Wandering Storm

Reunification #3

by Steven J. Anderson

A reluctant young soldier must fight her way through hell to save the Interstellar Union and the man she loves. Mala Dusa Holloman pledged her life and sacred honor to the Union when she joined the Reunification Commission, but the Academy changed during her time there. No longer a center of scientific learning, it became a training ground for Earth’s officers corps, its graduates destined for the front lines as conflict engulfs the Interstellar Union. The Tarakana are enabling the war. Alien, secretive, most are tearing the Union apart, feeding off human desire for blood and revenge. One Tarakana colony stands against them. Merrimac feeds on nobler emotions. Both sides are breeding humans for their own preferred traits. Mala Dusa and her lover, Samuel Coleridge, are Merrimac’s latest generation, and their unborn child is just what the Tarakana want. All of the Tarakana. Merrimac has shown Mala Dusa many alternate futures, trying to coax her to his chosen path. In only one can she and Samuel survive after their child is born. The path is hazy, but they can live if she remembers the steps. One mistake could cost everything - their lives, their child, and humanity’s future.

264 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 2, 2018

About the author

Steve Anderson is currently marooned on a small planet in an isolated region of the galaxy. No longer allowed to travel freely from planet to planet, he spends his time recounting past adventures from Earth’s vast interstellar Union. Although narrated as though he lived them, most are the product of tales told in confidence over many a glass of scotch in taverns and pubs found close by the more unsavory quarters of Bodens Gate, New Palisade, and a dozen other worlds.
Steve can currently be found in Colorado, not far from where the Reunification Commission will one day build its Academy. Steve believes that if you find yourself confined to a single planet, at least pick a spot that’s pretty. Steve’s official biography shows degrees in Geology and Economics from the University of Colorado, and a long stint spent working with satellite ground control systems. The veracity of these entries is unverifiable, but the stories he’s gathered from around the Union are an entertaining preview of the future that awaits us.

Reviews

[Doug Garnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in Steven Anderson’s intriguing sci fi series. You can find hints about the story elsewhere. Let me observe I have enjoyed all three book with their very human characters - a welcome relief in the world of sci-fi where comic book characters abound among even some of the most widely read authors. And where most sci-fi authors seem to want to envision worlds where all has changed, Anderson’s future brings a tremendous amount from the past - religions, languages, music. This is a much more likely envisioning of a future where space travel has become common. (After all, despite tremendous change today in the trappings around us, the core cultures of faith, arts, language, and humanity change very slowly.)

I highly recommend this book which pays off all the ground set in Book 2. All I want to know is when Book 4 will come out.

[Judy R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series grows on you.

Usually, I don’t bother with any plot involving the paranormal, but the characters are so intriguing, and their interactions with each other and the aliens so unexpected, that I read right along. What happens next? Must know. My only regret is that some die too soon and I would have liked to know them better.

[Roberta Crownover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most series, Wandering Storm, Wandering Soul, and Wandering Storm are best served by reading them in order. The characters are charming and problematic. Alien mind-influence adds a great twist to the primarily young characters.
Read.