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Stormweaver #1
Duneflyer
A mysterious stranger. A murderous ambush and a sinister plot in the deep desert.
Alissa returns home from university, still haunted by the death of her sister and a restlessness that keeps drawing her back into the great sand sea of Irithen, the dangerous heart of a remote province on a distant planet.
Her attempt to save the life of the young and charismatic Talin throws her into a whirlwind of hidden agendas and a ruthless military attack. Only her mental and physical skills can keep her alive in this vast expanse of sand, heat, enormous lizards and poisonous scorpions.
Learning to fly a giant condor before it kills her would help as well.
Alissa returns home from university, still haunted by the death of her sister and a restlessness that keeps drawing her back into the great sand sea of Irithen, the dangerous heart of a remote province on a distant planet.
Her attempt to save the life of the young and charismatic Talin throws her into a whirlwind of hidden agendas and a ruthless military attack. Only her mental and physical skills can keep her alive in this vast expanse of sand, heat, enormous lizards and poisonous scorpions.
Learning to fly a giant condor before it kills her would help as well.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 17, 2022
107 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Jay Aspen
43 books18 followersHi, thanks for visiting my page. I’m Jay, a sci-fi, thriller and occasional fantasy author from the wild Welsh borders!
I love weaving my (sometimes hair-raising) experiences of extreme sports into my stories as well as painting scenes from my travels into both contemporary and imagined worlds.
When I’m reading, I find the blend of fast-paced plots and interesting, compelling characters is what keeps the pages turning – so that is how I like to write.
I hope you’ll love my stories – there are more of them due out this year!
You can find more of my online pages and my work at the links below. Don’t forget to sign up for my VIP reader-group to keep up to date on my news and new releases!
I love weaving my (sometimes hair-raising) experiences of extreme sports into my stories as well as painting scenes from my travels into both contemporary and imagined worlds.
When I’m reading, I find the blend of fast-paced plots and interesting, compelling characters is what keeps the pages turning – so that is how I like to write.
I hope you’ll love my stories – there are more of them due out this year!
You can find more of my online pages and my work at the links below. Don’t forget to sign up for my VIP reader-group to keep up to date on my news and new releases!
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 20, 2024
A Dune-like epic adventure (not a fanfic) with a female MC, but not my cuppa
Alissa val Astaria of Irithen, Pangea is super competitive and likes to prove she can do everything better than everyone else - sand-sea navigation, attunements, summoning. That’s until she goes into the desert with her younger sister and falls asleep, missing to replenish an anti-scorpion antidote on their clothing. Ever since, she’s been trying to make amends, which frequently lands her going into the desert alone, in trouble, and before the chief of security of the city. When she defends a stranger and follows him to the desert, she lands in the midst of an unnecessary bloodshed by trickery situation.
The start 30pp is too much background info and family ties. The going gets better when Alissa helps young warrior Talin fend off an assassination attempt from 2 thugs. Overall - not my cuppa as epic and in 1st person and in present tense (all 3 of my pet peeves in one book, gah).
I liked the magic in the desert - weaving oscillating sounds to make weapons to fend of scorpions as well as to cook dinner. I mean - singing the frequency to synth it to microwave or converting the wavelength to infrared by using singing harmonics - that sounds pretty cool not to mention unique. Also loved tal - the energy? signature to follow someone’s journey. Loved that Alissa and Talin ended up training together, and especially the fact it involved searches based on intuition, sensing and empathy. The need to train how to fly condors was bizarre, but I guess the no-techy-fly ban over the desert where the Webweavers secretly resided had something to do with it.
Tbh, I can see this being made into a Dune-like movie, with a female MC and with stress on desert fighters that are called Webweavers in this book. Giant lizards instead of worms for transport and an intrigue at central government level to kill off the fighters are other similar elements echoing Dune, but it’s not a fanfic. Must love epic to read this. As for me - a non-fan of epic AND long descriptions AND present tense 1st person narrative - this was difficult to read. Not a fan. The world is well built and complex and fine. The main character is headstrong but comes to the fighters with little drama. Nothing as epic as in Dune. I chuckled at the Irithenis being descended from convicted rebels parallel to Australian history, except Pangea is off-world from Earth. There were no high stakes at the beginning or throughout (unless you count intrigues to wipe out desert dwellers and contaminate the water supply as such - but to what overall end? and by whom? - maybe this is revealed in later books, but am not continuing with this series). There was no real character development, and the feels were very low on the emotive side - so for me, this was neither a character nor a plot driven book. At least the names were pronouncable, so that was good.
