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Carlos R. Tkacz
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The Void Beyond: The Cluster Saga Book Two Kindle Edition

by Carlos Tkacz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 106 ratings
See all formats and editions
After the collapse of the Coalition, the Inner Cluster is besieged by new and old threats. In the power vacuum left by the destruction of the skip network, a new military force called the Black Sun has taken form and is rampaging across human space. Meanwhile, old hatreds are flaring up in the Inner Cluster and threatening their social cohesion and peace. Finally, danger from the void of space has made itself known. Khalihl and Meiind must fight both the demons of human nature and the demons in their own hearts and minds if they are going to survive the storm of violence, hatred, and ignorance swirling around them.

Praise for The Void Beyond:

"Tkacz has an amazing story to give us, in a cerebral and thoughtful package. This is more Picard than Star Wars, and there is no clear hero’s journey here. He paints motivations and fears for each character, giving us not only a great action packed novel, but a galaxy of hope and of hopelessness, all tied together by the lives and very souls of his characters."

"Well written with a good flow... this saga presented an engaging, immersive depiction of the way humans seem to always take their personal beliefs too far."

"The books made me think -- about life, humanity, history, inability to learn from history, and continuation of extremist fundamentalism extending centuries into the future with some of the same destructive and divisive results."
Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 3
    The Cluster Saga
  2. Print length
    275 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    February 2, 2020
  6. File size
    1982 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

From the BookLife Prize assessment:
Plot: The second in a saga, this novel is a contained story that does not require having read its predecessor to understand or enjoy the world and its inhabitants. It ends with the flavor of The Empire Strikes Back: a plot arc closes while the larger conflict looms, Khalihl remaining a glimmer of hope against a daunting, almost impossible threat.
Prose/Style: The book is engaging and reads quickly while also developing rich world-building elements. Effective descriptive language is combined with exposition that strikes a balance between contextualization and development of plot and character.
Originality: The book is unique and original, drawing inspiration from real-world philosophies and events to construct an engaging fictional conflict.
Character/Execution: Largely a story about competing religious and political philosophies faced with existential peril, the primary characters work well as paragons for their ideologies. These are presented with sufficient complexity and motivation to make each compelling and engaging to readers.

About the Author

After the collapse of the Coalition, the Inner Cluster is besieged by new and old threats. In the power vacuum left by the destruction of the skip network, a new military force called the Black Sun has taken form and is rampaging across human space. Meanwhile, old hatreds are flaring up in the Inner Cluster and threatening their social cohesion and peace. Finally, danger from the void of space has made itself known. Khalihl and Meiind must fight both the demons of human nature and the demons in their own hearts and minds if they are going to survive the storm of violence, hatred, and ignorance swirling around them.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B084G97BFQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Self-Published (February 2, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 2, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1982 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 275 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 106 ratings

About the author

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Carlos R. Tkacz

Carlos R. Tkacz

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Carlos R. Tkacz is a teacher and writer from California and currently based in Las Vegas, where he is completing his PhD in English. When he isn't studying and teaching English or lost in a sci-fi world of his own making, he's probably traveling around looking for rocks to climb.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
106 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Connie or Myren
5.0 out of 5 stars Quality sci fy and so much more.
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
I'm combining a review of both books from the Cluster Saga books #1 and #2 here as when I read two novels in a row I tend to get mixed up as to what happened in which book. The first person to review this book here did an excellent job. I will only add my perspective.

The author is a bit more difficult to read than some of the YA fiction and humor I've recently picked up, but that doesn't imply that I didn't enjoy the depth of the story. It means he uses language better to write on a higher level There's less use of adjectives and better use of nouns and action verbs. I loved the way he uses quotes from fictional books of history and philosophy beyond our century.

The books made me think -- about life, humanity, history, inability to learn from history, and continuation of extremist fundamentalism extending centuries into the future with some of the same destructive and divisive results.

On top of that the story is an interesting one. The characters are well fleshed out and complex. While eventually there are quite a few characters to keep track of, they're introduced at a pace which makes them memorable and easily recalled as the books progress. The story spans all of known space and a time frame of decades.

Unlike a lot of books that are cranked out almost daily, this has been well edited. The only quibble I had was that the female military officer is referred to as "sir." My husband is retired Army, and all female military officers were "Ma'am." Minor quibble.
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Ronelle E. Lilly-Hall
4.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful read
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
Enjoyed the character development and the overall story arc. The future of humanity concept is a stark review of the never changing human condition
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Alyssa
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly unique story
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
Tkacz weaves together Meind and Khalil’s stories once more, tugging threads of the past. It’s been years since Raascht and they stopped the war. But that peace comes at a cost. Skip technology is a scarce resource, worth more than the lives being laid before it to survivors in Cospace, which have begun to fall before a fanatical and mysterious warlord of the Black Sun. Khalil and the inner cluster accept Co refugees, but some are more dangerous than others. And above all, the lingering light of the final battle, the Traitor’s battle that saved them all, may have doomed them all as the menace of the Watchers bleeds across the galaxy.

Tkacz has an amazing story to give us, in a cerebral and thoughtful package. This is more Picard than Star Wars, and there is no clear hero’s journey here. He paints motivations and fears for each character, giving us not only a great action packed novel, but a galaxy of hope and of hopelessness, all tied together by the lives and very souls of his characters.
One person found this helpful
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Cybershopper
5.0 out of 5 stars Keep reading the next in the series
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
Just finished book 3 of The Cluster Saga I can thoroughly recommend them. Can’t wait for the final installment. Great story with some very deep issues and insight carefully hidden behind the facade of sci-fi. Loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. So good that some of them could be real. Got to encourage a new author.
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Anchor Boy
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great SciFi novel.
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2021
Verified Purchase
I’ve always loved space-faring stories of futuristic worlds and intergalactic travel. This book rates pretty high in my opinion. Well written with a good flow. Although I really enjoy more detailed focus of colonists on strange new planets, this saga presented an engaging, immersive depiction of the way humans seem to always take their personal beliefs too far.
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Top reviews from other countries

Ziggy Nixon
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly well-written analysis of humanity that stirs up incredibly strong emotions!
Reviewed in France on June 16, 2021
Verified Purchase
"For millennia, humanity had been its own greatest threat, and now, at the moment when humanity’s threat to itself was reaching a peak, there (came) a threat from the outside, from beyond humanity."

This bit of reflection - about 30% into Tkacz's 2nd Cluster Saga book - is a pretty good summary of what we deal with in this book (not a spoiler as this issue - or issues really - were all addressed in the epilogue of Book 1). And this is an amazing book that deserves in my opinion the full 5-star rating... even though it is not a book of hope, not a book of positive outlooks and not a book of any kind of vision of a future AT ALL for the human race. Still, even though my feelings are more despondent and even depressed after reading a book of ANY genre for many many years, I cannot deny that the feelings evoked are borderline overwhelming. And that's powerful stuff. I know that Tkacz's treatise - where again we take the mankind of today and project them into a galaxy-spanning space opera - will stay with me for many moons to come. A powerful story that all scifi fans - and really anyone interested in human history - should read!
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