Sunrise On The Ice Wolf

Young Helen Kley of El Colony, a world dominated by women, doesn't know what to make of the two young men who suddenly come bursting into her life, rescuing her from a humiliating kidnap attempt. That they are offworlders, she has no doubt, that they are corporate agents of some sort, she suspects. Otherwise why do they withhold their names, giving her only the number of a safe line to contact them? In the end, she becomes friends with the one she dubs "Pro" (the other she call "Con" because of their differing attitudes) and simply learns to think of them as her guardians.

Only when she comes of age, two years later, and is by custom given her father's name and an invitation to visit heretofore unknown relatives on his homeworld, does she learn the truth about her adopted guardians. In fact she learns truth after truth as she and Pro, whose real name she finally learns, must battle their way through one adventure after another as they seek her missing father while avoiding his enemies.

In the end, she faces not only threats from the outside, but also the need to come to terms with her own values and background -- to choose and to choose rightly. Everything she has learned to care about depends on her choice -- her own happiness and the welfare of those who have become dear to her.

Sunrise on The Ice Wolf (SF)

By Colleen Drippe

Independent Publishing Platform

ISBN #978-1542658683

Price $12.49 (Paperback)

304 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“An Adventure In Storytelling.”

Young Helen Kley lives in a planet network where girls have little say in their future. She must wait until of age to learn who her father is, and her mother could care less about her. But Helen longs for adventure and to find her dad among the stars. Several years before she’s reached the age of finding out about her father, she meets Pro and Con, two offworlders who stop a man from abducting her. Con kills the man, then they see her safely back to her apartment. For the next several years they stay in contact, however, and when she’s of age, she learns that her father was John Heth Wolfbane, from Lost  Rathar, a wild volcanic world, where Pro & Con happen to also be from. There is a mystery whether or not her father is dead or alive, and to his exact whereabouts, but Helen is determined to find him and seeks the aid of Pro (Bis Stephen). Con (Gris Ansgar) has already left for Lost Rathar in search of her father, but for a different reason than hers.

The journey is a hard one, and difficult. They must evade a war on one planet, while escaping tigers in a jungle, and survive near-death injuries. If she lives to find her father, will the reunion be worth it?

The author’s writing keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, while at the same time introducing them to exciting new worlds. Her descriptive narrative will captivate the reader, as they discover new worlds to explore. Take this passage for instance:

I saw the planet for the first time, streaked with cloud. Slowly the surface became a marbling of black and grey, greenish blue and white that I thought must be snow.

         We glided in over the dun-colored ocean half obscured by steam. Presently this gave way to a low, dismal land of quaking, charcoal colored mud. There were no signs of habitation.

         “This,” Mary Wolfbane volunteered, “is the bogland. There is much volcanism on Lost Rythar and most of the surface is unstable – uninhabitable. This part is often hot, not just literally, but somewhat radioactive. And there are gases from the ground.”

        

The author’s writing also tends to have a religious slant, conforming to the author’s background as a Catholic. Priests, called Star Brothers are found in each of her SF novels so far, their duty is to carry Faith to the star colonies. The people of Rathar are Christian, and hold fast to their belief in a Crucified Lord. That doesn’t mean they are perfect, however, as most have killed or committed some other sin. SF readers will enjoy this tale of a young girl becoming a woman among the stars. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of WORLDS OF TOMORROW