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Colony Six #0

Insight

by Teyla Branton, 102 pages

Detective Reese Parker is a survivor. But when one of her sketches puts her up against a human monster bigger than anything else that threatens the CORE, it’s a fight she might not survive.

Welcome to the CORE: Commonwealth Objective for Reform and Efficiency. Colony Six Prequel Novella.

Detective Reese Parker is a survivor. Having left behind a violent past in Welfare Colony 6, she is now a sketch artist and detective with the New York Enforcer Division. Her entire focus is maintaining peace and order among the CORE’s remaining two million residents, to make certain their society never faces another economic and nuclear Breakdown.

She must also keep her secret. Because she never wants to be sent back to Colony 6.

With constant Teev surveillance and rigid control in the CORE’s most heavily populated state, Reese’s job mostly consists of tracing small-time juke pushers or sending rebellious students to reconditioning. She doesn’t have to face demented fringers that encroach upon the Core like her counterparts in Dallastar do, or patrol the northern borders where radiation-crazed animals attack unwary travelers. She’s content with being the most accurate sketch artist in the CORE.

But when one of her sketches puts her up against a human monster bigger than anything else that threatens the CORE, it’s a fight she might not survive.

Note from the author

This novella (26,000 words) is part of my Colony Six futuristic dystopian sci-fi series. After finishing the first two books, I decided I wanted to write about the catalyst that took Reese, one of my important characters, back to Dallastar near where she grew up and where the series really begins. This is the case that almost got her killed and eventually led to events that in subsequent books reunites her with her childhood crew from Welfare Colony 6, otherwise known as the Coop (after the cramped conditions and chickens they raised there for extra food).

You can read this story either before or after the first two books—it doesn’t have spoilers. If you are new to my series, keep in mind that this short piece won’t contain the intricacies of the much longer novels, but I hope it’ll give you a taste of my post-apocalyptic world. I’ve included terms at the end of the novel to help catch you up, so maybe take a peek at those. In the ebook version, I’ve also included a sneak peek into the next book which is why the ebook is 126 pages instead of the 102 pages of the print. Enjoy!

Reviews

David Meyer says...

"The main character is fascinating. I love her "superpower." This is sort of a Peter Parker/ Spiderman thing where he can't tell people about the good he's trying to do, and he also has personal problems. That's why I love Spiderman, and I know I'll learn to love Reese for the same reason. She's real. I empathize with her, her internal struggle to reconcile who she is with the world around her, and her humanity. She's a hero too. That's the best part. Despite the danger, she plows in headlong to mete out justice, not revenge, and do what's right, what's best for the greater good. I'm falling in love with someone here. Wow. Very cool indeed."

Maria Korsman says...

"Yes I would recommend this book. It was a quick read but I found the lead character intriguing. She had a difficult history, which is only alluded to, but is using her unusual talent to advantage, as a detective, to solve crimes. It is a well developed world, where things appear to be under control, but there are hints that all is not well, I look forward to reading more and seeing where the author takes her heroine, and us!"