Writing

DARK STRENGTH – A NOVEL

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Blurb

Life looks good for Belinda, about to leave school and go to university. Instead, to her dismay, she finds herself aboard the flagship of a huge alien star fleet, destined to become the wife of the Sargon leader Ishnor. There are many other human prisoners, kept permanently young. The Sargon and their human captives are traveling to Andromeda, to escape a cosmic event, that will eventually destroy all life in their part of the galaxy.

Belinda is soon pregnant, and learns there is a prophecy – her child will be vital to the existence of the Sargon. Soon after birth, the hybrid Sophia reveals her great intellectual gifts and telepathic powers to her mother.

Both mother and daughter are determined to uncover the secret of Dark, a substance with great power to protect or destroy. Beset by many trials, they are fearful that humans will be treated as a subject people – and what is the mysterious Yis?

Why did I write Dark Strength?

Twenty-five years ago, I was employed for a year as an official on the government’s Technology Foresight programme. This brought experts from many fields together, to try and predict future developments and requirements for the next twenty or so years. It struck me at the time that the predictions seemed rather tame. Where was that fantastic invention that was going to change everything? Well of course the invention, that we already knew about, was the World Wide Web. We did realise it was important, but who could have known the huge economic and social changes that would result from its use.

This book was an opportunity to let my imagination go free. Naturally, not being Einstein I have been unable to describe the processes for the ‘inventions’ that my alien beings, the Sargon, have made. However, I really believe that we will eventually find answers for those things which seem impossible to us at the moment, such as faster than light travel. Provided of course, we don’t destroy ourselves in the meantime.

It has been suggested a truly advanced being would not take a biological form. The Yis, encountered in my book, is such an entity, unconstrained by time and space. It is however influenced by logical argument.

The other theme, that I explore, is the danger of subjugation. Many experts have suggested that humanity might suffer, or even be destroyed, if we came in contact with a more advanced civilisation. Our own history relates that the outcome has not been good for the less advanced group. My heroin Belinda is determined to overturn this possibility.

The title ‘Dark Strength’ is not only about the Dark technology, extensively described in the piece. It is also about the  characters of Belinda and her daughter Sophia.

I hope you enjoy the book. This is my first novel, so please forgive the creaky writing. I believe the plot is good.