2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Tantalus by Albert Nothlit (221-07-26-2016)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

I enjoyed this story. From the first that the main character, Kyle, a misunderstood newly minted eighteen year old, is shipped off his home planet after an altercation, this started out as a 'poor me' story. After landing on a remote planet, Kyle's sense of innocence and wonder become his undoing for his new job. From there, it begins to spiral out of control, and Kyle learns as we do, real time, what is going on. I experienced the wonder and the action through Kyle's eyes, and thoroughly enjoyed the ride through to the end. It's not a long read; or so it seemed as the pages flew by. The ending is open for a continuation, and certainly hope one is written as well as this tome.

Tantalus by Albert Nothlit
Gay Sci-fi / Futuristic
Paperback: 194 pages
Publisher: Less Than Three Press (April 13, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1620047632
ISBN-13: 978-1620047637
Amazon: Tantalus
Amazon Kindle: Tantalus

In the aftermath of a nasty fight after being jumped by four youths, faced with a mother desperate to get rid of the son she's ashamed of, Kyle is forced to leave home to take up an apprenticeship he doesn't want and can't wait to be finished with. On another planet. Upon arrival, though, a nasty surprise awaits. The position he was hired for no longer exists and he's going to be left standing around until Dr. O'Brien, the man he was to work for, can find him a new job. Following a strange compulsion, Kyle leaves the compound, only to nearly get himself killed out in the alien atmosphere. Kyle is told he's too reckless to stay and fit only for the mining colonies, where he'll be little more than a slave. Distraught but helpless, Kyle counts down the days until his departure. He's distracted from his misery, however, by the same compulsion that first drove him from the compound, a presence in his mind that seems to be coming from the local lifeform being kept in Dr. O'Brien's lab...

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