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Breaking Colossus
The intergalactic war rages on.
Freedom seems within our grasp...
...but our savior has gone missing.
When Roth joined the Ascendancy military as an intelligence officer, he thought he was doing the right thing. But when his father, the legendary Grey Soleis, is reported MIA, Roth is torn between military duty and family.
Grey is a man of mythic proportions. Some want him to stay lost. Others worship him. Both he and Roth have something in common—
Someone wants them dead.
For Alora Soleis, her missing husband is the least of her worries when an insurrection traps her on her homeworld. Will she summon enough fighting strength? Or become that which she hates?
Both she and Roth must transcend their limitations to save their family from breaking apart forever.
Freedom seems within our grasp...
...but our savior has gone missing.
When Roth joined the Ascendancy military as an intelligence officer, he thought he was doing the right thing. But when his father, the legendary Grey Soleis, is reported MIA, Roth is torn between military duty and family.
Grey is a man of mythic proportions. Some want him to stay lost. Others worship him. Both he and Roth have something in common—
Someone wants them dead.
For Alora Soleis, her missing husband is the least of her worries when an insurrection traps her on her homeworld. Will she summon enough fighting strength? Or become that which she hates?
Both she and Roth must transcend their limitations to save their family from breaking apart forever.
452 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 16, 2022
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Matt Wright
8 books3 followersHi! I’m Matt
I've been crafting full-length novels for over fifteen years. My journey as an author has taken me to incredible places—literally and figuratively. I've lived in Hawai'i, South America, and various parts of the United States, drawing inspiration from these diverse landscapes and cultures. My goal is to weave these rich experiences into the fabric of my stories, creating immersive worlds and relatable characters that resonate with readers.
My academic background is deeply rooted in the study of creative writing. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing from Dixie State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Genre Fiction from Western Colorado University. This formal education has honed my skills and allowed me to delve deeply into the intricacies of storytelling, character development, and world-building.
In my writing, I explore complex themes and dynamic character relationships set against the backdrop of expansive, imaginative universes. Whether it's the intergalactic conflicts of my Stars Reach series or the intense personal struggles of my protagonists, my aim is to keep you on the edge of your seat, turning pages late into the night.
I hope my stories captivate your imagination as much as they have fueled my love for writing.
I've been crafting full-length novels for over fifteen years. My journey as an author has taken me to incredible places—literally and figuratively. I've lived in Hawai'i, South America, and various parts of the United States, drawing inspiration from these diverse landscapes and cultures. My goal is to weave these rich experiences into the fabric of my stories, creating immersive worlds and relatable characters that resonate with readers.
My academic background is deeply rooted in the study of creative writing. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing from Dixie State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Genre Fiction from Western Colorado University. This formal education has honed my skills and allowed me to delve deeply into the intricacies of storytelling, character development, and world-building.
In my writing, I explore complex themes and dynamic character relationships set against the backdrop of expansive, imaginative universes. Whether it's the intergalactic conflicts of my Stars Reach series or the intense personal struggles of my protagonists, my aim is to keep you on the edge of your seat, turning pages late into the night.
I hope my stories captivate your imagination as much as they have fueled my love for writing.
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October 22, 2023Breaking Colossus: Stars Reach Book One by Matt Wright is a novel that I won from the author in a random drawing during its release period, and I was very happy to be one of the three winners.
Normally I wouldn't choose space-oriented sci-fi myself, but this author was quite close to his mentor, the late, great David Farland, so it was a good idea to enter the drawing and get a peek at a work that must have been strongly influenced by a master storyteller.
After long delays and life getting in the way, I've finally finished this first entry in Matt Wright's new Stars Reach series. And an enjoyable read it was.
First off, I could follow the plot all the way through, even reading it in tidbits over the course of 8 months, without ever having to backtrack. This speaks to its exceptionally clear writing, carefully laid out plot arcs, and memorable characters who are dealing with easily followed situations that stuck in my mind across all those months. Some may enjoy deeply complex, multi-layered plots with a dozen points of view that bounce back and forth like hairy, screaming tennis balls. I, however, enjoy a simpler storyline that my mind can lock onto, with only a few points of view and characters who I can care about. Matt Wright achieves this quite nicely.
Our hero, Roth Soleis, is a rather quiet but deeply caring individual who reminds me of a young Matt Damon type, and James L. Cook's gorgeous cover art seems to reflect that visage. I could easily see this story written up as a film. It's relatively simple enough to transfer well to the big screen, but not so simple that it lacks intrigue and interest in its many populated worlds, and in its conflicts, both grand and personal. I consider this to be soft sci-fi, not the hyper-realistic star travel of Isaac Asimov, full of technerdical details on the whys and wherefores of star travel. This is more of a gritty and enjoyable space-fantasy ride. It's got enough fascinating tech and science to feel grounded, but it takes a back seat to the heart-felt and soulful human stories found among these particular stars.
Roth wants to do what's right for his family, so much so that he risks his entire future to bring them back together. He sets himself on a quest with the help of Trin, a uniquely tough but kind leading lady who is singularly driven to assist Roth in a quest to find his missing father, the acclaimed war leader Grey Soleis, who has been fighting with the Ascendancy against the incursions of the Dominion. Grey is a near-mythological being of a man, and one wonders how a man with such shocking abilities and resilience just "goes missing". Well, there's a reason.
Meanwhile Roth's mother, Queen Alora of Talem, and now head of House Soleis, faces her own dangerous struggle against those who would betray and usurp her family's legacy. Alora is quite the tough lady herself. Her response to the situation at first seems passive and weak...or is it?
Breaking Colossus isn't focused so much on the kings and queens of the stars, or its expansive battles across far-flung regions of space (at least not yet). This first installment is focused on a son's search for his own legacy, his own purpose, and how he gets there, despite being cursed by a rather arcane and powerful being on top of all his other troubles. A being who has placed a time limit on Roth's search, and on his life, if he fails.
I highly recommend Breaking Colossus for anyone who loves to delve into the struggles of individual characters who feel real, who are living out believable and relatable human stories that one can easily follow and enjoy the journey, without being beaten over the head with the galaxy-spanning machinations of soulless empires. Maybe we'll get to that later on in the series, I don't know... but if we do, I have faith that within such machinations we'll be following characters we can cheer on, mourn their losses, and thrill to their victories.
I'll be grabbing the second installment, Revenant's War, as soon as it comes out.
You can find more of Matt Wright's work at https://starsreach.net/
Normally I wouldn't choose space-oriented sci-fi myself, but this author was quite close to his mentor, the late, great David Farland, so it was a good idea to enter the drawing and get a peek at a work that must have been strongly influenced by a master storyteller.
After long delays and life getting in the way, I've finally finished this first entry in Matt Wright's new Stars Reach series. And an enjoyable read it was.
First off, I could follow the plot all the way through, even reading it in tidbits over the course of 8 months, without ever having to backtrack. This speaks to its exceptionally clear writing, carefully laid out plot arcs, and memorable characters who are dealing with easily followed situations that stuck in my mind across all those months. Some may enjoy deeply complex, multi-layered plots with a dozen points of view that bounce back and forth like hairy, screaming tennis balls. I, however, enjoy a simpler storyline that my mind can lock onto, with only a few points of view and characters who I can care about. Matt Wright achieves this quite nicely.
Our hero, Roth Soleis, is a rather quiet but deeply caring individual who reminds me of a young Matt Damon type, and James L. Cook's gorgeous cover art seems to reflect that visage. I could easily see this story written up as a film. It's relatively simple enough to transfer well to the big screen, but not so simple that it lacks intrigue and interest in its many populated worlds, and in its conflicts, both grand and personal. I consider this to be soft sci-fi, not the hyper-realistic star travel of Isaac Asimov, full of technerdical details on the whys and wherefores of star travel. This is more of a gritty and enjoyable space-fantasy ride. It's got enough fascinating tech and science to feel grounded, but it takes a back seat to the heart-felt and soulful human stories found among these particular stars.
Roth wants to do what's right for his family, so much so that he risks his entire future to bring them back together. He sets himself on a quest with the help of Trin, a uniquely tough but kind leading lady who is singularly driven to assist Roth in a quest to find his missing father, the acclaimed war leader Grey Soleis, who has been fighting with the Ascendancy against the incursions of the Dominion. Grey is a near-mythological being of a man, and one wonders how a man with such shocking abilities and resilience just "goes missing". Well, there's a reason.
Meanwhile Roth's mother, Queen Alora of Talem, and now head of House Soleis, faces her own dangerous struggle against those who would betray and usurp her family's legacy. Alora is quite the tough lady herself. Her response to the situation at first seems passive and weak...or is it?
Breaking Colossus isn't focused so much on the kings and queens of the stars, or its expansive battles across far-flung regions of space (at least not yet). This first installment is focused on a son's search for his own legacy, his own purpose, and how he gets there, despite being cursed by a rather arcane and powerful being on top of all his other troubles. A being who has placed a time limit on Roth's search, and on his life, if he fails.
I highly recommend Breaking Colossus for anyone who loves to delve into the struggles of individual characters who feel real, who are living out believable and relatable human stories that one can easily follow and enjoy the journey, without being beaten over the head with the galaxy-spanning machinations of soulless empires. Maybe we'll get to that later on in the series, I don't know... but if we do, I have faith that within such machinations we'll be following characters we can cheer on, mourn their losses, and thrill to their victories.
I'll be grabbing the second installment, Revenant's War, as soon as it comes out.
You can find more of Matt Wright's work at https://starsreach.net/
March 8, 2023
I kinda enjoyed this one.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews