Stellar

The representation of politics is something of a work in progress.

Thanks Sammy <3

Welcome to the sequel. I expect that if you were a human child listening to a lesson being taught in such a way, you doubtless wouldn't be following it for long. However, these are not human children; they do not think, act or communicate as we do. Theirs is a different world and culture. I hope you enjoy the story!

Thanks for reviewing! Shay and Mira's relationship is that way intentionally, and it's something I am unapologetic about. Theirs is the sort of love that very much is a mutual-appreciation society, and that sentiment will be present in some form whenever they are together. I'm sorry you didn't find that to taste. As for switching loyalties: Carlos had no direct family left alive, and he hated his uncle and disliked Sofia, his cousin. It was either go along with them doing something horrendous and pile more sins onto his already guilty conscience when it came to the Shay-Esteban resemblance, or do the right thing, for once. Not a terribly difficult decision when push came to shove. Morgan, on the other hand, was not quite as easy to rationalise. He knew the sort of men (and women) that he worked for were ruthless and amoral, but he also knew the consequences for deserting. There was also a good chance that double-crossing Shay, Konstantin et al, would have not helped him, as Hartley would likely see him as more of a liability and a failure at that stage. In a sense, Morgan was doomed one way or another the moment he was captured in chapter 14. I imagine some part of him knew this and embraced his future regardless -- what else could he do? Nonetheless, it's hard to cover all this as thoroughly as everyone might want in the text. I'm sorry that I couldn't round it out more, but I didn't feel it would have added enough to be worthwhile. I will have this published one day! Not yet, but one day. I'll let people know when I do! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you'll check out the sequel.

I imagine it would be a challenge to translate! Another reader once said something similar to me about translating Hidden Sunlight into German, and I think this is largely due to the peculiarities of English and the large amount of very specific terms that are either colloquial or figurative in ways that do not have a clear equivalent in other languages. My language use is definitely atypical though, which probably just makes that difficulty compound and I believe this is a consequence of not just being ASD but also loving the sorts of fiction that I do, and having grown up reading it. The English language has so many beautiful words to draw upon to say all manner of things -- why should the painter not use the entire palette?

The dagenith trio have been crossing a part of their planet that is very wild and untamed; you have to be brave, desperate or just plain lucky to even think about travelling where they are. Ah! The original inhabitants of Lucere have been gone quite some time, but they certainly left a lot of history behind. Plenty more to come on that count too, of course. Earth is the same as always, though you will begin to see the intricate web of political intrigue advance towards a snapping point, upon which all hell will break loose ...

The nature of Shay and Mira's identity as people and the 'heroes' of the story is a long and complex thing, interwoven with many other threads of the plot, so it is something of a slow reveal. Yugan and Shay are indeed a step or two closer to meeting in person, though I daresay the details of that are still a little ambiguous. Ah, expanding the parameters! I am rather devious like that, aren't I? Good heavens, if only you knew how much further I intend to go with expanding the playing field! Peter Hamilton! His ability to write space opera is nothing short of amazing. I have read the Commonwealth Saga and the Void Trilogy, but none of his other books. His writing, and that of Dan Simmons (the Hyperion/Endymion quadrilogy) are personal benchmarks for science fiction that incorporate multiple themes including politics, spirituality/mysticism, strong characterisation and classic science fictions. I would take any comparison of that sort as a very definite compliment.

Urgh! I managed to miss Chapter 15, so now you get it and Chapter 16 together. Six months! That's a record even for me. Stay tuned folks, I am making a big effort for the next few to come a lot sooner.

A couple more cycles passed before anything remarkable happened on the journey through the wilds of Dagen's Grace. The dagenith trio had not slowed, and had reached the deepest region of the Morass. The forestscape was unquestionably perilous, the trees double the girth and thrice the height of any Yugan had seen. Here, everything strove for survival, and countless millennia of evolution were at play; the planet's natural selection amplified and exaggerated. Even the humble chitok was unarguably

Once again, thanks everyone for the birthday wishes (and all the rainbow themed cake images, what else should one expect on GA? )! There is a new chapter soon to be incoming after an incredibly long wait even by my standards, so consider it a birthday present back to everyone?

Thanks guys and girls!

Thank you for your kind words! That balance between eroticism and plot; adventure, science fiction, action, drama, politics and human moments? That is indeed what I aim for. It is meant to be a tale that is more than the sum of its parts, and a lesser thing with any of those parts removed. So, I am pleased you find it agreeable. I want all my characters to be as full and real as possible, for their individual personalities to be distinct and layered, just as those we know in our own lives are. I will admit that Mira is my favourite, as full of contradiction and enigma as he is. Bringing him to life has been a joy of writing these books, and I am glad that I could show that to you, and others.

Always two! Shay and Mira, Kenji and Lindani, Shearer and Heinrich, Konstantin and Kerensky, Yugan and Mikom ... Dagen and Sulin. This chapter is definitely full of pairs! Master or apprentice is totally your guess. I'd caution to say the audience has no idea what Konstantin is intending just yet. I don't think that Earth's internal problems are going away any time soon, since they're very well entrenched into the system and if it were easy to solve them, they'd be solved already. In a sense, humanity is in a Cold War with the xenomorphs anyhow; either side is aware of the other but neither is engaging after the events of 2104 (for entirely different reasons, though the aliens rationale is not clear at this point.) Something will trigger the hot conflict at some point and at that point it will become 'survival or extinction' for Earth. Regarding Shay and Yugan's experiences in this chapter: if Shay has Sulin's aqumi-ghost 'possessing' him to some degree ("The body dies but our seed is immortal. The spirit lives on.") then what about the others infused with aqumi -- who lives in Mira and Yugan? The text has already told you, if you can piece it together

The first chance that Konstantin had to speak with Kerensky was a week after taking his new job. A lot of that time had been spent getting familiarised with the London military headquarters, in the Westminster area of the central city. Many decisions had been awaiting his attention, and while he had attended to some of them, plenty more were needed that he did not understand the best response for. A number of meetings were held with prominent civilian and commissioned officers to do with policy,

I am sorry to say that the second book has a heavy dose of politics in certain parts of it, so there is unfortunately not much avoiding it. Hopefully it will not spoil your understanding and enjoyment of the story, but it is wound together tightly with the plot and cannot be removed. However! There are multiple plot arcs taking place, so there is more to learn about that just the machinations happening on Earth. Shay and Mira will make an appearance, but not straight away.

Human nature is still what it was and Earth might be 200 years advanced, but it is still the same underneath.

Well done!

I'm not sure to whom you referring with 'others' here. I am assuming it is in reference to the scene with Yugan and the matriarch? They are not sharpelings. Specifically, sharpelings are mutated humans who have involuntarily come under bondage to the arbiters through the medium of the Sharpe virus. Yugan and his kind are another species entirely. They are Mishith, and their history is heavily wound up in all of this and will be revealed more over the story's duration. Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying the start of the new book.

Thank you for reading it. The sequel is already more than half written. Hidden Sunlight is the first book of the currently unnamed series; the second is Veil of Shadow and it is slightly more than half written. I would caution you here to say that although you will see more of the three surviving characters from the first book, the second is a *much* different beast, in terms of the perspectives used and what the plot encompasses.

While he had never intended to die, he chose to do what was necessary in a desperate situation. Heroism can sometimes come from the most unexpected places.

Well, it's all a matter of opinion how fitting the ending of the book is. All I can promise is that it probably won't be quite what you expect.

There is no shortage of combat in the last few chapters, I can assure you. Konstantin is not only physically large, but quite capable of winning a brawl if need be. He may not particularly enjoy conflict, but he is not someone to be messed with -- far from it.

What happened to Lily was always intended as a kind of sucker-punch. Though, in some ways kinder than the fate that may have happened in the ruins of Aspira.

Thank you. Mira's scenes allowed for the greatest creativity with language, though there are some parts I retrospectively dislike. When I can go back and clean up those areas, I will be happier with the overall feel of it.

If this was a role-playing game, he'd have a fair few skill points invested in 'Sneak'.