Dead Ends

by Ken Newman

The Great War with the Erest won, Commander Jabal Shann of the Azurean Sky Navy is ready to test a revolutionary new technology that would make it possible for a spacecraft to leap thousands of lightyears instantaneously. Unbeknownst to Jabal, he is dying of cancer and only has a few months to live. SD—an ancient, mythic being of immense power, called a Deverow—declares Jabal a “Dead End,” or a being without a future and, therefore, free to be used by the capricious Deverow for their own convoluted purposes. Although no one on his home planet believes his radical idea is possible, Jabal is given a decommissioned ship, The Blossoming Flower, and told to test his theory far out in space, safely away from the Azurean planet. But as Jabel works to build his new drive, he uncovers deep, dark secrets, regarding not only The Flower, herself, but her mysterious cargo. Before Jabal can confront the leaders on his home world, Azurea is destroyed by an enemy with advanced technology. Jabal, along with several other Dead Ends, is tasked by the Deverow to use his new drive to annihilate the alien civilization before they can do more damage to the universe. But how can handful of misfits take on an entire armada and even survive, let along defeat them?


With no other choice, Jabal turns to the one ace he has up his sleeve, The Flower and her unnatural cargo, risking everything to save the remnant of his people, but at what cost?

417 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2016

About the author

Ken Newman has loved stories of the fantastic since listening to his grandmother's folk tales of witches and haints when he was a child. Devouring the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury and Fredric Brown, to name a few, gave his imagination wings. Ken is the author of the paranormal thriller Forsaken and the newly released science fiction adventure Dead Ends, both released by Black Opal Books.
When not writing, he enjoys sculpting, cheesy monster movies, and building the occasional trebuchet.
A member of the International Thriller Writers Association, Ken lives in East Tennessee with his wife Christian and their three daughters.
Please feel free to contact Ken, he would love to hear from you.
www.newkman.net
@newkman61
facebook.com/newkman61.com

Reviews

[Melonie Purcell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast and twisty

Full confession, I didn’t think I was going to like this book. The premise was fun and I was excited about it when I got it, but when I started reading and saw pages and pages of nothing but dialog, I had a feeling it was going to be a ‘did not finish’. Boy was I wrong.

I cannot share anything about the plot without giving something away. This is one tightly written story with a plot that never goes in a straight line. It isn’t contrived at all, but just when you think you know what’s going to happen, there is a neat little twist that keeps you turning the pages.

Although there is precious little exposition in Dead Ends, Newman does a brilliant job with world building and character development through his dialog, a feat that left me quite surprised on more than one occasion. The dialog keeps the story moving at a fast clip, but it’s still easy to follow and it flows well, even when you are jumping from one story line to another (and another and another)

I do wish there had been a bit more exposition and someone who isn’t an avid Scifi reader might struggle a bit, but only a bit. The characters are a little bit generic, but not overly so and it actually contributes to the easy flow of the story. I didn’t fall in love with anyone in particular, but I was entranced by the story itself. Overall, this is a great read, fast and fun. I recommend it.

[Leo McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are certain rules, they say, when it comes to writing. And by golly if Ken Newman doesn't break most of those over one knee and laugh while doing so.
Dead Ends is a sci-fi romp where science often takes a back seat to buccaneering and where the plot veers around like a spaceship piloted by Zaphod Beeblebrox wearing his sunglasses in the presence of danger. And yet it works.
A reject battle cruiser gets a last-minute reprieve to be used for an experiment involving a black hole as a power source. It's a massive thing, kilometres in length. Oh... and it's haunted.
Once the crew-to-be overcomes hurdles such as an alarming inability to retain one's clothes in the company of the opposite sex, off they go to the stars, where somewhere along the way they will face ferocious alien invaders, deceit and betrayal and... possibly angels? And where there are angels, there are of course demons.
It's not as straightforward as all that - Newman has his very own spin on such matters, and the detours he takes the reader on are often unpredictable but always enjoyable.
It's a bonkers space opera - and all the better for that.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the, literally, out-of-this world plot to the fully dimensional characters I enjoyed this this book throughly. The technology Newman describes in this book is so detailed and well thought out that I could instantly picture it and was compelled to keep turning the page. This is my favorite book so far of all of Ken Newman's must reads!

[Albert Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my usual type of book, but I enjoyed this. Lots of twist and turns, and good plot. You would enjoy this even more if you are a SCFI nerd. Enjoy!