Friday Fiction Fix: "Frayed"

The Short:

Frayed

DarkTrench Shadow #1

By: Kerry Nietz

5/5 Stars

What: A young, lowlevel debugger gets the promotion of his dreams—or is it really a nightmare?

Recommended to those who like: Sci-fi, Christian/Clean, Futuristic, Dystopian

The Long:

I’m always a little nervous to read spin-off series. They can be anywhere from good to horrible. If the former, then I rejoice at reading them; if the latter, I can spend a solid two weeks bemoaning my decision to ruin a perfectly good story world.

So far, the DarkTrench Shadow series is turning out to be the former.

Unlike many spin-offs, the story and characters are fresh, without unnecessary interruptions by previous characters. Furthermore, the story continues to build and offer a fresh perspective on the world first introduced in A Star Curiously Singing.

In the future, the world is under Sharia law. Some of the lowest—yet oddly respected—members of society are debuggers, men who have been implanted with technology that allows them to link with machines in order to repair them. The cost of this gift is their freedom; even their thoughts are policed.

One such man is ThreadBare, a young man just trying to survive and, if possible, get a promotion. But when he gets his coveted promotion, is it a dream come true or a nightmare? He feels he has no hope of making any decisions, but, at the same time, maybe he has more freedom than he thought. Can he make what he believes to be the right decision, even if everything else tells him it’s wrong?

The resulting story is a fast read and quite enjoyable. I would recommend it to mature teens and up for some violent/disturbing scenes. It’s not gratuitous, but rather serves to initiate questions on the nature of morality, a central theme of the book.

Although SandFly is still my favorite DarkTrench Universe character, ThreadBare is a nice character as well. He manages to be an engaging narrator while still being distinct from SandFly.

It is not necessary to read the original trilogy prior to reading this book, but it may help to explain a little bit more backstory.

The Bottom Line: Frayed is a solid pick for mature fans of science fiction and a promising introduction to a new series. 

Looking for the original DarkTrench Saga? It starts with A Star Curiously Singing.

Or, check out my interview with Mr. Nietz where he talked about his inspiration for Frayed, faith and writing, and the publishing industry.