Suicided

Exodus Sequence #5

by Susannah J. Bell

Alternate cover edition for ASIN: B00F4F0X58

A dirt fighter experiences a revelation that goes beyond immortality.

In a gladiatorial-style dirt arena on Ires – common name Titan – Rape is pitched against Iron. It’s a fight to the death. But because these are immortals, death is only temporary. In a revenge attack, Rape – whose name has been cut from Rapier – undergoes a reversal of Self, a transformation that is unprecedented. Not knowing what else to do with him, he is locked in an electronic cage, in isolation, for all time. Then he is offered a deal. And this time, death won’t temporary.

Extract: He danced out of Iron’s reach. He was aching with exhaustion. Pain hammered at him but the look in his eye would have made a more intelligent man blanch. Iron seemed not to have noticed but the crowd recognised the stance, if Iron didn’t. The camera bugs moved in. Handheld screens maxed on zoom. Iron was raging. He had been pushed beyond normal endurance.

The Exodus Sequence: Each novelette in the Exodus Sequence is a standalone story. They don’t have to be read in order. They are not in any way connected like chapters in a book. They vary in style and character, time and place. However, the mystery unfolds as the sequence progresses, hence the numbering. To follow this unfolding, the sequence is best read in order.

A novelette is, by definition, longer than a short story but not as long as a novella.

42 pages, ebook

Published September 11, 2013

About the author

Susannah J. Bell is a writer of science fiction and other strange and surreal works. She was born in London but grew up in South Africa, escaping when she was twenty to be a writer. Not able to find much success in London, she dreamed of living in other parts of the world: the Scottish Highlands, New York, Mars, but never got much further than travel guides. Nowadays, she would like to live in a tower in a forest and dreams of travelling to the fantastical worlds of her imagination. Her writing has taken her from the familiar landscapes of Mars and Io and Titan, to worlds far beyond ours, even to the edge of the galaxy. She has explored other dimensions, realms, and space beyond. Within her writing, she explores different styles, voices and concepts, always returning to the theme that fascinates her the most: immortality. She has published several series such as The Fleet Quintet and The Exodus Sequence, and is working on a new series of novels, as well as a large literary work, more Exodus Sequence stories, and biographical short stories. She hopes one day to complete the fifth Fleet novel. She loves the sound of falling water, is passionate about trees, and is happiest when writing. She still lives in London.

Reviews

[Susannah Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite Exodus Sequence story. The character exploded into life unexpectedly, his minor role becoming a major one as new elements of the plot were suddenly revealed to me. It’s not often that, as an author, I get wild flashes of inspiration. Rapier was one of them. With his name cut down to Rape, his first scene fighting to the death in a gladiatorial-type dirt pit, he’s not the sort of character I would take to if I was reading it for the first time. But halfway through something happens to him that has immense consequences: he becomes truly titanic, a wonderful irony since his faction lives on the moon Ires – or Titan.
What I love about this story is that I managed to balance it perfectly: the violence in the first half and the long, clever conversations in the second half after the spiritual awakening. A great deal more is learned about these “aliens” whom we have only viewed so far through human eyes. The central plot is also revealed but not the identity of the main characters. I will say that there are four primary characters and by the end of the first collection, all four would have been met, some more than once, mostly in different incarnations. In the second collection, they will begin to interact more as the past is revealed and the future is forged.
Of the nine published short stories, CRASHED is at the exact centre and connects to all the others, though the connections may, at first, be invisible.
And, yes, I did have immense difficulty in working with a character with so emotive a name.

[Susannah Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite Exodus Sequence story. The character exploded into life unexpectedly, his minor role becoming a major one as new elements of the plot were suddenly revealed to me. It’s not often that, as an author, I get wild flashes of inspiration. Rapier was one of them. With his name cut down to Rape, his first scene fighting to the death in a gladiatorial-type dirt pit, he’s not the sort of character I would take to if I was reading it for the first time. But halfway through something happens to him that has immense consequences: he becomes truly titanic, a wonderful irony since his faction lives on the moon Ires – or Titan.
What I love about this story is that I managed to balance it perfectly: the violence in the first half and the long, clever conversations in the second half after the spiritual awakening. A great deal more is learned about these “aliens” whom we have only viewed so far through human eyes. The central plot is also revealed but not the identity of the main characters. I will say that there are four primary characters and by the end of the first collection, all four would have been met, some more than once, mostly in different incarnations. In the second collection, they will begin to interact more as the past is revealed and the future is forged.
Of the nine published short stories, CRASHED is at the exact centre and connects to all the others, though the connections may, at first, be invisible.
And, yes, I did have immense difficulty in working with a character with so emotive a name.