Otherwise an enjoyable read.
Throughout the book, Ell is hounded by the POTUS for a law passed by Congress. Yet at the same time it is repeatedly mentioned that people both in the US and worldwide love Ell personally. It seems almost inconceivable then, that these same people would not have applied extreme pressure on their Congress critters to chastise the POTUS, rescind their ill-conceived law, and even impeach the POTUS. Unlike the real political quagmire we’ve had in the US these past 10 years, there is NO indication that the book’s POTUS enjoys even remotely similar levels of fanatical devotion from her base, so it is perplexing she should continue to remain unimpeded by her own government for so long. Hence 3 stars. Otherwise an enjoyable read.
January 11, 2024
Series enjoyment
Hello everyone. I ma not sure if applies only to me but sometimes when you read a series. You may want to take a break and read something else just to break the way that all the stories seem to blend together. NOT, with this series. Each one presents a new set of challenges and definitely reading enjoyment making you yearn for the next book in the series. I am really excited I found this series and I am definitely looking forward to starting the next book in the series. My apologies to all the other books waiting patiently for me to find them again. D
Hello everyone. I ma not sure if applies only to me but sometimes when you read a series. You may want to take a break and read something else just to break the way that all the stories seem to blend together. NOT, with this series. Each one presents a new set of challenges and definitely reading enjoyment making you yearn for the next book in the series. I am really excited I found this series and I am definitely looking forward to starting the next book in the series. My apologies to all the other books waiting patiently for me to find them again. D
June 12, 2026
first woman president as nutcase?
I’ve greatly enjoyed this series, and I realize this was written before Trump’s first term in office, but the parallels between democratic President Stratton and republican President Trump are quite disturbing, as both eschew persons of honor or integrity in their inner circles and seem to think their executive orders “trump” the Constitution and rule of law. It should prove interesting to see how this plays out in future books in this series, which has been fascinating to date.
I’ve greatly enjoyed this series, and I realize this was written before Trump’s first term in office, but the parallels between democratic President Stratton and republican President Trump are quite disturbing, as both eschew persons of honor or integrity in their inner circles and seem to think their executive orders “trump” the Constitution and rule of law. It should prove interesting to see how this plays out in future books in this series, which has been fascinating to date.
January 19, 2021
Excellent,again!
Good story, I like how it shows how government can be your worst enemy because of one person. The way it was supposed to be, government was to be small and just run things that a private company couldn't do well. What we have is a very large organization that cannot do anything well. From the Post Office to Social Security to any of the T.L.A.s ( three letter acronyms), none of them work very well.
Good story, I like how it shows how government can be your worst enemy because of one person. The way it was supposed to be, government was to be small and just run things that a private company couldn't do well. What we have is a very large organization that cannot do anything well. From the Post Office to Social Security to any of the T.L.A.s ( three letter acronyms), none of them work very well.
December 22, 2017
Another good, interesting read. I am always surprised by the level of information shared in the book, especially references to earlier technology/geek days, that felt like the book was speaking directly to me. I always feel like the book ends sooner than I want, but considering it spans so many volumes, I suppose can be more contained to a specific idea. Enjoyable!
February 26, 2021
Another great story
Having read every book in the series, I just love how the story continues. Not sure how well this would stand on its own. If you’re just starting here you should go back to number one to get the full story line.
Love the author’s characters, they are not the average heroes.
Having read every book in the series, I just love how the story continues. Not sure how well this would stand on its own. If you’re just starting here you should go back to number one to get the full story line.
Love the author’s characters, they are not the average heroes.
March 27, 2024
Fun to read, also intriguing and exciting!!!!!
Congratulations to Lawrence Dahners for this amazing series. It’s hard to find such an interesting and exciting author who not only writes intelligently but also provides top rated plots, characters and excitement in the stories. I’m really looking forward to the next book.
Congratulations to Lawrence Dahners for this amazing series. It’s hard to find such an interesting and exciting author who not only writes intelligently but also provides top rated plots, characters and excitement in the stories. I’m really looking forward to the next book.
August 28, 2017
It is hard to put this book down once you open it up and start reading. If a book doesn't get my attention in the first chapter, I don't finish it. These books start right off with, on the edge of your seat.
April 27, 2018
Great
If I had read this prior to 2016 I would have thought the chief executive was over the top. But then..... Well you know. Suddenly the craziness was not so unimaginable. But by the end, too over the top. Even so, Laurence Dahners never disappoints. A delightful read.
If I had read this prior to 2016 I would have thought the chief executive was over the top. But then..... Well you know. Suddenly the craziness was not so unimaginable. But by the end, too over the top. Even so, Laurence Dahners never disappoints. A delightful read.
February 21, 2022
Great
Another excellent and highly entertaining addition to the series, and a very fun read overall. Once more, if you enjoyed the previous books, you will undoubtedly enjoy this one.
Another excellent and highly entertaining addition to the series, and a very fun read overall. Once more, if you enjoyed the previous books, you will undoubtedly enjoy this one.
February 18, 2026
Now rings loudly of "Starship Troopers"
Many don't know that book was intended as theoretical satire based on Roman requirements for citizenship. Now this book takes direct aim at negative consequences for science under a tyrannical despot. Hooray!
Many don't know that book was intended as theoretical satire based on Roman requirements for citizenship. Now this book takes direct aim at negative consequences for science under a tyrannical despot. Hooray!
February 1, 2018
Nice!
Once again an excellent read. Author has made a heroine that is very human and endearing, we all love Ell!
Once again an excellent read. Author has made a heroine that is very human and endearing, we all love Ell!
May 15, 2019
Book 10 - Consistent, fun read.
Nothing to add to what others are saying. But, determined to leave an Amazon review to count towards those author perks.
Nothing to add to what others are saying. But, determined to leave an Amazon review to count towards those author perks.
Read
May 7, 2020Good read
If you like science fiction and action books, you'll like this book. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
If you like science fiction and action books, you'll like this book. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
January 9, 2021
Great :) I'd like to read more of the series straight away, though sadly, the audiobooks are just coming out now, one by one. I'm looking forward to the next on though :)
June 16, 2024
Read Kindle book using Alexa audio asset. Borrowed this edition on June 16, 2024. | Manage Kindle Unlimited Books
July 1, 2025
On the lamb.
December 8, 2025
The worst one I have read so far. The disguise thing is worn out. I was also going to say the behavior of the US president was unrealistic, but then again...
February 7, 2026
Another nice read
Very good book.l enjoyed it as it was quite entertaining and both in the series dovetailed well. Kudos to the author.
Very good book.l enjoyed it as it was quite entertaining and both in the series dovetailed well. Kudos to the author.
February 17, 2017
This serie is an interesting project. It starts with a question "what would happen if ..." and the books try to answer it.
It is a light, quick and easily readable set of books. Well written and enjoyable.
It is a light, quick and easily readable set of books. Well written and enjoyable.
February 8, 2014
this is so much better than book #9. I can't wait to read the next book....
September 23, 2022
RECOMMENDED
July 30, 2016
I didn't enjoy the three books where the government persecutes her as much as the others.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews