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Ebony Sea: Origins
This collection of short stories includes all six of the released Origins stories. Some of them are expanded to include material smoothing the transitions into the larger and forthcoming Ebony Sea series. Also included is a bonus story, "Crukavi."
182 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2015
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December 11, 2015
I have read Ebony Sea: Origins by Marc Meiner from cover to cover. First off, let me tell you that this book contains a number of individual short stories. It's great! I’m not typically a Sci-Fi fan. I’m also not likely to be seen reading dogfight – military type books. However, I started reading this book and I had to know what was going to happen with each of these stories. I can tell you, I don’t like those pesky Wanti sloops. What a bunch of turkeys! Why? I’m going to do my best to not spoil it for you. But, I’m quite certain, you’re not going to harbor a lot of love for them either.
In the world as we know it, we fight amongst ourselves over land, borders, rights, and a multitude of any other debatable issues. Imagine if we all moved out to space – residing in an endless abyss of “real estate.” Ebony Sea: Origins is a collection of stories where mankind has done that very thing. And, just as real as the world we know, each of the characters in each of these stories has a reason to battle the enemy. What interested me is that all the characters in this book have a common enemy. Mr. Meiner keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat, sweating the fate of the characters. Is there a happily ever after when mankind is battling over the heavens? Maybe. But, maybe not! Enough about that. I’ll leave that for you to discover. But, I can assure you, regardless what you find, your heart will be thumping and you will feel yourself pulling for the good guys. As I said before, I’m not typically a fan of this genre and even I was sucked in. Which story was my favorite? They all had awesome details that painted mental images, affording you the amazing opportunity to visualize the story. However, my favorite was “Gray Four.” While every story is realistic and believable, I felt sadness when Gray Four explained how he viewed his fellow humans. He faced a lot of pressure and guilt after a decision he made resulted in some unfavorable results. But, like a true warrior, he stood up, ready to fight the raging war. That one was my favorite, though it was difficult to pick a favorite. There is not a bad story in this book; not by a long shot.
I enjoyed Mr. Meiner’s writing style. It flows and there is a logical order of the events. Each story is very fluid and detailed. They are each different from the other, even though there are commonalities. I did not notice a single mistake (typos or grammatical) in this book. Overall, I am impressed with this author for a number of reasons. I have picked three major points to share with readers who are considering reading Ebony Sea: Origins.
First, this book is appropriate for young adult, through adult. Though the context would easily allow for it, there is no foul language in any of these stories, and you don’t miss it at all. The author did an amazing job of setting scenes of battle, focusing on the tactical side of the operations, rather than the gory, horrific bloodshed. There is violence, however it is not graphic, rather generalizations and hints. I am amazed at how well you get the idea, even without vivid details. As a writer, myself, I am impressed with the way this author handles those tricky situations. Very nicely done, Mr. Meiner! Don’t be afraid to let your younger Sci-Fi readers get a hold of this book. Marc takes very good care of his readers.
The second thing I respect this author for is the way his metaphors add so much style to his stories. One of my favorite examples is: “…running as if all the demons from hell were nipping at his heels.” I feel these metaphors are one of Marc Meiner’s strengths and I hope to see him use his creative metaphors more in his writing. This particular scene is amazing, but that one metaphor really added a lot. I won’t tell you which story that is in. When you come across it as you read, trust me, you won’t miss it.
The third point I wanted to touch on about this author’s style are the fun words I learned, reading these stories. Mr. Meiner is not afraid to use words like, “Fweep,” “corvette,” “mike,” and “frigates,” to name a few. Personally, my favorite was “Fweep!” Again, I won’t ruin the experience for you by telling you where you will find these words. Some occur more frequently than others. The creative, fun words keep these engaging stories fun and interesting.
Once again, this genre is not typically a genre I get excited about. When an author can draw me in and entertain me as Marc Meiner has done, that really speaks a lot to the content, action, adventure and realism of the content. Without distracting errors, I was settled and drawn into this book before I ever knew what hit me. Truly, I can’t say I recommend this book only for the Sci-Fi readers. I’m an example of how entertaining this collection is for all readers. It speaks to Mr. Meiner’s talent as a storyteller that I read, intently, from the first word to the very last.
As with every book, there are great points to it. There are also bad points. The bad point with this book is not necessarily a flaw on the author, as much as with my ability to read this genre. What I’m speaking of is the frustration, for me, with trying to figure out how some of the names were intended to be pronounced. I understand this is standard in Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres. Again, I can’t say it is a flaw on the author’s part. For me, personally, it interfered with the story a couple of times. This only frustrated me because I was so entertained by what was going on that I didn’t want to step out to figure out the names. Obviously, the foreign (to me) names were not enough to deter me from reading every word of the fast paced, action packed stories.
If you are considering reading this book, I would highly recommend it. You won’t regret it. If you are anything like me (one last time, not the Sci-Fi fan at all), you will find this book to be engaging, entertaining, action packed, realistic and written without using the typical crutches (curse words, descriptions of violence, etc.). This author could easily set a standard for other authors, not just Sci-Fi, but for every genre on the shelves. Quality writing, believable story lines, and perfect for the whole family, I feel you would be happy with Ebony Sea: Origins by Marc Meiner for your next reading adventure.
Laney Smith
~Author
In the world as we know it, we fight amongst ourselves over land, borders, rights, and a multitude of any other debatable issues. Imagine if we all moved out to space – residing in an endless abyss of “real estate.” Ebony Sea: Origins is a collection of stories where mankind has done that very thing. And, just as real as the world we know, each of the characters in each of these stories has a reason to battle the enemy. What interested me is that all the characters in this book have a common enemy. Mr. Meiner keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat, sweating the fate of the characters. Is there a happily ever after when mankind is battling over the heavens? Maybe. But, maybe not! Enough about that. I’ll leave that for you to discover. But, I can assure you, regardless what you find, your heart will be thumping and you will feel yourself pulling for the good guys. As I said before, I’m not typically a fan of this genre and even I was sucked in. Which story was my favorite? They all had awesome details that painted mental images, affording you the amazing opportunity to visualize the story. However, my favorite was “Gray Four.” While every story is realistic and believable, I felt sadness when Gray Four explained how he viewed his fellow humans. He faced a lot of pressure and guilt after a decision he made resulted in some unfavorable results. But, like a true warrior, he stood up, ready to fight the raging war. That one was my favorite, though it was difficult to pick a favorite. There is not a bad story in this book; not by a long shot.
I enjoyed Mr. Meiner’s writing style. It flows and there is a logical order of the events. Each story is very fluid and detailed. They are each different from the other, even though there are commonalities. I did not notice a single mistake (typos or grammatical) in this book. Overall, I am impressed with this author for a number of reasons. I have picked three major points to share with readers who are considering reading Ebony Sea: Origins.
First, this book is appropriate for young adult, through adult. Though the context would easily allow for it, there is no foul language in any of these stories, and you don’t miss it at all. The author did an amazing job of setting scenes of battle, focusing on the tactical side of the operations, rather than the gory, horrific bloodshed. There is violence, however it is not graphic, rather generalizations and hints. I am amazed at how well you get the idea, even without vivid details. As a writer, myself, I am impressed with the way this author handles those tricky situations. Very nicely done, Mr. Meiner! Don’t be afraid to let your younger Sci-Fi readers get a hold of this book. Marc takes very good care of his readers.
The second thing I respect this author for is the way his metaphors add so much style to his stories. One of my favorite examples is: “…running as if all the demons from hell were nipping at his heels.” I feel these metaphors are one of Marc Meiner’s strengths and I hope to see him use his creative metaphors more in his writing. This particular scene is amazing, but that one metaphor really added a lot. I won’t tell you which story that is in. When you come across it as you read, trust me, you won’t miss it.
The third point I wanted to touch on about this author’s style are the fun words I learned, reading these stories. Mr. Meiner is not afraid to use words like, “Fweep,” “corvette,” “mike,” and “frigates,” to name a few. Personally, my favorite was “Fweep!” Again, I won’t ruin the experience for you by telling you where you will find these words. Some occur more frequently than others. The creative, fun words keep these engaging stories fun and interesting.
Once again, this genre is not typically a genre I get excited about. When an author can draw me in and entertain me as Marc Meiner has done, that really speaks a lot to the content, action, adventure and realism of the content. Without distracting errors, I was settled and drawn into this book before I ever knew what hit me. Truly, I can’t say I recommend this book only for the Sci-Fi readers. I’m an example of how entertaining this collection is for all readers. It speaks to Mr. Meiner’s talent as a storyteller that I read, intently, from the first word to the very last.
As with every book, there are great points to it. There are also bad points. The bad point with this book is not necessarily a flaw on the author, as much as with my ability to read this genre. What I’m speaking of is the frustration, for me, with trying to figure out how some of the names were intended to be pronounced. I understand this is standard in Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres. Again, I can’t say it is a flaw on the author’s part. For me, personally, it interfered with the story a couple of times. This only frustrated me because I was so entertained by what was going on that I didn’t want to step out to figure out the names. Obviously, the foreign (to me) names were not enough to deter me from reading every word of the fast paced, action packed stories.
If you are considering reading this book, I would highly recommend it. You won’t regret it. If you are anything like me (one last time, not the Sci-Fi fan at all), you will find this book to be engaging, entertaining, action packed, realistic and written without using the typical crutches (curse words, descriptions of violence, etc.). This author could easily set a standard for other authors, not just Sci-Fi, but for every genre on the shelves. Quality writing, believable story lines, and perfect for the whole family, I feel you would be happy with Ebony Sea: Origins by Marc Meiner for your next reading adventure.
Laney Smith
~Author
Displaying 1 of 1 review