"They're an enigma. When it comes down to it, we know almost nothing about them, or their technology".
"They read people's dreams, and can control matter and light with their minds. Quite incredible really. What humans thought of as magic actually exists, in a way..."
Gardens of Earth by Mark Iles (Elsewhen Press) is a heady mix of sci fi and fantasy, with elements of time travel and myths. It's a formidable saga of a post-apocalyptic future, when the aliens take over the Earth.
This is the first book of The Sundering Chronicles.
"The story tackles war against the Spooks, aliens that invaded Earth in their "ghostly plant" ships seeking revenge for the destruction of their own planet by humans; a future that may be considered either dystopian or utopian, depending on who you ask; and a protagonist coping with his personal demons in an unfamiliar and stressful environment - not to mention immediate threats from a pathological killer, the remnants of Earth's inhabitants now living in a sparse pre-industrial society under the watchful eye of the Spooks, and returning human colonists intent on reclaiming Earth. Underlying all this are issues of social justice, human and android rights, and love that transcends difference".
You might compare it to Lord of the Rings with spaceships and andrioids.
The very first chapter grabs you by the collar and throws you into a terrifying action scene between the humans and the aliens.
As the population of Earth is growing, the colonisation of the distant planets seems like a logical solution. Except that due to the corporate greed and blundering surveyors, the planet dubbed "Halloween" is not an uninhabited free world available for the humans to seize and establish a colony within. The military units, deployed to protect the human colony on Halloween, have named the aliens "Spooks" for their ability to read people's innermost thoughts, twist their minds and thrive on their fears. The fear is turned into an individual weapon of destruction, in the most horrific way.
The colony on Halloween is doomed. As a retaliation, the military units nuke the planet. A big mistake, as now the Spooks are taking their revenge on Earth, invading it and executing the humans, one by one.
There is a last minute attempt to save the planet and avert the alien invasion.
A marine combat pilot Seethan Bodell is given a top secret spacecraft which allows you to travel in time. The original plan is for Seethan and his non-combatant co-pilot and secret lover Rose Mills to go back in time, to stop the mankind from ever colonising Halloween.
However, the mission goes terribly wrong. Instead of the past, Seethan finds himself in the distant future, where technology doesn't work, and where the remaining humans live in a pre-industrial society.
Seethan has been sent home from the front to give him a chance to recover from the PTSD. He has his own demons to conquer. His nightmares are related to the last battle, where he lost his close friends. "As always, he was unable to remember the nightmares. all he knew about them was the rush of adrenalin that made his fists clench, the tension in his shoulders, and the thudding in his chest, as if his heart were trying to dig its wasy through his rib cage".
Seethan is in love with Rose, but their relationship is a tricky one. Rose is an android. Many humans openly dislike "the silver freaks" and distrust them. Seethan believes the androids have as much right to a decent life as anyone else. "Back where he came from people were afraid of their [androids'] strength, intelligence, and sense of purpose. Mankind knew that if the machines ever turned against humanity then they'd be in serious trouble..."
The future when Seethan finds himself is the society, surviving after the tragic events of The Sundering, when the world has been decimated, and the reality has changed forever. The Spooks have won the war and now rule the Earth.
The small tribes of humans are scattered around the planet, living the simple lives, without technology. They are being watched by the Spooks, and punished if they are considered to be disobedient.
Seethan is desperate to find Rose, who he believes has landed in this world as well. He knows that her android body won't be able to survive in the current situation.
The post-apocalyptic society on Earth is portrayed as a place where the old magic is resurrected, with the mythological creatures roaming the wild forests, like werewolves, elves, witches. "The paranormal existed. It always had. The Spooks' arrival had simply rekindled the magic that had once been abundant, but had lain dormant in recent centuries".
Gardens of Earth is power-packed with social and philosophical themes, concepts and ideas of advanced technology, its values and flaws, space exploration, alien life, parallel worlds, time travel, fictional societies being a social commentary on the modern life etc. From sci fi technology and aliens the narrative moves to a more philosophical, almost spiritual fantasy tale.
Edgy, compelling and creepy as hell...
Different from my usual reads, it is a great discovery. Can't wait to read the second book in the series.
Author Bio:
Born and raised in Slough, Mark Iles began studying the martial arts when he was 14 and joined the Royal Navy at the age of 17. A voracious reader he used to devour up to three paperbacks a day – primarily science fiction, fantasy, and horror – by the likes of John Wyndham, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Brian Lumley, Stephen King, and a plethora of others. After the Falklands War, Mark was drafted to Hong Kong, where he began writing features for various martial arts magazines and short stories for a wide range of markets. While there his first book, Kwak’s Competition Taekwondo was published by Hai Feng.
In 2012 he decided to challenge himself and undertook an MA in Professional Writing, followed by Diplomas in both Copywriting and Proofreading. With over 200 short stories and features under his belt the book he wrote for his MA project, A Pride of Lions, was accepted and published by Solstice Publishing. This was followed by two more books, The Cull of Lions and Roar of Lions – plus 4 novellas and a short story collection, Falling From Grace, and others. His latest novel, Gardens of Earth – first book in The Sundering Chronicles, was published by Elsewhen this October.
Now a full-time writer Mark is working on the second book in The Sundering Chronicles series, as well as another short story collection. Over the years he has risen in the ranks of Taekwondo and now holds a 9th Degree black belt, and loves passing on his knowledge as and where he can.
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