Watcher's Web (Return of the Aghyrians Book 1): Space Opera Adventure

Patty Jansen

Apr 2011 · Return of the Aghyrians Book 1 · Patty Jansen

About this ebook

She is lost on an alien planet. He said he'd help her get home. He lied.

Jessica's plane develops engine trouble over the dry Australian inland—and crashes in thick, unfamiliar rainforest.

A group she thinks is a search party shows up, but it consists of large-eyed not-quite people who kill all survivors except Jessica and a long-haired hippie named Brian.

No one is going to come to rescue her. In fact, they're not even on Earth. 

While the pair wrestle their way through the forest in search for help, Jessica becomes ever more suspicious of Brian. Why does he know so much about the world where they have ended up? Why is he so insistent on helping her?

Jessica has always been able to use her mind to tell animals what to do and now she's hearing voices in her head. Another man is pleading her not to listen to Brian. Except this man can kill someone with a single look, and he uses his mental powers to order people around.

In this utterly strange and dangerous world where people seem to want something from her, who can she trust?

A gritty survival story in the vein of The Hunger Games, set in a Star Wars locality.

Will appeal to readers of Lindsay Buroker, Pippa DaCosta, Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon.

free, freebie, space opera, female protagonist, heroine,kick-ass, science fiction series, aliens, mystery, adventure, rainforest, telepathy, alien planet, scifi, sci fi

Ratings and reviews

It is all about a young girl who doesn't fit into society. She has special powers that most people can't relate to. And so she is made fun of and called a freak. Very strong minded person with compassion to others. No trusting of most people until she travels to another planet. And finds people just like her!

I am interested in the origins and the inspiration behind this. And as much as there is a disclaimer, the inspiration itself gives rise to few questions. Anyway, besides the point. Overall a very interesting read and I feel that the other books in this anthology may do more to flesh out the characters maybe a little bit more. I gave only 3 stars as the plot is the best thing about it. The prose itself, while not difficult or complex by any stretch of the imagination, was not really of satisfactory quality.

One of, if not the best read I've experienced in over 30 years. Told from a very sensuous woman's perspective in a very objective woman's obsessive dialog. I was captivated by the emotion and the IMAX details of simplistically fantasy architecture and alien anatomy. The plot stood up to the test of time and left me wanting more. The author is an enchantress of the most royal order. She is someone's dream come true on the printed page or in this instance the backlit screen.

About the author

 Patty Jansen lives in Sydney, Australia, where she spends most of her time writing Science Fiction and Fantasy. Her story This Peaceful State of War placed first in the second quarter of the Writers of the Future contest and was published in their 27th anthology. She has also sold fiction to genre magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Redstone SF and Aurealis.

Her novels (available at ebook venues) include Watcher’s Web (soft SF), The Far Horizon (middle grade SF), Charlotte’s Army (military SF) and Fire & Ice, Dust & Rain and Blood & Tears (Icefire Trilogy) (dark fantasy). Her novel Ambassador will be published by Ticonderoga Publication in 2013.

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