In this installment, the fugitive family is fractured as Alana and Marko live separately on the planet Gardenia. Alana performs in an underground circuit of open-circuit television while Marko struggles with domestic isolation and a growing narcotics addiction. Their daughter Hazel grows older in secrecy, unaware of the galactic war between Wreath and Landfall that defines her existence. Nearby, the robot Prince Robot IV faces the consequences of his desertion, and the freelancer Gwendolyn attempts to find a cure for the poisoned Will.
Readers of adult space opera and dark fantasy find here a grounded depiction of marriage under financial and emotional strain. The story strips away the spectacle of laser battles to focus on the mechanics of sobriety, infidelity, and parenting in a hostile environment. Readers walk away with a cynical but honest perspective on how individual identities erode within a long-term relationship. It offers a blunt look at the logistical difficulties of survival for those caught between warring political ideologies and the physical toll of systemic violence.
- Published
- 2015
- Language
- EN
