What do you think?
Rate this book
Long before the events of Nameless, Talon McLeod, captain of the Prodigal, encountered someone who would change everything....
"Kale Ravenwood. The syndicate man. He’s going to make me regret this. He’s going to make me wish I’d never known him. If I let him on board, he’s going to get us into more trouble than we can get out of, and it’ll all come back to this moment, when I should have told him to shove off—and didn’t."
"Kale Ravenwood. The syndicate man. He’s going to make me regret this. He’s going to make me wish I’d never known him. If I let him on board, he’s going to get us into more trouble than we can get out of, and it’ll all come back to this moment, when I should have told him to shove off—and didn’t."
ebook
First published October 23, 2014
2 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
A.C. Williams
29 books77 followersA.C. Williams also writes under the pen name Kimberly McNeil
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 11, 2014
LOVED this. Two of my favorite characters from the Destiny trilogy, and how they met.
"Kale Ravenwood. The syndicate man. He’s going to make me regret this. He’s going to make me wish I’d never known him. If I let him on board, he’s going to get us into more trouble than we can get out of, and it’ll all come back to this moment, when I should have told him to shove off—and didn’t." - Capt. Talon MacLeod.
Such a strong voice and strong characters. There's a level of subtext that keeps the dialogue engaging and interesting themes that make this more than just an action or character short. A great introduction to what promises to be a fantastic series.
This short is gritty, real, and yet humorous with characters that quickly take shape. It takes place in a sci-fi universe, but if that's not your usual genre don't let that scare you. The characters and story are strong enough that it's not a distraction.
Definitely worth a read!
"Kale Ravenwood. The syndicate man. He’s going to make me regret this. He’s going to make me wish I’d never known him. If I let him on board, he’s going to get us into more trouble than we can get out of, and it’ll all come back to this moment, when I should have told him to shove off—and didn’t." - Capt. Talon MacLeod.
Such a strong voice and strong characters. There's a level of subtext that keeps the dialogue engaging and interesting themes that make this more than just an action or character short. A great introduction to what promises to be a fantastic series.
This short is gritty, real, and yet humorous with characters that quickly take shape. It takes place in a sci-fi universe, but if that's not your usual genre don't let that scare you. The characters and story are strong enough that it's not a distraction.
Definitely worth a read!
October 27, 2015
A must read for anyone who's read Nameless! The story of how Talon met Kale. But as is the case with prequel shorts, I want more. :P Kale is a very interesting character and I hope we get to see more of him. And of course, Talon is wonderful.
Loved this story!
Loved this story!
February 22, 2021
Stellar, well-crafted introduction to the characters and universe of A.C. Williams' Morningstar/Destiny Trilogy -
Ashes is, as the subtitle suggests, a prelude to an entire universe created by the fertile imagination of speculative author A.C. Williams. It's a short story really, a space opera bounty hunter novelette introducing the characters of Talon McLeod, captain of the spaceship Prodigal, and his newest crewmember, Kale Ravenwood, a former syndicate hitman. McLeod is a classic ship captain of the space opera genre who prides himself on his ability to size up a man. But he runs into a real conundrum with the mysterious Ravenwood, also a classic character in the man-of-action-but-few-words mode. McLeod knows Ravenwood is a syndicate man but can't figure out which one or why he left to join his crew. McLeod takes Ravenwood on a mission to test the newcomer's mettle. The events of the bungled operation give McLeod a new-found respect for his syndicate man but leaves him even more unsure of his origins or motivations. The title, Ashes, is a reference to the fragility of human life, a thought reinforced by the events of the bounty snatch in a corrupt universe where life can be cheap and dangerously short. All-in-all, a satisfying short read and introduction to the Destiny Trilogy, a science fiction series whose latest edition was nominated for a Realms award. Recommended.
Ashes is, as the subtitle suggests, a prelude to an entire universe created by the fertile imagination of speculative author A.C. Williams. It's a short story really, a space opera bounty hunter novelette introducing the characters of Talon McLeod, captain of the spaceship Prodigal, and his newest crewmember, Kale Ravenwood, a former syndicate hitman. McLeod is a classic ship captain of the space opera genre who prides himself on his ability to size up a man. But he runs into a real conundrum with the mysterious Ravenwood, also a classic character in the man-of-action-but-few-words mode. McLeod knows Ravenwood is a syndicate man but can't figure out which one or why he left to join his crew. McLeod takes Ravenwood on a mission to test the newcomer's mettle. The events of the bungled operation give McLeod a new-found respect for his syndicate man but leaves him even more unsure of his origins or motivations. The title, Ashes, is a reference to the fragility of human life, a thought reinforced by the events of the bounty snatch in a corrupt universe where life can be cheap and dangerously short. All-in-all, a satisfying short read and introduction to the Destiny Trilogy, a science fiction series whose latest edition was nominated for a Realms award. Recommended.
December 14, 2017
I really liked the characters.
December 10, 2016
This short story only has one down side.
It's short.
It's short.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews