Bonds of Resolve

A year after his encounter with the Bakzen, Wil is still grappling with his upcoming role in the war. Weighed down by his sense of duty and a grim vision of his fate, he has withdrawn from friends and family—focusing only on his official assignments. However, Wil finds unexpected support when he befriends a new TSS trainee from Earth, Saera. Through their budding relationship, Wil comes to terms with the purpose he was born to fulfill and gains comfort in the knowledge that he won't have to face the future alone.

With a sweet romance, coming-of-age, and a dash of adventure, this novel follows Wil as he completes his training to become the youngest and most powerful Agent the TSS has ever known.

Bonds of Resolve (SF)

“Cadicle #3”

BDL Press

ISBN #978-0692589147

Price $11.99 Paperback

$2.99 Kindle

300 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Topnotch Author And Fantastic Series.”

In book #3 of the Cadicle series, young Wil Sights is in training for Junior Agent and preparing for his Internship graduation, but the Priesthood and the Tararian Selective Service have more plans for the 16-year-old. They are rushing him forward towards his final tests to see how powerful his telekinetic energy really is. He has been bred for this role, chosen in stealth by the Priesthood through secret maneuvers within his bloodline. Now a young woman, Saera Alexander, has connected with him, and he may want to rebel if she isn’t on his side.

This third entry is every bit as fascinating as the first two novels. I must admit to a couple of problems I thought I had detected, but felt the author was going to explain these away eventually, and I was right. One problem I had was with the social technology. Here we are millions of years in the future, yet people use tablets, handhelds, and send emails. This is today’s technology, not for a highly advanced civilization that may only need their minds to communicate. But we read this conversation between a trainee and instructor:

”So, Taran civilization is tens of thousands of years old, right?”

“More like millions.”

“All right, even better. So why isn’t this millions of years old civilization more advanced?”

“It’s pretty advanced.”

“Like there’s the gravity manipulation and subspace travel, but you’re still entering things by hand on touch-panels and using what is essentially a smartphone.”

We’re told that there was a collapse of civilization 1000 years before, and we basically had to relearn everything from scratch. Plus, the old adage of what goes around comes around again. Thus, it seems that the current technology has come back around. Okay, I’ll buy that, for now.

The second thing that has bothered me is the lack of women in real leadership and active roles. It appears to be a man’s world. Yes, women train in the TSS, and become instructors, and given positions. But no real active roles besides a doctor that appears once a book, or someone in another position we hear about once in a while. Women’s roles are reduced to mother and wives and girlfriends. With the introduction of Saera, I’m hoping this will change, and we have women in leadership and present for active parts.

Each novel is a story of its own, but I would suggest starting with the first, and reading the series in order. But for a good read, I highly recommend this book and series for SF readers.

Tom Johnson

Author of WORLDS OF TOMORROW