Recommended for lovers of Dune, sandplanet epics, very very long-building eco-romance (I think) and epic scifi fantasy.
Alissa val Astaria of Irithen, Pangea is super competitive and likes to prove she can do everything better than everyone else - sand-sea navigation, attunements, summoning. That’s until she goes into the desert with her younger sister and falls asleep, missing to replenish an anti-scorpion antidote on their clothing. Ever since, she’s been trying to make amends, which frequently lands her going into the desert alone, in trouble, and before the chief of security of the city. When she defends a stranger and follows him to the desert, she lands in the midst of an unnecessary bloodshed by trickery situation.
The start 30pp is too much background info and family ties. The going gets better when Alissa helps young warrior Talin fend off an assassination attempt from 2 thugs. Overall - not my cuppa as epic and in 1st person and in present tense (all 3 of my pet peeves in one book, gah).
I liked the magic in the desert - weaving oscillating sounds to make weapons to fend of scorpions as well as to cook dinner. I mean - singing the frequency to synth it to microwave or converting the wavelength to infrared by using singing harmonics - that sounds pretty cool not to mention unique. Also loved tal - the energy? signature to follow someone’s journey. Loved that Alissa and Talin ended up training together, and especially the fact it involved searches based on intuition, sensing and empathy. The need to train how to fly condors was bizarre, but I guess the no-techy-fly ban over the desert where the Webweavers secretly resided had something to do with it.
Tbh, I can see this being made into a Dune-like movie, with a female MC and with stress on desert fighters that are called Webweavers in this book. Giant lizards instead of worms for transport and an intrigue at central government level to kill off the fighters are other similar elements echoing Dune, but it’s not a fanfic. Must love epic to read this. As for me - a non-fan of epic AND long descriptions AND present tense 1st person narrative - this was difficult to read. Not a fan. The world is well built and complex and fine. The main character is headstrong but comes to the fighters with little drama. Nothing as epic as in Dune. I chuckled at the Irithenis being descended from convicted rebels parallel to Australian history, except Pangea is off-world from Earth. There were no high stakes at the beginning or throughout (unless you count intrigues to wipe out desert dwellers and contaminate the water supply as such - but to what overall end? and by whom? - maybe this is revealed in later books, but am not continuing with this series). There was no real character development, and the feels were very low on the emotive side - so for me, this was neither a character nor a plot driven book. At least the names were pronouncable, so that was good.
Recommended for lovers of Dune, sandplanet epics, very very long-building eco-romance (I think) and epic scifi fantasy.
October 17, 2021
Skill and adventure in the desert
I really enjoyed this! Gripping and entertaining, the adventure is set in a strange and original world of breathtaking deserts and fierce creatures. A team of warriors sworn to protect the dynamic balance of the place use their highly-trained skills to work with some of these fearsome monsters. It is the only chance they have against a sinister plot to destroy their home planet. The characters are well-described and engaging and I particularly liked the survival-interactions with the grumpy condor. The author weaves a fascinating and original form of fantasy, where the ‘magic’ is outrageous yet convincing and hints at more revelations unfolding in the rest of the series.
I really enjoyed this! Gripping and entertaining, the adventure is set in a strange and original world of breathtaking deserts and fierce creatures. A team of warriors sworn to protect the dynamic balance of the place use their highly-trained skills to work with some of these fearsome monsters. It is the only chance they have against a sinister plot to destroy their home planet. The characters are well-described and engaging and I particularly liked the survival-interactions with the grumpy condor. The author weaves a fascinating and original form of fantasy, where the ‘magic’ is outrageous yet convincing and hints at more revelations unfolding in the rest of the series.
January 23, 2022
Reminds me of Dune
This feels like a modern take to Dune. Interesting characters that you feel invested in right away. I like having a lot of strong female characters although the merging of what I would describe as spirituality and technology is what I love most about the book. The main character’s curiosity and sense of righteousness leads her to more adventures than she bargains for. Looking forward to the next book!
This feels like a modern take to Dune. Interesting characters that you feel invested in right away. I like having a lot of strong female characters although the merging of what I would describe as spirituality and technology is what I love most about the book. The main character’s curiosity and sense of righteousness leads her to more adventures than she bargains for. Looking forward to the next book!
October 16, 2021
Excellent tale from Jay Aspen
Tales of young women with special skills facing terror in fantasy lands is Jay Aspen's speciality. Duneflyer is great. Pacy, believable, satisfying. And sets up the series very nicely indeed.
Tales of young women with special skills facing terror in fantasy lands is Jay Aspen's speciality. Duneflyer is great. Pacy, believable, satisfying. And sets up the series very nicely indeed.
July 29, 2022
Written well with an interesting story
Although this book is more sci fi than fantasy, I think the author has come up with something different for the characters than is written very often. Her writing and editing score above most books I've read recently, and I read quite a bit.
Although this book is more sci fi than fantasy, I think the author has come up with something different for the characters than is written very often. Her writing and editing score above most books I've read recently, and I read quite a bit.
January 7, 2022
Dune flyer review
Really enjoyed this book and what other characters come into play. It got better deeper into it. I'm looking forward to Stormweaver book 2.
Really enjoyed this book and what other characters come into play. It got better deeper into it. I'm looking forward to Stormweaver book 2.
Read
January 30, 2022Awesome
I've been a fan of Dune forever and when I was reading this book, I was thinking of Dune. It was a perfect example of a book with adventure, secrets and danger!
I've been a fan of Dune forever and when I was reading this book, I was thinking of Dune. It was a perfect example of a book with adventure, secrets and danger!
June 27, 2023
imagination in use here!
cannot say much more than thank you for giving us/me a story I can not only bread willingly but respectfully.
cannot say much more than thank you for giving us/me a story I can not only bread willingly but respectfully.
March 14, 2024
Imagine if you fixed the issues with Dune, then threw in elements from Avatar, you’d get Duneflyer. Jay Aspen has put a lot of thought into the world of the Webdancers. The desert planet so reminiscent of Dune has much more realistic exofauna and exoflora. Venomous insects that emerge at night, large lizards which eat anything, including their riders, and animals humans brought with them. As with Dune, there is a low-level technology at play, because the planet has a resonance human tech cannot cope, this does not mean there’s no neat future tech, because there is, but it’s limited. Essentially, the entire world just fits together nicely without those awkward questions Frank Herbert left unanswered. The main character, Alissa, is likeable, inquisitive, and brave. When she’s dropped into an off-worlder plot of some nefarious purpose, she shows her adaptability. With this being the first in the series, spotting all those future book plot points at their genesis is wonderful. If you’re after a far future series with in-depth thought and credible world building, give this one a go!
April 19, 2024
"Duneflyer" by Jay Aspen is a sci-fi fantasy ride that'll hook you from page one. Picture this: a badass young warrior girl, way out of her element, embarking on an epic desert adventure on a distant planet. Think creepy stingers, vicious lizards, and shady human foes lurking around every corner. But here's the kicker: soaring high above it all on the backs of majestic condors trained to carry only the bravest souls.
And if reading isn't your thing, the audiobook is a whole new level of awesome. Jay Aspen herself narrates, weaving the story with the cadence of an ancient ballad. It's like being whisked away on a thrilling journey with your coolest friend leading the way. Trust me, you want to take advantage of this wild ride.
Read
July 15, 2025Excellent first book in the series
Read Dune many years ago and remember how complicated it was to a young teen reader, watching the first film helped (who can forget a precocious Sting)
This is similar teritory but takes a different path so no way a Dune wannabe.
Good descriptions you can easily visualise, no spelling errors and flowed along very easily for me.
Was sorry when it finished. This copy was free, very tempted to pay for the rest of the series ....!!!!!
Read Dune many years ago and remember how complicated it was to a young teen reader, watching the first film helped (who can forget a precocious Sting)
This is similar teritory but takes a different path so no way a Dune wannabe.
Good descriptions you can easily visualise, no spelling errors and flowed along very easily for me.
Was sorry when it finished. This copy was free, very tempted to pay for the rest of the series ....!!!!!
February 22, 2022
Interesting concept being in sync with the environment
The ability to feel 1 with the environment and to discern when the environment is disrupted Is an interesting idea.
Book is Too short. Needs a couple hundred more pages to be a complete book
The ability to feel 1 with the environment and to discern when the environment is disrupted Is an interesting idea.
Book is Too short. Needs a couple hundred more pages to be a complete book
Read
November 8, 2025I put this down at about 20%
the Dune vibes are cool, but I couldn't connect to the main character and wasn't enjoying the dialogue.
the Dune vibes are cool, but I couldn't connect to the main character and wasn't enjoying the dialogue.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews