by Tony Healey
Jessica felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Dr. Kingston. She turned to look at her. Her Mother offered her a smile. Jess reached up and patted Kingston's hand. Then she went back to looking out the viewport, at the colours of infinity as they flashed past.
Would any of it be as it once was, when all was said and done? When the dust settled . . . what would be left for them all?
*
The yacht went to Jump.
Gone.
Commander Chang turned to Rayne. "Contact Admiral Kerrick."
"This sure does feel strange," Olivia said as she keyed it into her console. "Reporting them in like this. It's like we're betraying them."
"I know, but it has to be done. These are the Captain's orders and I'll follow them to the letter," Chang said.
Her whole mouth was dry.
"Making contact now," Rayne said. She held the earpiece in, looked up and locked eyes with her partner. "No going back."
Chang shook her head slowly. "No going back," she whispered in return.
As Rayne spoke, she turned to look at the viewscreen, at the empty spot of space where the captain's yacht had been previously. She felt a presence by her side and looked to see Dr. Clayton standing there, hands clasped behind his back.
"She'll do all right," he said.
"You seem certain of that," Chang said.
"No, not certain," he said. "Just hopeful that she'll get the job done. Set everything right."
The stars outside now seemed immeasurably distant. As if no-one could possibly reach such far off points of light.
"Whatever happens, wherever she ends up . . . I'll be waiting for her call," Chang said.
"We all will," Clayton said. "And it'll come, Commander. If know her at all, it's that she'll see this through to the end. Whatever it takes . . ."
Afterword
At the end of the original serial, I decided there were still stories I wanted to tell in the Far From Home universe, involving Jessica and her crew. So I set Enigma 12 months later, following a year of exploration, to see where they'd come. Straight away I had no wish to write the continuing adventures of the Defiant as an episodic serial. I wanted to make them novel length adventures, so that's what I did with Enigma and the two subsequent sequels, Nemesis and Vengeance.
So Far From Home: The Complete Second Series consists of three novels. They tell one big story, and setup the events of Series Three, which will consist of the novella Spectre, and three final novels, Exile, Conflict and Legacy.
At the time of this writing, Far From Home: The Complete First Series has had just under 200 reviews on amazon.com. Some of them good, some of them not so good. Regardless, the series continues to find new readers all over the world. It goes from strength to strength. Through interacting with me in emails, posts on my Facebook page, tweeting me on twitter and writing on my site, readers have not stopped telling me how much they enjoy reading the Far From Home books.
Well, here's to Series Three. If you've followed the story thus far, you're in for a shocker. Spectre will tell the story of Captain Rick Shaw and their investigation of Project Prometheus. Then the main story continues. But not in the way you think it will, trust me. As I write this, I wonder if I take a risk doing what I'm going to do in Series Three. But I've tried my very best to keep things fresh all the way. To try new things, shake the characters up, keep everything moving.
Well now we will see. In my notepad I have the outlines for Exile, Conflict and Legacy. And glancing over them, I think they're going to be the best Far From Home books yet.
As always, dear readers, I'll see you on the other side of the black hole.
TH – May 2014
THE ADVENTURE
CONTINUES
WITH
Spectre: A Far From Home Novel
About Tony Healey
Tony Healey is a best-selling independent author. Born in 1985, he has lived his entire life in the city of Brighton, UK.
In 2011, he found his fiction published alongside Harlan Ellison and Alan Dean Foster. A year later, his sci-fi serial FAR FROM HOME became a best-selling sensation, followed by similarly successful sequels. Since then he has collaborated with authors Bernard Schaffer, Matthew Cox and William Vitka on various projects. He has also had work published by Curiosity Quills Press. He is married and has three daughters.
For the latest on Tony's various projects, visit his site www.tonyhealey.com
THE STARS MY REDEMPTION
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Abe has spent his entire life among the cold, hard swirl of the stars. He's been a bounty hunter, an assassin, a pirate, a drug runner. He has a talent for unsavoury occupations. Now an opportunity for change falls at his feet, and Abe must decide whether to continue living the life of a rogue or embrace the prospect of redemption . . .
Praise for THE STARS MY REDEMPTION
". . . loads of fun, reads at a blistering pace. Abe's a galactic criminal who wanders from score to score leaving a bloody trail of human and alien carcasses, but there's a stubborn crumb of humanity left inside of him. This is the story of how he rediscovers that lost part of himself. The action sequences remind me of Robert E. Howard. Abe would fit in well with Conan the Barbarian and Solomon Kane."
