Interference / Insurgency by Michelle DienerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Two Interesting Sci-Fi Novellas
This book contains two novellas set in the Verdant String universe. They are self-contained but the reading order given on Goodreads seems to indicate that these novellas come before the others.
Both novellas revolve around women of the Halatian people. They came from a world that was destroyed and the people were spread around the Verdant String. Not many of them were left and more could have been done to rescue them if the rest of the Verdant String has acted sooner. They have a strange place in society because the guilt and shame that they didn’t act sooner is always felt whenever a Halatian is faced.
In Interference Nyha is on a moon with her four wards, and they are all Halatian. They are visiting the ruins of an ancient civilisation that predated the advent of the Verdant String as it stands now. The moon is set to be destroyed because its orbit changed and it is set to crash into the planet below. They are waiting to be picked up from their trip when instead their pick up contains a group of attackers come to take the Halatians hostage whilst they search for something.
In Insurgency Tila, another Halatian, is at work when her building is attacked by terrorists. She is taken hostage when the terrorists are stopped before they can escape after setting a bomb. Drake, the commander who rescued her when she was a child, and Nick, his subordinate and her neighbour, do not plan to let her come to harm, no matter the political delays this time.
Both these novellas are set around a similar subject, though they involve different characters. They are also are connected via an overarching plot.
I really enjoyed these books as the characters were really interesting. There is a hint of romance in both but essentially they are clean books. The women both had very different reactions to their horrible experiences escaping as children. Nyha learnt martial arts and taught it to her wards. She became their defender and taught them to be strong and brave as she had wished herself to be when she escaped. Tila was withdrawn and shy. She was much more fearful and risk-averse because of her traumas. They also ended up on different planets with their different cultures and they have never met.
The world-building was fascinating. I love the idea of a string of planets being found and settled by the same group simultaneously to avoid all their eggs being in one basket, then going their separate ways until so much time passed they forget the other planets existed. The societies share common morals and philosophies but are still different enough to be noticeable. It’s an intriguing setup for a series and I can’t wait to read the other books in the series as a result.
The plots were interesting and tightly written to fit into the novella structure. Once I started reading both novellas I had to keep going until they ended because I was so drawn in.
I really hope that these characters appear later in the series because I find them interesting and likeable for their bravery, intelligence and compassion. It’s an engaging blend of characteristics.
I must go and read the ‘first’ book in the series now!
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