Publication Date: October 18, 2012
It’s 2065 and the world has changed. There are problems with overpopulation and expansion to space was expected to have already happened. In [easyazon-link asin=”B009SZOBIA” locale=”us”]LYCCYX Episode 1: Collector’s Edition[/easyazon-link], Captain Lucas Xander leads the Haven Project to the moon in an advance force for colonization when things go terribly wrong and an explosion along with a food additive his men have been ingesting turns those thought dead into hybrids calling themselves Hyans. The Hyans will have independence from earth—no matter the cost.
This first installment was a short story. The actual story (without the excerpt for the next in installment was only 48 pages. Because of the brevity, it suffers from the usual first installment issues of the background plot being an awful lot to fit into such a short space. In [easyazon-link asin=”B009SZOBIA” locale=”us”]LYCCYX Episode 1: Collector’s Edition[/easyazon-link], Barber chooses to frame much of the exposition in news report-like flashbacks and letters home from the main character, Captain Lucas Xander. For this sort of story, the using flashes in time is clever on the part of the author as it manufactures a bond with the character.
Despite the brevity of the text, Lucas Xander is a fully realized character. He’s a bit idealistic, a bit confused, a bit in love, a bit longing for home. Xander was injured playing sports in college and the military will fix his injury in exchange for his enlistment. The reader gets the impression that this is something Xander enjoys and something he feels is bigger than him. With so much potential it’s a downright shame that the transition from conflict is darkness. I won’t elaborate further because I don’t want to spoil the story for readers because despite these minor issues, [easyazon-link asin=”B009SZOBIA” locale=”us”]LYCCYX Episode 1: Collector’s Edition[/easyazon-link] well worth reading.
In [easyazon-link asin=”B009SZOBIA” locale=”us”]LYCCYX Episode 1: Collector’s Edition[/easyazon-link], the bad guy has incredible potential. He’s Xander’s best friend and second in command before the explosion and considers himself leader of the Hyans. He’s ruthless and violent and torturing his own people in a bid to make them better. This character will be the highlight of future installments.
The Collectors Edition features illustrations and an excerpt of the next installment I can’t say the illustrations added much but the excerpt was a nice taste of what’s to come and why I will certainly buy the next novel when it’s released.
According to author Brian Barber, [easyazon-link asin=”B009SZOBIA” locale=”us”]LYCCYX Episode 1: Collector’s Edition[/easyazon-link] is a permanently free download.
For more information about Brian Barber and his work, visit his website. You can connect with him on Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter @LYCCYX.