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Dark Sanity
Set in the fifty-fourth century, the story focuses on Flint Cross, a gunslinger ripped from his roots in the Wild West and placed into the desolation of post-apocalyptic Australia. Plagued with amnesia and nightmares, he finds himself lost and on the brink of madness, doomed to forever wander an empty realm of war-torn souls.
But with the very fate of the universe in Flint's hands, the ancient forces of the aboriginal dreamtime are his only hope. Through seemingly endless experimentation, he must learn to recover his lost memories, raise an army, and construct a steam-powered, interstellar starship to locate and take down his enemy--all while working against the clock and resisting the slowly creeping insanity that threatens to keep him lost forever.
But with the very fate of the universe in Flint's hands, the ancient forces of the aboriginal dreamtime are his only hope. Through seemingly endless experimentation, he must learn to recover his lost memories, raise an army, and construct a steam-powered, interstellar starship to locate and take down his enemy--all while working against the clock and resisting the slowly creeping insanity that threatens to keep him lost forever.
- GenresFantasy
285 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2014
4 people want to read
About the author
Paul L. Centeno
12 books152 followersPaul L. Centeno is a Puerto Rican author from the Bronx. He is an award-winning author and finalist for the 2022 Killer Nashville Claymore Award. Born and raised in New York City, he studied at Herbert H. Lehman College where he earned a BA in Philosophy and Creative Writing. After graduation, he worked with Gabriel Packard, Associate Director of the Creative Writing MFA Program at Hunter College, to improve his craft.
His fantasy novel, The Vagrant Chronicle, was critically acclaimed in Writer’s Digest Annual Indie Book Awards. Kirkus Reviews stated, “Centeno yearns to create something completely new, and if we immerse ourselves in his cosmos, we will be richly rewarded.” He recently won awards from Writers of the Future for his short stories, Steamwalker and Celestial Heights. In 2024 his latest novel Tabula Rasa was awarded first place for best Fantasy by BIBA.
Centeno lives in Florida and is currently working on his 11th novel.
His fantasy novel, The Vagrant Chronicle, was critically acclaimed in Writer’s Digest Annual Indie Book Awards. Kirkus Reviews stated, “Centeno yearns to create something completely new, and if we immerse ourselves in his cosmos, we will be richly rewarded.” He recently won awards from Writers of the Future for his short stories, Steamwalker and Celestial Heights. In 2024 his latest novel Tabula Rasa was awarded first place for best Fantasy by BIBA.
Centeno lives in Florida and is currently working on his 11th novel.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 2, 2016
This action packed sci fi adventure is very entertaining. My rating 4.5.
Flint Cross is a gunslinger protecting the town and people of Desones in Australia. He loves his daughter and son who are on the verge of adulthood yet can’t cope being around his wife, Amanda, who constantly complains about his roaming the wilds. Flint doesn’t understand his compunction to take care of the people but it’s what he does in between dreams and nightmares. Flint is troubled by dreams of a beautiful woman and a war-torn past; a past he cannot remember.
Flint, who has super human skills that he can’t explain, is asked to hunt down an outlaw who is supposedly killing aborigines. When he tracks down the man and his gang, the man tells Flint he is living an illusion and eating a food that causes his forgetfulness. Before the man can say more Flint’s best friend shoots him. Flint begins to think the outlaw was telling the truth as he remembers more and realizes that he has been placed in a huge deception. Flint suffers losses while confronting enemies. Then he sets off to find his dream woman and defeat the Tribunal who threaten mankind and have manipulated his life.
Flint struggles through the wilderness but at the last minute is attacked and captured by mechanical beings. He learns that these are frail men who live in tunnels and shield themselves within armored suits. Their ‘king’ threatens Flint and then relents, allowing him to live and work among his people. Flint is content for a time but then the dreams return and Flint knows he must go on with his search for the Tribunal. The king is willing to help but only after Flint helps the community to defeat the mechanical ‘spider’ creatures who are their underground enemy.
Flint and the armored guardians become friends as they build a fantastic steam ship to head out to the stars and a promised land of paradise. They also develop weapons to face the acidic spiders. A battle ensues and Flint and the frail humans must make a desperate escape. He arrives in a far off galaxy where his name is already a legend as the rebels seek a way to confront the Tribunal. Once again Flint will face betrayal and battle while his mind struggles to distinguish between dreams and reality.
There is plenty of action in this story as it progresses through nations, planets and galaxies! Flint’s character is a man whose highest goal is to protect mankind even if he must lead a rebellion to win man's freedom from men who would be gods. He often finds himself in situations of despair and has to find a trigger or impetus to move forward. Flint surrounds himself with interesting friends, including a Shaman and an armored guardian. Each of these add another ‘dimension’ to the story which offers a good blend of human drama and action focusing on a struggle for freedom, individually and as a species. I thought there were a few discrepancies in the 'mechanics' (or I missed how they refueled after running out of fuel and crashing). That didn't really bother my enjoyment though.
I enjoyed the author’s creativity and blend of apocalyptic and steampunk elements. The story is very entertaining and I recommend it to readers who like action and would enjoy the struggle for freedom in a science fiction setting.
Audio Notes: Martin Wurst puts a lot of energy in the narration. I really liked the Australian accents as well as the variety of other character voices. The presentation is clear throughout, even as Wurst presents Flint’s despair and madness. The narration enhanced my enjoyment of the story.
I received the Audible book from the narrator for an honest review.
Flint Cross is a gunslinger protecting the town and people of Desones in Australia. He loves his daughter and son who are on the verge of adulthood yet can’t cope being around his wife, Amanda, who constantly complains about his roaming the wilds. Flint doesn’t understand his compunction to take care of the people but it’s what he does in between dreams and nightmares. Flint is troubled by dreams of a beautiful woman and a war-torn past; a past he cannot remember.
Flint, who has super human skills that he can’t explain, is asked to hunt down an outlaw who is supposedly killing aborigines. When he tracks down the man and his gang, the man tells Flint he is living an illusion and eating a food that causes his forgetfulness. Before the man can say more Flint’s best friend shoots him. Flint begins to think the outlaw was telling the truth as he remembers more and realizes that he has been placed in a huge deception. Flint suffers losses while confronting enemies. Then he sets off to find his dream woman and defeat the Tribunal who threaten mankind and have manipulated his life.
Flint struggles through the wilderness but at the last minute is attacked and captured by mechanical beings. He learns that these are frail men who live in tunnels and shield themselves within armored suits. Their ‘king’ threatens Flint and then relents, allowing him to live and work among his people. Flint is content for a time but then the dreams return and Flint knows he must go on with his search for the Tribunal. The king is willing to help but only after Flint helps the community to defeat the mechanical ‘spider’ creatures who are their underground enemy.
Flint and the armored guardians become friends as they build a fantastic steam ship to head out to the stars and a promised land of paradise. They also develop weapons to face the acidic spiders. A battle ensues and Flint and the frail humans must make a desperate escape. He arrives in a far off galaxy where his name is already a legend as the rebels seek a way to confront the Tribunal. Once again Flint will face betrayal and battle while his mind struggles to distinguish between dreams and reality.
There is plenty of action in this story as it progresses through nations, planets and galaxies! Flint’s character is a man whose highest goal is to protect mankind even if he must lead a rebellion to win man's freedom from men who would be gods. He often finds himself in situations of despair and has to find a trigger or impetus to move forward. Flint surrounds himself with interesting friends, including a Shaman and an armored guardian. Each of these add another ‘dimension’ to the story which offers a good blend of human drama and action focusing on a struggle for freedom, individually and as a species. I thought there were a few discrepancies in the 'mechanics' (or I missed how they refueled after running out of fuel and crashing). That didn't really bother my enjoyment though.
I enjoyed the author’s creativity and blend of apocalyptic and steampunk elements. The story is very entertaining and I recommend it to readers who like action and would enjoy the struggle for freedom in a science fiction setting.
Audio Notes: Martin Wurst puts a lot of energy in the narration. I really liked the Australian accents as well as the variety of other character voices. The presentation is clear throughout, even as Wurst presents Flint’s despair and madness. The narration enhanced my enjoyment of the story.
I received the Audible book from the narrator for an honest review.
July 29, 2016
I was offered a copy of this book in audio format by the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
Flint Cross is a gunslinger living in post apocalyptic Australia. The world is desolated due to sun flares which killed most of the population. People needed to adapt to the heat or die. Flint is disturbed many night by dreams that result to be pieces from a past life. He will have to seek the aboriginal tribes for help in finding out the truth behind those dreams.
Despite the initial premises, this is not only a book with western reminiscences set in a post apocalyptic Australia. We are in the 54th century and there are other worlds and technologies that Flint will have to rediscover, along with his true identity, his lover and his mission.
I found the beginning of the book quite enjoyable and it really picked my curiosity. The set and characters were interesting, and the mystery behind Flint's dreams made me want to know more. The characters were well portrayed, and we get enough information to make a well built story. But when Flint realizes that his dreams could mean that he had a different life and acts upon it, the rhythm and atmosphere suddenly changes. If I felt that the beginning was slowly cooked, the middle and especially the end of the book were rushed. We did not have enough time to know Flint's friends and find out why he needed to complete his mission. Also, the information from the middle to the end was given in a very artificial way, through monologues from secondary characters. The ship building felt rushed, without any detail about the design or construction. I think it would have been interesting seeing how Flint starts remembering about technology. This is one of the aspects which makes this book non science-fiction but mere fantasy.
We get glimpses of the dimensional synthesis but we do not get the complete explanation why this will mean the cosmos destruction. I think there was a lack of fundament here.
I had troubles with the names Amanda and Amara, and got confused at times whether Flint was referring to one or the other. In hindsight I think this similarity was intended, but for me it did not add any value and made things confusing.
The narration was very well done, except for a couple of audio inserts that were a bit evident. The diction was clear and the voices well differentiated. I was bothered about the voice of a couple of characters, but in general I enjoyed the narration, especially how the Australian accents were done.
I enjoyed this book, even though I think this would have benefited from a longer a deeper exposure, even fragmenting the story into several books.
Flint Cross is a gunslinger living in post apocalyptic Australia. The world is desolated due to sun flares which killed most of the population. People needed to adapt to the heat or die. Flint is disturbed many night by dreams that result to be pieces from a past life. He will have to seek the aboriginal tribes for help in finding out the truth behind those dreams.
Despite the initial premises, this is not only a book with western reminiscences set in a post apocalyptic Australia. We are in the 54th century and there are other worlds and technologies that Flint will have to rediscover, along with his true identity, his lover and his mission.
I found the beginning of the book quite enjoyable and it really picked my curiosity. The set and characters were interesting, and the mystery behind Flint's dreams made me want to know more. The characters were well portrayed, and we get enough information to make a well built story. But when Flint realizes that his dreams could mean that he had a different life and acts upon it, the rhythm and atmosphere suddenly changes. If I felt that the beginning was slowly cooked, the middle and especially the end of the book were rushed. We did not have enough time to know Flint's friends and find out why he needed to complete his mission. Also, the information from the middle to the end was given in a very artificial way, through monologues from secondary characters. The ship building felt rushed, without any detail about the design or construction. I think it would have been interesting seeing how Flint starts remembering about technology. This is one of the aspects which makes this book non science-fiction but mere fantasy.
We get glimpses of the dimensional synthesis but we do not get the complete explanation why this will mean the cosmos destruction. I think there was a lack of fundament here.
I had troubles with the names Amanda and Amara, and got confused at times whether Flint was referring to one or the other. In hindsight I think this similarity was intended, but for me it did not add any value and made things confusing.
The narration was very well done, except for a couple of audio inserts that were a bit evident. The diction was clear and the voices well differentiated. I was bothered about the voice of a couple of characters, but in general I enjoyed the narration, especially how the Australian accents were done.
I enjoyed this book, even though I think this would have benefited from a longer a deeper exposure, even fragmenting the story into several books.
April 28, 2016
This is a sort of post-apocalyptic, science fiction, fantasy western with steampunk elements. Though I'm not usually into books that take place in Australia for some unknown reason, this one was pretty good. The main character finds out that his life is an illusion because of a certain food he has been eating. As he stops eating the "bush tucker" reality starts taking hold. There is a lot of action, and it keeps your attention. I listened to the Audible version of this book, and the narrator as quite good - he did different accents, different voices, and his pace was good. The only thing that I might knock him on is his women's voices, which ended up annoying me a bit. Overall, a good story with good narration.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews