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Freeform
Early Edition. Lianndra’s vacation was not going exactly as planned...
Meeting a charismatic young man was an unexpected bonus but their dream date diving in a secret cove quickly turns into a nightmare when they are kidnapped by slave traders. Fate bestows a further twist when they are sent to serve a brutal race that uses genetically altered humans to fight in a ruthless war.
Soon Lianndra finds herself farther from home than she could ever imagine, in a place where her very survival depends upon her ability to adapt to a new and violent reality. Along the way she discovers that appearances are not bound to morality and that the virtues we value as human can exist in any form. They can even arise in some very surprising places...
Meeting a charismatic young man was an unexpected bonus but their dream date diving in a secret cove quickly turns into a nightmare when they are kidnapped by slave traders. Fate bestows a further twist when they are sent to serve a brutal race that uses genetically altered humans to fight in a ruthless war.
Soon Lianndra finds herself farther from home than she could ever imagine, in a place where her very survival depends upon her ability to adapt to a new and violent reality. Along the way she discovers that appearances are not bound to morality and that the virtues we value as human can exist in any form. They can even arise in some very surprising places...
ebook
First published April 20, 2015
17 people want to read
About the author
L.E. Horn
12 books32 followersAUTHOR AND ARTIST, L.E. HORN’S interest in animals led to a degree in Animal Science and a lifelong fascination with our unconscious connections to the natural world. She particularly loves to explore the qualities we believe distinguish us from the creatures whose planet we share.
Her discoveries, combined with her vivid imagination, spill over into every book she writes and lend depth and insight to her interspecies relationships.
L.E. Horn shares her country home with her husband and several other interesting species that, as she puts it, “Inspire me by pointing out what should be obvious on a minute-by-minute basis. The challenge keeps me happy and humble.”
Her discoveries, combined with her vivid imagination, spill over into every book she writes and lend depth and insight to her interspecies relationships.
L.E. Horn shares her country home with her husband and several other interesting species that, as she puts it, “Inspire me by pointing out what should be obvious on a minute-by-minute basis. The challenge keeps me happy and humble.”
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 9, 2018
Continuing on pretty much where we left off, genetically modified human Lianndra has joined forces with the indigenous and seemingly dominant life forms on the planet Tarin known as Gryphons, beings that look pretty similar to what their names imply. In the first book, she and three other humans were captured and enslaved, taken into deep space, and she and her love interest Michael were eventually sent to Tarin to try to capture the inhabitants, although with her new found psychic powers and help from the Tlo’om rebels, her collar is disabled and she’s able to help others escape the bondage of their Tlo’om masters. She and other modified human rebels work to disable the slave collars that force the wearers to obey, and this is basically the tale of the rebellion, and how another species native of Tarin, the Darkon (dragons) play an invaluable part in bringing down the mother ships and disabling the cannons.
The rebellion essentially has grown too strong, and the Tlo’om are the sort of species who will nuke your biosphere if they don’t like the way things are going, rendering a planet they’d probably colonize uninhabitable. Though there are Tlo’om rebels who fight against what their superiors have ordered, the few in key positions of power have to keep it to themselves. The gryphon have in the past been an interplanetary species, having visited in the earth in the past in addition to having an interplanetary shield that keeps Uber-Weapons and other threats at bay. The Tlo’om, a species no longer with a home world, have emptied out their various species of slaves into Tarin to route out the gryphon and the rebels.
I think this is a good for those who enjoy Star Wars, but prefer the battles to not be the driving force. No longer a constant prisoner, Lianndra is a much more active heroine in this book, but that being said the story seemed to lack the focus on the rebellion and focus on her angst over Michael, her love interest. She’s a genetically modified human with a rat-like tail and body hair that she utilizes to make clothing, complete with fangs and claws, enabling her to survive the jungle. She is mortified at her change in appearance in book 1, but seems to mostly get over it in this book. Instead, she’s angsting that the blood she donated to Michael genetically changed him as well – he’s become a berserker in battle with heightened senses and sometimes almost animal like compulsions that he fights. Additionally, Lianndra is captured behind enemy lines, and due to her powers as a Healer she learns to kill by touch as well – she kills her would-be rapist. I’m not saying this wouldn’t probably happen – but it seems like a bit of tonal dissonance in the story. Lianndra is essentially working espionage in a battle against other humans forced to fight against the gryphon, and I think the author realizes just how bloody and violent this story likely would be and doesn’t revel in the gore. Lianndra puts a good human face on bravery, going against seemingly impossible odds and doing things to save people as opposed to killing because they have no choice. I think the author is 90% there, because these people are for all purposes dead to the world they know, forced to capture other aliens for their same fate, and some have been forced to do much worse. That’s all the average person needs for angst.
My personal beef would be a lack of world building and setting. You get a certain Avatar like feel when we’re in generic jungles and I want to know about the flora and the fauna, the seasons and the different zones of the planet, and I honestly didn’t have a hard time with acknowledging that there were relatively low tech weapons used in battles, but it made me think that this could be done creatively and for better reason that was given. The gryphons were an advanced species with a low birth rate and thus learned to deal mostly diplomatically, but they were still able to deal with interplanetary shields and other issues at relative ease, especially when coming across the more war like Tlo’om, and an implied myriad of species and planets (visiting earth, they probably found us extremely warlike). I think for an entry level reader who is here because they want an exciting read, this is all fine, but for the hard core science fiction reader, I want to know these things. [/nerd]
The rebellion essentially has grown too strong, and the Tlo’om are the sort of species who will nuke your biosphere if they don’t like the way things are going, rendering a planet they’d probably colonize uninhabitable. Though there are Tlo’om rebels who fight against what their superiors have ordered, the few in key positions of power have to keep it to themselves. The gryphon have in the past been an interplanetary species, having visited in the earth in the past in addition to having an interplanetary shield that keeps Uber-Weapons and other threats at bay. The Tlo’om, a species no longer with a home world, have emptied out their various species of slaves into Tarin to route out the gryphon and the rebels.
I think this is a good for those who enjoy Star Wars, but prefer the battles to not be the driving force. No longer a constant prisoner, Lianndra is a much more active heroine in this book, but that being said the story seemed to lack the focus on the rebellion and focus on her angst over Michael, her love interest. She’s a genetically modified human with a rat-like tail and body hair that she utilizes to make clothing, complete with fangs and claws, enabling her to survive the jungle. She is mortified at her change in appearance in book 1, but seems to mostly get over it in this book. Instead, she’s angsting that the blood she donated to Michael genetically changed him as well – he’s become a berserker in battle with heightened senses and sometimes almost animal like compulsions that he fights. Additionally, Lianndra is captured behind enemy lines, and due to her powers as a Healer she learns to kill by touch as well – she kills her would-be rapist. I’m not saying this wouldn’t probably happen – but it seems like a bit of tonal dissonance in the story. Lianndra is essentially working espionage in a battle against other humans forced to fight against the gryphon, and I think the author realizes just how bloody and violent this story likely would be and doesn’t revel in the gore. Lianndra puts a good human face on bravery, going against seemingly impossible odds and doing things to save people as opposed to killing because they have no choice. I think the author is 90% there, because these people are for all purposes dead to the world they know, forced to capture other aliens for their same fate, and some have been forced to do much worse. That’s all the average person needs for angst.
My personal beef would be a lack of world building and setting. You get a certain Avatar like feel when we’re in generic jungles and I want to know about the flora and the fauna, the seasons and the different zones of the planet, and I honestly didn’t have a hard time with acknowledging that there were relatively low tech weapons used in battles, but it made me think that this could be done creatively and for better reason that was given. The gryphons were an advanced species with a low birth rate and thus learned to deal mostly diplomatically, but they were still able to deal with interplanetary shields and other issues at relative ease, especially when coming across the more war like Tlo’om, and an implied myriad of species and planets (visiting earth, they probably found us extremely warlike). I think for an entry level reader who is here because they want an exciting read, this is all fine, but for the hard core science fiction reader, I want to know these things. [/nerd]
December 6, 2016
I find that usually a second book to a series undoes what secrets and enjoyments are discovered in the first. So untrue with Freefight: Book Two of the Gryphon Saga. L.E.Horn did a magnificent job again. The opening felt a bit removed from the last book. It tugged at memories, but I wasn't sure where it would go. (Keep in mind, it's been almost a year since I read the first book.) However, it was the perfect transition, as when we came back to Lianndra things fell into step. Memories of the previous books adventure came back like a warm blanket on a cold winters night, or a glass of warm milk before bed. I was back with an old friend and couldn't wait to see where we would go together.
In the first book we were with the Fang, now we enter time with the Gryphon. We travel with Lianndra, Michael and their companions across terrain building upon the resistance that began in book one. The pace races with the Gryphon, never missing a beat. Be prepared to sit down and get up to see time has been swept away in vivid pictures of trees, rebels and war mongers. Just like the first book, I was saddened to see the last page flipped. The ending, well, like the words that have come before, no spoilers. This really is a series one should experience. I highly recommend Freefight and it's predecessor Freeform to everyone who loves a good read.
In the first book we were with the Fang, now we enter time with the Gryphon. We travel with Lianndra, Michael and their companions across terrain building upon the resistance that began in book one. The pace races with the Gryphon, never missing a beat. Be prepared to sit down and get up to see time has been swept away in vivid pictures of trees, rebels and war mongers. Just like the first book, I was saddened to see the last page flipped. The ending, well, like the words that have come before, no spoilers. This really is a series one should experience. I highly recommend Freefight and it's predecessor Freeform to everyone who loves a good read.
October 4, 2020
Oh wow! This is the second installment of this series! The writing is fantastic! I could not put it down! Now I'm sad because I want more and I have to wait! I received an ARC of this book and this is my voluntary honest review!
May 29, 2018
3.5 Stars
Veterinary student Lianndra wins a free vacation, but after she meets new friends her life is forever changed when they're kidnapped by human slavers, but their fates lies beyond the stars, as an alien species called the Tlo'om collects species from different planets for a variety of purposes. The humans are collared such that they're in extreme pain or outright killed if they rebel. Although the fates of the human slaves varies, Lianndra is eventually put on the front lines of an alien planet to heal the slaves fighting a war against another species the Tlo'om are set on taking alive.
Overall, quite an enjoyable YA novel about a young woman forced to rely on her personal strength as she is forced into a situation that suggested other slaves killed themselves over facing headfirst. I'll talk about what I liked, then when I would be a little snarky.
There were parts of the novel that were so strange and needed to be relayed to the audience in an interesting matter, and the author seemed to know when to show us, when to tell information. Lianndra meets other human slaves in her endeavor, and we often get to know them only briefly - like she does, closer to some than others but they enter and exit the narrative to make it obvious this is a large-scale operation but you're not wondering who this bloke is from 100 pages ago - the handful that are relevent are renamed every so often so you know they're likely to be recurring later. Sci-fi to an outsider can seem very information heavy, and I found that this novel found a nice mix so that I could probably give this as an entry-level to someone unfamiliar with the genre and they wouldn't get lost.
For instance, prior to her genetic enhancement, Lianndra and other female human slaves were used as entertainment for the Tlo'om males in their blooddances - basically, males (Fang) would watch as their kind would hunt human females in an arena, human females essentially fleeing around a horizontal colloseum with the use of wrist-ropes. The Fang always win, and drink their blood, but the longer the humans fight, the better. The dichotomy of an alien species was also interesting - the Tlo'om females (Fara) appear to be the brains of the species, while the males (Fang) are kept entertained on their home ships.
The negative I would argue is that Lianndra is a passive heroine. Everything happens to her, although she tells herself she needs to not be a hysterical woman and survive. Her strength comes from her mental fortitude, because even if she could get the collar off she's whisked off planet and in deep space. She falls in love with a guy - who, granted, saved her when they met - but she's in an impossible situation, and she's reactive to everything. Eventually, she learns with her new genetically enhanced abilities to start to subvert her situation, but even her ability to become a rebel comes because of a Tlo'om selecting her.
Another negative is more personal taste from personally reading a lot of sci-fi, most people would be fine to know eventually we're in a jungle on the gryphon homeworld. I wanted to know more about the strange planets and other creatures, talk about the climate of the world and other things that we wouldn't think about right away. For instance, it's stated that the humans all have to be cleaned in an external sterilization process because our bacteria is extremely dangerous to the aliens they'll interact with, mainly their captors. It begs questions to me, about what about the internal gut flora that are imperative for human health.
Most people aren't going to care about the above. All in all, Lianndra and the other human slaves are forced to fight and rebel against their masters, eventually joining forces with the aliens they've been set against. It's evident that there's blood being shed and they're fighting a war, but as it's mostly told from her perspective and the action sequences are not typically all that violent - a character might fall or we'll get the injuries described, but it's not heavy into the battling. I'd argue that the action sequences could stand to have more detail, but that's more of a personal preference.
Anyway, I think it's an interesting start of a series, and I look forward to reading the second book.
Veterinary student Lianndra wins a free vacation, but after she meets new friends her life is forever changed when they're kidnapped by human slavers, but their fates lies beyond the stars, as an alien species called the Tlo'om collects species from different planets for a variety of purposes. The humans are collared such that they're in extreme pain or outright killed if they rebel. Although the fates of the human slaves varies, Lianndra is eventually put on the front lines of an alien planet to heal the slaves fighting a war against another species the Tlo'om are set on taking alive.
Overall, quite an enjoyable YA novel about a young woman forced to rely on her personal strength as she is forced into a situation that suggested other slaves killed themselves over facing headfirst. I'll talk about what I liked, then when I would be a little snarky.
There were parts of the novel that were so strange and needed to be relayed to the audience in an interesting matter, and the author seemed to know when to show us, when to tell information. Lianndra meets other human slaves in her endeavor, and we often get to know them only briefly - like she does, closer to some than others but they enter and exit the narrative to make it obvious this is a large-scale operation but you're not wondering who this bloke is from 100 pages ago - the handful that are relevent are renamed every so often so you know they're likely to be recurring later. Sci-fi to an outsider can seem very information heavy, and I found that this novel found a nice mix so that I could probably give this as an entry-level to someone unfamiliar with the genre and they wouldn't get lost.
For instance, prior to her genetic enhancement, Lianndra and other female human slaves were used as entertainment for the Tlo'om males in their blooddances - basically, males (Fang) would watch as their kind would hunt human females in an arena, human females essentially fleeing around a horizontal colloseum with the use of wrist-ropes. The Fang always win, and drink their blood, but the longer the humans fight, the better. The dichotomy of an alien species was also interesting - the Tlo'om females (Fara) appear to be the brains of the species, while the males (Fang) are kept entertained on their home ships.
The negative I would argue is that Lianndra is a passive heroine. Everything happens to her, although she tells herself she needs to not be a hysterical woman and survive. Her strength comes from her mental fortitude, because even if she could get the collar off she's whisked off planet and in deep space. She falls in love with a guy - who, granted, saved her when they met - but she's in an impossible situation, and she's reactive to everything. Eventually, she learns with her new genetically enhanced abilities to start to subvert her situation, but even her ability to become a rebel comes because of a Tlo'om selecting her.
Another negative is more personal taste from personally reading a lot of sci-fi, most people would be fine to know eventually we're in a jungle on the gryphon homeworld. I wanted to know more about the strange planets and other creatures, talk about the climate of the world and other things that we wouldn't think about right away. For instance, it's stated that the humans all have to be cleaned in an external sterilization process because our bacteria is extremely dangerous to the aliens they'll interact with, mainly their captors. It begs questions to me, about what about the internal gut flora that are imperative for human health.
Most people aren't going to care about the above. All in all, Lianndra and the other human slaves are forced to fight and rebel against their masters, eventually joining forces with the aliens they've been set against. It's evident that there's blood being shed and they're fighting a war, but as it's mostly told from her perspective and the action sequences are not typically all that violent - a character might fall or we'll get the injuries described, but it's not heavy into the battling. I'd argue that the action sequences could stand to have more detail, but that's more of a personal preference.
Anyway, I think it's an interesting start of a series, and I look forward to reading the second book.
July 3, 2018
Book one of the Gryphon saga takes readers on a journey from the trials of our everyday world to a strange new place, with slowly heightening tension as disparate protagonists are followed, watched and trapped. From fishing to caught, from Canadian prairie to snorkeling in a protected cove, and from beauty to horror, a small group of humans find themselves enslaved, trapped and tortured, then thrust to a life vastly different in a world vastly strange.
Slowly, readers and characters learn where they are. Slowly the enemies gain faces, minds and value. And slowly the truth is revealed about enemy and friend, purpose and plot.
The plot is complex and enjoyable in this science fiction novel, blending genetic engineering with sci fi mystery and monsters, adding complex character to alien creatures, and combining technological warfare quite convincingly with gruesome swords and claws. By the end of book one, the characters discover their purpose, fragile friendships struggle through bitter dismay, and hope dawns. But the battle remains.
Book two takes readers from battle plan to disaster to complex execution, while characters grow through unexpected changes, chart unexpected courses, and hope to rediscover gentler emotions as well as war. Exotic powers blend with science. Rebels combine with rebelled against. And a terrifying conclusion draws ever closer.
I really enjoy how the author makes the unexpected seem real. Planets and spaceships all feel solid, technology feels plausible, the use of claws, tails, four-footed strength and more becomes evocatively natural. Meanwhile the mental strains involved are all too believable. I’m glad I was able to read both books together, rather than just one. And I really enjoyed the saga.
Disclosure: I was given a copy and I’m pleased to offer my honest review.
Slowly, readers and characters learn where they are. Slowly the enemies gain faces, minds and value. And slowly the truth is revealed about enemy and friend, purpose and plot.
The plot is complex and enjoyable in this science fiction novel, blending genetic engineering with sci fi mystery and monsters, adding complex character to alien creatures, and combining technological warfare quite convincingly with gruesome swords and claws. By the end of book one, the characters discover their purpose, fragile friendships struggle through bitter dismay, and hope dawns. But the battle remains.
Book two takes readers from battle plan to disaster to complex execution, while characters grow through unexpected changes, chart unexpected courses, and hope to rediscover gentler emotions as well as war. Exotic powers blend with science. Rebels combine with rebelled against. And a terrifying conclusion draws ever closer.
I really enjoy how the author makes the unexpected seem real. Planets and spaceships all feel solid, technology feels plausible, the use of claws, tails, four-footed strength and more becomes evocatively natural. Meanwhile the mental strains involved are all too believable. I’m glad I was able to read both books together, rather than just one. And I really enjoyed the saga.
Disclosure: I was given a copy and I’m pleased to offer my honest review.
January 2, 2016
From start to finish the reader is taken in and spun around into a place they couldn't even imagine. Lianndra is a healthy strong character that is refreshing. Michael is surprisingly her match. A love story in the middle chaos perhaps? I love that this has the adventure elements of a Young Adult book, but is written for adults. I cannot wait until the next book comes out.
February 18, 2019
Freefight continues where Freeform ends. Great story with lots of exciting action. You feel like you were right there during the fighting and healing scenes.
The characters are great. I recommend this book to everyone who like space action and sci-fi.
I would love to read more books by L. E. Horn any time.
The characters are great. I recommend this book to everyone who like space action and sci-fi.
I would love to read more books by L. E. Horn any time.
October 2, 2019
She starts her day with a great man and ends up in a cage. her new masters twists her into something which is not longer human. She is so down until she is offered a chance and she takes it. It may not be as easy as she thinks. What will she need to do? Can she do it? See what will happen
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 5, 2019
Very strange. A lot of wet work. Trying to find a thief. Teck is something else. Another world, different people in that one. It's a good story. It grabs you and holds you in thrall. I received a complimentary review copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving a honest review.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews