Reviewed by Sarina

TITLE:  Tantalus

AUTHOR:  Albert Nothlit

PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press

LENGTH:   150 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 20, 2016

BLURB:

In the aftermath of a nasty fight after being jumped by four youths, faced with a mother desperate to get rid of the son she’s ashamed of, Kyle is forced to leave home to take up an apprenticeship he doesn’t want and can’t wait to be finished with.

On another planet.

Upon arrival, though, a nasty surprise awaits. The position he was hired for no longer exists and he’s going to be left standing around until Dr. O’Brien, the man he was to work for, can find him a new job. Following a strange compulsion, Kyle leaves the compound, only to nearly get himself killed out in the alien atmosphere. Kyle is told he’s too reckless to stay and fit only for the mining colonies, where he’ll be little more than a slave.

Distraught but helpless, Kyle counts down the days until his departure. He’s distracted from his misery, however, by the same compulsion that first drove him from the compound, a presence in his mind that seems to be coming from the local lifeform being kept in Dr. O’Brien’s lab…

REVIEW:

Being shipped off world would be considered the chance of a lifetime but for Kyle Mercer it’s a privilege he in no way wants.  Upset and angry, he’s sent packing on a one way trip to Tantalus to work as an apprentice to Dr. James O’Brien only to find when he arrives that the position he was to be given is no longer available.  To make matters worse, he nearly gets himself killed the day after he arrives when he follows an impulse he can’t explain and goes outside into the alien atmosphere.  Now he’s living on borrowed time with an enraged scientist while he waits to be shipped off to a life of near slavery on a mining planet as Jim, excuse me, Dr. O’Brien, says that’s the only place that will take him.  The same compulsion that landed him in this mess is still there, however, and following it to a restricted lab and the specimen held within opens up a world to Kyle that he wasn’t aware of before and subsequently lands him in more trouble than he expected.  When the unthinkable happens and those that should be protecting them instead attack, both Kyle and Jim will have to find a way to work together to get out alive but with time running out and air running low, it will take more than relying on each other to survive.

This author is rapidly becoming one of my favorites for the sci-fi genre.  His novels are creative and so unique that I’m always entertained and loathe to stop reading for any reason.  The main characters in this book were easy to understand but still continued to evolve over the course of the story so that I was never bored and I liked how circumstances forced each of them to open up to the other.  The star of the book for me, however, were the furballs; all I can really say is that I want one!  All too often aliens are humanoid in nature in sci-fi novels but here you get to see a species so interesting and unique that I just wanted to learn more.  I thought they were really a great compliment to the main characters and the story as a whole.

The plot itself was way more complicated than I ever thought it would be and the author managed to pack a great deal within the pages of this book without it feeling as though anything was rushed or limited.  I really, really enjoyed this book!  Tantalus would have no problem being read as a solid standalone book but the end has it listed as book one so I’m excited and hopeful that there will be more to come in this universe even though nothing is listed as of yet.  If you enjoy sci-fi but were perhaps a bit daunted by Earthshatter, I would highly recommend giving Tantalus a try; it’s still a great sci-fi story but in a smaller package and it will serve as a good introduction to this author.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Less Than Three Press

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