In Nadir's Shadow

by E.J. Heijnis

After a thousand years of war, the human Commonwealth reels under the renewed assault of the alien floaters. As humanity faces extinction, two men embark on divergent bids for peace...


Commander Miron and the crew of the Tenacious travel to the Commonwealth's birthplace and the site of its greatest crime, the planet Nadir, to retrieve an ancient prize that might persuade the enemy to halt their attack. Lab-born analyst Khariton learns he was bred for an unthinkable negotiate peace with the hated enemy. To do so, he must understand the cost of war, a lesson that takes him on a journey that will ultimately decide the fate of three civilizations.


The Tenacious hurtles towards a deadly confrontation at Nadir, where the Kith of the jungle face an invasion by strangers from beyond the sea. Twins Azial and Seruya believe they are destined to defeat this new enemy, an alliance complicated by Seruya's banishment. To unite the tribes, Azial fights old rivalries and the legacy of his own blood, when a tragic mistake by his son threatens to turn one of his supporters into a bitter enemy. Seruya's path leads her to the birthplace of the Kith's oldest enemy, where she uncovers a secret that will change them all forever.


Meanwhile, on the Commonwealth's homeworld of Marshal, Shura has hidden her son's mysterious defects from the government for seven years, afraid she'll lose him as she lost her other children to war. When her only ally is arrested, she makes a desperate gamble for freedom, and discovers her son's secret holds far more weight than she ever suspected...

337 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2017

About the author

EJ Heijnis wanted to be a writer ever since he read his first book and discovered one could make those for a living. He moved from his home in the Netherlands to the United States to be with the woman he loves, and pursued a rewarding career in retail management before deciding to live his lifelong dream of writing and publishing fiction. He lives in California with his wife and two disreputable cats, and in his spare time enjoys watching movies, playing strategy games, reading, and the occasional hike. In Nadir's Shadow is his first published novel.

Reviews

[Adam Windsor · Rating 3 out of 5]

There seems to be a tendency among indie SF authors to shoot for 'epic' by introducing lots of characters with separate stories and hinting that they'll all ultimately join up in this intricate and masterful weave. The problem is, that the actual result is that the first book of their series (because it's pretty much always a series) ends up feeling like little more than an extremely extended preamble as a but of disconnected plot lines all progress at snail's pace, due to constantly being interrupted by each other.

Heijnis actually does a better than average job of handling this problem, and his setting is interesting enough that I'm curious to see how things pan out in the future, but right now I'm going to wait and see how many books the series actually runs for. If it turns out to be one of those interminable 27-parters, then I'm not that interested. If this is 3 or 4 and done, I may be back.

[Kim Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jumpy

I like the characters in this book but the time line was all over the map... It should be interesting to see where book two goes...