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Tales of Telenia #1
Threshold
When a spatial rift causes Amanda Shelton’s space shuttle to crash land on an unknown planet, she awakens to find herself locked in a cell with a tutor charged with teaching her an alien language. Crown Prince Paxdon is determined to scavenge not only her ship, but any technology he can squeeze from her brain to vanquish his enemies in a neighboring province. But just who is Amanda’s real adversary; the warriors in the north or the people of Telenia?
First published July 12, 2012
3 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Lorraine Bartlett
65 books640 followersThe immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorraine Bartlett’s pen name Lorna Barrett on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent -- whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett -- that keeps her in her readers' hearts. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square Mystery series, and now the Tales of Telenia fantasy saga, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s). Check out the descriptions and links to all her works, and sign up for her emailed newsletter here: http://www.lorrainebartlett.com
She lives in Rochester, NY, with her husband and two cats.
She lives in Rochester, NY, with her husband and two cats.
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July 21, 2012It's a fun story!
August 25, 2012
I had no idea what I was reading when a friend recommended this novel to me. Talk about panning for gold nuggets, well, I found one. A true Science fiction story. This novel is filled with adventure, a romance, story telling, and a dilly of a cliff hanger ending. This is a short story that I hope has a long life.
Telenia is a planet that is not so very different than ours, just slightly modified. The biggest difference is the lack of technology in almost every area. Unless you are in the Royal Court, food is basic fruit and grain. The grain is orange, but I warned you it had slight modifications. A melon tastes like a pineapple, you get the idea. Vehicles are back to the horse/donkey and cart stage, yet there are 'signs' that they have a glancing knowledge of motorized vehicles. Medicine is way backwards. You get the idea.
The story opens with a Mother telling her son a bedtime story. You quickly realize the heroine is the Mother, herself.
Medical technician, Amanda Shelton is on one of her final medical evacuations from Mars to Earth when a ripple in the space fabric hurls the spaceship down. Later, injured, Amanda finds herself in a cell being tended to. The people speak differently and well, it is better that you learn for yourself.
This book started so gently then morphs into an adventure on a different planet. The pace picks up and you find yourself clicking (ebook) through at an astounding pace. Then, to my surprise, I found myself so into Amanda's struggle that I had tears upon my face.
The cliff hanging ending that assures me the story will continue in 2013, was the only disappointment. Ebooks haven't a pre-order process and so I have to manage to keep the Author's name and title of this first tale somewhere safe to buy next year. Do not let this stop you from reading this first tale. It is truly a golden nugget.
Telenia is a planet that is not so very different than ours, just slightly modified. The biggest difference is the lack of technology in almost every area. Unless you are in the Royal Court, food is basic fruit and grain. The grain is orange, but I warned you it had slight modifications. A melon tastes like a pineapple, you get the idea. Vehicles are back to the horse/donkey and cart stage, yet there are 'signs' that they have a glancing knowledge of motorized vehicles. Medicine is way backwards. You get the idea.
The story opens with a Mother telling her son a bedtime story. You quickly realize the heroine is the Mother, herself.
Medical technician, Amanda Shelton is on one of her final medical evacuations from Mars to Earth when a ripple in the space fabric hurls the spaceship down. Later, injured, Amanda finds herself in a cell being tended to. The people speak differently and well, it is better that you learn for yourself.
This book started so gently then morphs into an adventure on a different planet. The pace picks up and you find yourself clicking (ebook) through at an astounding pace. Then, to my surprise, I found myself so into Amanda's struggle that I had tears upon my face.
The cliff hanging ending that assures me the story will continue in 2013, was the only disappointment. Ebooks haven't a pre-order process and so I have to manage to keep the Author's name and title of this first tale somewhere safe to buy next year. Do not let this stop you from reading this first tale. It is truly a golden nugget.
August 24, 2012
Wonderful new sci-fi series that has complex believable characters. This book is well-written and very engaging. Lee Barnett is a talented writer who has aloft of making characters and places come alive on the page! I'm looking forward to the second book to this new series!
August 29, 2013
I like it ... I wrote it!
September 8, 2017
Amanda Shelton was part of a space crew on an interplanetary shuttle when their ship encounters a spatial rift and crash lands on an unknown planet. The only survivor, she finds herself a captive of Prince Paxton and soon discovers he is interested in her technological knowledge to aid him in his country's current war effort. Forced to learn their language, Amanda quickly realizes that this society has no respect for women and can only dream of returning home. The story opens and closes six years into the future with a small boy begging Amanda, his mother, to tell him the story, a style reminiscent of The Princess Bride. As a fan of this author's cozy mystery series, I was hesitant to try this fantasy/sci fi tale, but I absolutely loved the story of this modern woman coping in a strange universe...a universe filled with poverty, strange food and animals, different customs and male chauvinists. I already downloaded the next book in this series and can't wait to learn more about Amanda and her adventures in Telenia.
October 3, 2016
I was immediately entranced by this tale of Amanda. She survived a spatial rift, where the rest of her crew are dead, and wakes up in a dungeon in another galaxy or dimension. She is forced to learn the alien language. She soon stands before the crowned Prince of Telenia and she is not too happy about their customs. Women's rights movement has never been conceived on this somewhat backwards kingdom.
Amanda becomes friends with the chief of the guard, Brannan, and a witch, Wren. She uses her skills to help the crown Prince protect his troops. She has knowledge the prince wishes to acquire from her, but he is infuriated by her rebellious streak.
I found myself craving the next book in the series and was upset when the story ended. I had to go buy the second book even knowing the third book won't be available until November. This book was a nice change from the cozies I usually enjoy.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Amanda becomes friends with the chief of the guard, Brannan, and a witch, Wren. She uses her skills to help the crown Prince protect his troops. She has knowledge the prince wishes to acquire from her, but he is infuriated by her rebellious streak.
I found myself craving the next book in the series and was upset when the story ended. I had to go buy the second book even knowing the third book won't be available until November. This book was a nice change from the cozies I usually enjoy.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 1, 2016
“I received a free copy of this audio book and have voluntarily chose to review it.”
"Stranded" is Delightful...I Don't Want to Go Home!
As med tech on Minot IV, a shuttle craft making runs between the Moon and Mars, Amanda Shelton is counting the months until she can leave this behind and return to her home in Minnesota. But as fate would have it, her plans are greatly altered. A space anomaly causes the ship to veer off course and crash land on a mysterious planet. Injured and kept like a prisoner, Amanda learns that in the province of Telenia women are not held in high regard or in high position. Her difficulty resigning herself to this situation causes serious conflicts with Paxdon, the crown prince. She does make friends with Brennan, Captain of the Guard, who finds her intelligent and useful as the need to improve their army is imperative with an impending battle looming. She also is befriended by a witch, Wren, whose own discrimination makes her and Amanda sisters-in-arms. But despite her unique ideas and efforts to cooperate, she makes an attempt to run away with nearly fatal results, and learning the truth about her crew, she decides she can’t stand it any longer. However, how and where will she go?
The story begins six years in the future on the anniversary of her crash landing, so you are immediately aware that Amanda has survived and has become uniquely tied to Telenia. “Tales of Telenia: Stranded,” originally titled “Threshold,” is a flashback of her struggles to survive and ensuing conflicts. The narrator, Steven Barnett, was a surprising delight as he performed the female voices well, and after a bit, I was hooked. The story was engaging, and although it tales place on another planet, it didn’t seem like a true science fiction. There were recognizable characters and true-to-life storyline. The end leaves several issues unresolved…I wasn’t expecting that. So Book 2 “Tales of Telenia: Journey” is a ‘must get my hands on’ deal. This audio version does provide a short teaser about book 2 which may address some of the loose ends, but it puts Amanda in the middle of what might be described as a cultural revolution.
"Stranded" is Delightful...I Don't Want to Go Home!
As med tech on Minot IV, a shuttle craft making runs between the Moon and Mars, Amanda Shelton is counting the months until she can leave this behind and return to her home in Minnesota. But as fate would have it, her plans are greatly altered. A space anomaly causes the ship to veer off course and crash land on a mysterious planet. Injured and kept like a prisoner, Amanda learns that in the province of Telenia women are not held in high regard or in high position. Her difficulty resigning herself to this situation causes serious conflicts with Paxdon, the crown prince. She does make friends with Brennan, Captain of the Guard, who finds her intelligent and useful as the need to improve their army is imperative with an impending battle looming. She also is befriended by a witch, Wren, whose own discrimination makes her and Amanda sisters-in-arms. But despite her unique ideas and efforts to cooperate, she makes an attempt to run away with nearly fatal results, and learning the truth about her crew, she decides she can’t stand it any longer. However, how and where will she go?
The story begins six years in the future on the anniversary of her crash landing, so you are immediately aware that Amanda has survived and has become uniquely tied to Telenia. “Tales of Telenia: Stranded,” originally titled “Threshold,” is a flashback of her struggles to survive and ensuing conflicts. The narrator, Steven Barnett, was a surprising delight as he performed the female voices well, and after a bit, I was hooked. The story was engaging, and although it tales place on another planet, it didn’t seem like a true science fiction. There were recognizable characters and true-to-life storyline. The end leaves several issues unresolved…I wasn’t expecting that. So Book 2 “Tales of Telenia: Journey” is a ‘must get my hands on’ deal. This audio version does provide a short teaser about book 2 which may address some of the loose ends, but it puts Amanda in the middle of what might be described as a cultural revolution.
July 31, 2015
This was an interesting tale of how Amanda crashes on some appalling planet alone – no shipmates able to survive the ordeal, leaving Amanda helpless to the whims of Prince Paxton. Coming from a time and place where Amanda’s skills and intelligence were recognised for what they are, she’s now in a place where women have no say. She eventually has to come to terms with the fact that Prince Paxton is her best chance of getting some kind of freedom, though with this comes the fact she is only of interest to him for her body and for breeding purposes – not for her intelligence.
This book is soft science fiction, with much more of a fantasy edge, especially during the parts where Amanda is marooned on the planet. Though she came there on a space ship she’s then trapped on a planet where they have zero technology, eat very basic natural foods (though no meat!), and have limited medical abilities.
Told in two parts this book opens with Amanda talking to her young son, entrancing him with The Story – one that he sees as a bedtime story, but is actually the story of how she came to be on that planet.
You really get the depth of how unfair this is for Amanda, who was a medical technician and was far more used to women having rights – this also brings to light just how close we are from a time when this insulting view of women was common place.
This is the first piece of work from Lorraine Bartlett that I’ve come across, as well as that of the narrator, for I listened to the audio version.
Thank you to Steven (narrator) for my review copy.
This book is soft science fiction, with much more of a fantasy edge, especially during the parts where Amanda is marooned on the planet. Though she came there on a space ship she’s then trapped on a planet where they have zero technology, eat very basic natural foods (though no meat!), and have limited medical abilities.
Told in two parts this book opens with Amanda talking to her young son, entrancing him with The Story – one that he sees as a bedtime story, but is actually the story of how she came to be on that planet.
You really get the depth of how unfair this is for Amanda, who was a medical technician and was far more used to women having rights – this also brings to light just how close we are from a time when this insulting view of women was common place.
This is the first piece of work from Lorraine Bartlett that I’ve come across, as well as that of the narrator, for I listened to the audio version.
Thank you to Steven (narrator) for my review copy.
October 18, 2016
Amanda Shelton is smart, strong and intelligent. She is an emergency medical technician on Minot 4, a space shuttle.
When her shuttle is pulled through a spatial anomaly and crashes, all three of her comrades died, along with the patient they were transporting. Amanda survives, but is severely injured. She awakes in a dungeon with a bandage on her head and cast on her broken arm. Her attempts to talk to her captors are useless. Although Amanda speaks several languages, the language of her captors is unfamiliar.
Luckily for her, the woman at her bedside, Madam Dutten, tried to communicate with her and brought books like the ones used to teach a child to read. Through these efforts, Amanda learned to speak with the people of this new land.
When Amanda is finally allowed outside the confines of the dungeons, she sees a world very different from the one she left. Even the food is different. She wonders if her captors ever eat protein. The bread is course and oddly colored and the fruits and vegetables are strange looking, oddly flavored, and most often served raw!
Will Amanda ever get out of this place? Will she understand what caused the spatial anomaly that pulled her ship in? Will this world, dominated by men, ever believe that women are intelligent and capable of more than preparing food and caring for children?
After reading this book, I wanted to recommend it to others through this review. This is a wonderful story plot with lots of twists, turns, interesting and unexpected characters and events. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
When her shuttle is pulled through a spatial anomaly and crashes, all three of her comrades died, along with the patient they were transporting. Amanda survives, but is severely injured. She awakes in a dungeon with a bandage on her head and cast on her broken arm. Her attempts to talk to her captors are useless. Although Amanda speaks several languages, the language of her captors is unfamiliar.
Luckily for her, the woman at her bedside, Madam Dutten, tried to communicate with her and brought books like the ones used to teach a child to read. Through these efforts, Amanda learned to speak with the people of this new land.
When Amanda is finally allowed outside the confines of the dungeons, she sees a world very different from the one she left. Even the food is different. She wonders if her captors ever eat protein. The bread is course and oddly colored and the fruits and vegetables are strange looking, oddly flavored, and most often served raw!
Will Amanda ever get out of this place? Will she understand what caused the spatial anomaly that pulled her ship in? Will this world, dominated by men, ever believe that women are intelligent and capable of more than preparing food and caring for children?
After reading this book, I wanted to recommend it to others through this review. This is a wonderful story plot with lots of twists, turns, interesting and unexpected characters and events. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
September 28, 2016
A wonderful adventure that starts in our solar system and takes you thru a spatial rift to the beautiful but different world of Telenia where modern and outdated technology exist together. After her space craft crashes close to the Summer Palace of Prince Paxdon, Amanda awakens in a dungeon with a broken arm. The Prince is desperate to obtain technological help from Amanda, that will help him defeat an attempted hostile takeover. While being tutored in the language, Amanda comes to realize that women are less than second rate in this new world and that most men are boors or worse. Standing up for herself once too often leads to Amanda being banished from the palace by Prince Paxdon. The book ends with this cliff hanger as Amanda sets out to improve the life of women and explore more of this new world. I really enjoyed the start of this series & plan to read the next book. Tales of Telenia: Stranded is the new title of what was originally Threshold (Tales of Telenia, #1). This was an enjoyable SYFY adventure with well developed and interesting characters and a fascinating story.
I received this book from the author. This is my honest opinion and fair review.
I received this book from the author. This is my honest opinion and fair review.
May 5, 2016
Amanda Shelton was part of a space crew on an interplanetary shuttle when their ship encounters a spatial rift and crash lands on an unknown planet. The only survivor, she finds herself a captive of Prince Paxton and soon discovers he is interested in her technological knowledge to aid him in his country's current war effort. Forced to learn their language, Amanda quickly realizes that this society has no respect for women and can only dream of returning home. The story opens and closes six years into the future with a small boy begging Amanda, his mother, to tell him the story, a style reminiscent of The Princess Bride. As a fan of this author's cozy mystery series, I was hesitant to try this fantasy/sci fi tale, but I absolutely loved the story of this modern woman coping in a strange universe...a universe filled with poverty, strange food and animals, different customs and male chauvinists. I already downloaded the next book in this series and can't wait to learn more about Amanda and her adventures in Telenia.
January 9, 2015
What a great book! I heard someone describe it as fantasy light. That fits but it made me think more about what would i do if I was in that situation. Now, i know our space program isn't there yet, but, though I don't believe it will happen in my lifetime, I don't think we are that far off. Sho what a would you do? You crash on a planet you have never even seen on your star charts before. The Prince soon to be king wants your knowledge of the technology on your ship, everyone you run away you are thwarted or caught. Now the Prince wants to be joined with you. Now he wants you to be his breeder. What would you do?A great fast read. This book is good for anyone. I can't wait to find out what happens next!
January 17, 2015
Unbelieveable
I am usually not a science fiction reader but this one was different. The characters are human and likable. Amanda is a strong willed woman, who ends up on a far away world and has to learn the language and deal with a chauvinistic ruler, Paxson who has the idea that women are beneath him. Not until Amanda shows him the extent of her knowledge, does he vein, and I do mean begin to look at her in a different light. The story line runs smoothly and the other two major characters, Brannan and Wren are two people whom I would love to have in my life. I can't wait to read the next one. I am on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what is about to happen. Five stars and if I could give more I would. This is a definite must read for everyone. Enjoy!
I am usually not a science fiction reader but this one was different. The characters are human and likable. Amanda is a strong willed woman, who ends up on a far away world and has to learn the language and deal with a chauvinistic ruler, Paxson who has the idea that women are beneath him. Not until Amanda shows him the extent of her knowledge, does he vein, and I do mean begin to look at her in a different light. The story line runs smoothly and the other two major characters, Brannan and Wren are two people whom I would love to have in my life. I can't wait to read the next one. I am on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what is about to happen. Five stars and if I could give more I would. This is a definite must read for everyone. Enjoy!
May 11, 2016
I'm not a science fiction fan. I thought it just wasn't my style. But then I read this book. Was captivated. Something about this book touched the inner part of me. It's beautifully written. The main character Amanda Shelton's spacecraft crashed on a strange planet. Her crew members died, and she is left feeling very alone. She responds by rebelling against a somewhat backwards culture, and trying to decide whether to trust those around her. I like that Amanda is a strong person. She's not one of those weak, wimpy characters. All I could think was what would I do in her position, and I couldn't help but admire her.
Even if you don't consider yourself a science fiction fan, you should consider trying this book. You may be pleasantly surprised like I was.
Even if you don't consider yourself a science fiction fan, you should consider trying this book. You may be pleasantly surprised like I was.
January 14, 2015
First in a new to me series by Lorraine Bartlett, of light sci-fi. Amanda finds herself on another planet while traveling through space with her cohorts - who all are dead. She has to deal with a civilization where women are considered second class citizens, foods are different colors than she is used to. Amanda exerts her earthly womanhood and pays for it by being thrown in the dungeon. We know Amanda has a son, but we don't really find out the details in the first book. When I finished this book, I couldn't wait to start reading the next book in the series.
September 25, 2016
What an adventure! Amanda Shelton has crashed landed on Telania and is held captives by Prince Paxon who needs her knowledge of Earth's technology to advance his providence, especially in warfare. Amanda has a problem with the male superiority on Telania and rebels. The prince does give her more freedom and in doing that she discovers the secret he and Brannan someone she has become friends with have tried to keep from her. I can't wait to read Journey.
I received a copy for a fair and honest review. I loved the book.
I received a copy for a fair and honest review. I loved the book.
January 7, 2015
If you like fantasy give this book a try! Amanda's ship crashes on a different planet. The sky is green, the vegetation is orange, but Amanda is still living and breathing. She is an American Medical Tech that has to come to terms with living on a whole new world . Would you be up for the challenge?! I loved this book and could not put it down. Can not wait to read the next one in the series!!
October 10, 2016
I love this author's cozy mysteries and wanted to try her light sci-fi novel. I was not disappointed. Well written and I liked the rebellious nature of the main character. She finds herself crash landing on a chauvinistic universe, her crew members dead. She has to learn their language, eat strange food. I loved the cliffhanger at the end and look forward to reading the next one.
October 9, 2016
Just not my cup of tea, and a cliffhanger. Sorry, Lorraine. Others may enjoy it a great deal more.
November 29, 2016
interesting
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