Conversations With Droids: 12 Short Stories From The Universe Of The Kassini Division

Kassini

by Esa Ortega

Explore the futuristic universe of The Kassini Division with this collection of 12 short stories from Esa Ortega.

You’ll encounter dogs with pupgrades, bughunts with a difference, brutal game therapies, mysterious quantum birdlife, Earth’s longest-surviving brand, planets infested with mysterious petals… and much more.

Join a cast of human, alien and AI characters desperately finding ways to survive and thrive in the hostile, spectacular world of 2889 – as a disintegrating truce between three rival galactic empires plays out, twists and turns are the only constant.

Conversations With Droids is the perfect way to immerse yourself in the universe of The Kassini Division, a fast-paced futuristic thriller for fans of Battlestar Galactica, Old Man’s War, The Expanse, Firefly and all manner of classic sci-fi.

Praise for The Kassini Division by Esa Ortega

“Absolutely stunning. A gripping debut from a writer with obvious talent. The plot zips along at a feverish pace” – Amazon reviewer, 5 stars “
Funny, fast-paced and very, very clever… It has been a long time since I have read a book that has been so immersive that it is almost mind altering” – Amazon reviewer, 5 stars
“Fully formed worlds and new races, with believable characters and brilliant dialogue ” – Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

142 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2021

About the author

Esa Ortega is a UK-based writer of science fiction. He was brought up in the 80s surrounded by dog-eared paperbacks, games that may or may not load and pirated Betamax copies of sci-fi classics. During this time, his mind was exposed to such powerful phenomena as Elite, Blade Runner, Alien, Hitch-Hiker's Guide... and Battlestar Galactica. He has stayed immersed in the sci-fi realm ever since, only reluctantly re-materialising in this dimension to walk among you and undertake a variety of menial tasks.

The Kassini Division is his debut novel. It offers military sci-fi with character, space opera with a dose of realism and futuristic espionage with a heart, and is a non-stop thrill ride that lovingly references the best retro science fiction.

Its sequel, Rise Of The Exiles, was released in January 2023.

Conversations With Droids is a collection of 12 short stories set in the same universe: sign up to the mailing list at www.esaortega.com for a free eBook copy.

My Time As A Shadow is a post-apocalyptic zombie survival thriller set in the UK.

Dead Formats is a near-future tech-noir sci-fi detective mystery.

Fleet Rats is the first in the Dropzone mil-SF series, also set in the same universe as the Kassini books.

All books are available at Amazon.

Sign up to the mailing list at www.esaortega.com.

Reviews

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing collection of sci fi stories

There were a few too many stories slanted toward horror for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed Mak 14 and Krieger's "origin" stories. The universe is fascinating, and the stories are well-written.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started both this and the Kassini Division at the same time, but I decided to first read the collection which gives a good introduction to both the universe of the novel and the writing style of the author; takes a little to get used to both, but then I appreciated the stories quite a lot with a few that were both interesting and entertaining (most notably the first story, the title story, the uplifted dog one and the one about Captain Krieger) and the rest enjoyable

Hope the novel will also fulfill the early promise, while this volume is definitely recomended

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this collection of short stories after I read The Kassini Division, the Esa Ortega’s debut novel set in the same universe - some of the characters reappear here.

I really enjoyed the variety and there’s a mix of intriguing ideas… Love how it can jump from intergalactic battles between empires one minute and fun ideas about futuristic everyday life the next!