"The story grabs you right from the outset. It is fast paced and enjoyable. It is written in the style of Star Trek/Star Wars that lets you feel for the characters without getting swamped with the technology . . . was well worth reading."
"Story telling that is compelling and ultra-readable. Don't expect to sleep till you have finished this book. Be ready to be addicted."
FAR FROM HOME: VOLUME I
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The first three instalments in the smash hit FAR FROM HOME series, collected into one volume. Serves as a great entry point to the series."
Praise for the FAR FROM HOME series
"There are so many characters and story lines to be pursued! I also LOVE that the author included so many strong female main roles and leaders. That is the future after all, equality! It's an excellent read and I strongly recommend the series in the 3 book volume forms because you will always want more! It's all good in the space neighborhood."
"Fun to read. Far from Home would make an excellent TV series or mini-series special. The stories by Tony Healey, I've so far read, have what I refer to as 'soul' in them, being more than just words on paper or in ebooks."
"An excellent book, Enjoyed it from start to finish. LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THE REST OF THIS SERIES. You go! TONY HEALEY!"
". . . very easy to get into and it pulls you in so you don't want to stop reading. If you enjoy Star Trek and other science fiction adventures you'll enjoy this great adventure with Jessica and her crew. You'll never want to put it down . . . trust me."
"As a former nuclear submarine officer in the US Navy, I was immediately transported back to my time on subs during the cold war years. Since retiring from both the Navy and Navy supporting civilian contractors, I have been reading numerous sci-fi novels. I rank Far From Home as an extremely entertaining story . . . the action makes sense and time travel is possibly believable. THANKS SO MUCH!!!"
"I really enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to the rest of the series. It's great to see a female commander and the action and characters really had a nice balance. Reminded me of some of my favorite sci-fi and that's a good thing! I definitely recommend for fans of Battlestar and Star Trek."
DARK VISIONS
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3 Dark Stories . . .
3 Dark Insights Into Human Nature . . .
3 Dark Visions . . .
In BURIAL, a DARK secret buried out in the woods is let loose . . .
In DARK ORB, the secrets of this life are unearthed from the cold, DARK ground . . .
In ABC, the DARK mystery of a small seaside town is unleashed . . .
&
nbsp; Praise for the stories in DARK VISIONS
". . . easily digestible and enjoyable for readers who don't normally tread inside the genre. In fact, it's a quite touching story. It's a piece of well-written fiction that carefully weaves in actual reported events on record from the 1960s. I won't spoil any of that, but for you conspiracy theory chasing cryptozoologists, I'm sure I don't even need to."
". . . a suspenseful thriller written in a style that reminded me a bit of Poe. Healey is quickly assembling an impressive collection of horror stories that hearken back to the days gone by of classic storytelling. He writes with the panache of an author beyond his years. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next."
DEAD PRETTY
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Brighton, 1985--Christmas
'tis the season . . . to die
Clementine is young, beautiful. The wife of a rich businessman. And she wants her husband killed. It's meant to be a simple hit. But when it comes to murder, nothing is ever simple . . .
DEAD PRETTY is the explosive debut of man-for-hire COLBY JONES, written by the author of the best-selling series FAR FROM HOME
Praise for DEAD PRETTY
"Tony Healey has no fear. He's not content to colour inside the lines, and writes compelling stories no matter which genre he selects. Tony is a brilliant Sci-Fi writer, but he can tackle any setting and still command your attention. This novella is the debut of Colby Jones, an anti-hero with traces of a conscience. I like Colby because despite his dealings on the other side of the law, it's not hard to find him relatable. His motives are not unlike an average person. His means to an end are in a grey moral area, but his goals are so earnest that you can't help but cheer him on. All of Tony's work is well-written and enjoyable to read, but this is a good primer for readers that don't like science-fiction. Once you get a feel for Tony's endearing style, you'll want to see how he applies it to other genres."
"This is a damn good first attempt at hardboiled criminal fare. I really enjoyed it . . ."
"Anti-hero Colby Jones is a fella that maybe you should steer well clear of, but you actually find yourself overlooking his 'misdemeanours'. He's your average man, which is why I think you can relate to him, but he's pretty ruthless too. When he takes a job, he sees it through, right to the very end. This was a great read and I really liked the author's writing style. I was pulled in from the first page and proceeded to fly through the book. It's a novella with a good storyline and with lots going on . . ."
More From Tony Healey:
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