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Infinite Spark #1
Stellar Fusion
Earth, still patching itself together from the 300 Years War, is severely unprepared and outnumbered when the invasion hits. Their only hope is a small team of peace-keepers on a suicide mission to infiltrate the mother ship and relay critical defense information home.
Sergeant Nakio Atana is the Universal Protectors’ elite assassin, and holds within, a spark of unimaginable power. But a daring escape from an enemy ship knocked the first fifteen years of her life into darkness, leaving her with only inexplicable apathy and technical knowledge beyond Earth’s evolution.
She is the tip of their spear.
Sergeant Jameson Bennett must guard her with his life.
Together, Atana and Bennett lead the team in hopes her knowledge, and his crew’s skills, will render them a soft spot in the Suanoan armor. What they find when they reach the mother ship is entirely unexpected. The truth they uncover will challenge the code they live by and set in motion events that change the future of Earth and their concepts of the power within.
Sergeant Nakio Atana is the Universal Protectors’ elite assassin, and holds within, a spark of unimaginable power. But a daring escape from an enemy ship knocked the first fifteen years of her life into darkness, leaving her with only inexplicable apathy and technical knowledge beyond Earth’s evolution.
She is the tip of their spear.
Sergeant Jameson Bennett must guard her with his life.
Together, Atana and Bennett lead the team in hopes her knowledge, and his crew’s skills, will render them a soft spot in the Suanoan armor. What they find when they reach the mother ship is entirely unexpected. The truth they uncover will challenge the code they live by and set in motion events that change the future of Earth and their concepts of the power within.
- GenresScience Fiction
319 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 18, 2018
108 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
E.L. Strife
20 books15 followersStrife enjoys crafting science fiction novels in various subgenres including space opera, cyberpunk, and fantasy. Sometimes she writes about aliens and colonization, other times she sticks to genetic engineering, the supernatural, and corrupt futuristic societies. Strife’s Sci-Fi is often crude and graphic, features strong women, and typically includes people who like to blow s--- up.
E. L. isn’t always in front of her laptop. She enjoys taking the four-wheelers to the coast with her husband and doing donuts in the sand. Strife most enjoys camping in the mountains and soaking in hot springs in the snow, but you're most likely to find her in the gym.
Strife craves learning new things like that crazy stuff called astrophysics and how to work on her 1981 Corvette and her Jeep. She hopes, someday, to add to her list of apocalyptic survival skills by learning to weld.
E. L. has traveled the US and Europe, served in the military, and completed two Bachelor's Degrees in Public Health and Human Sciences. She's toured lava tubes, the NASA center in Houston, castles, concentration camps, the Shelby center in Las Vegas, and many natural wonders. She's even learned to race BMWs at the track in southern California.
Strife enjoys connecting with readers and welcomes all feedback and questions. If you’d like to know when Strife’s next books will be out, and to ensure you hear about her giveaways, visit her website: elstrife.com and subscribe via the links on her homepage.
You can also connect with her on these other channels:
Twitter: @ElysiaLStrife
BookBub: E L Strife
E. L. isn’t always in front of her laptop. She enjoys taking the four-wheelers to the coast with her husband and doing donuts in the sand. Strife most enjoys camping in the mountains and soaking in hot springs in the snow, but you're most likely to find her in the gym.
Strife craves learning new things like that crazy stuff called astrophysics and how to work on her 1981 Corvette and her Jeep. She hopes, someday, to add to her list of apocalyptic survival skills by learning to weld.
E. L. has traveled the US and Europe, served in the military, and completed two Bachelor's Degrees in Public Health and Human Sciences. She's toured lava tubes, the NASA center in Houston, castles, concentration camps, the Shelby center in Las Vegas, and many natural wonders. She's even learned to race BMWs at the track in southern California.
Strife enjoys connecting with readers and welcomes all feedback and questions. If you’d like to know when Strife’s next books will be out, and to ensure you hear about her giveaways, visit her website: elstrife.com and subscribe via the links on her homepage.
You can also connect with her on these other channels:
Twitter: @ElysiaLStrife
BookBub: E L Strife
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 28, 2018
Shepherds always had partners. Then again there was an exception to the rule, Nakio Atana. Her partners either died, or found her incompatible, and so Command allowed her to work alone, she was one of their best anyway. That was why they called upon her to face the latest problem. In the sky above a threat, familiar to her distant memories, loomed, and she is selected to head up the team that will oppose them. This enemy are taking any they can find from the surface of the planet, and she is their last, their only hope. But so little is known of these invaders. Atana thrives in being in control, something the unpredictability of not only her enemy, but of her newly assigned allies is making impossible. Can she surrender the control that keeps her sane and focused, and if she does, what buried secrets will emerge?
I found Stellar Fusion (Infinite Spark Book 1) to be a fascinating and enjoyable read. The author, E.L. Strife, pulls you into their futuristic world, introduces you to the ideas and structure of their domain, and wastes no time in driving the plot forward with compelling characters and imminent danger. Comradery, loyalty, survival, threat, and danger are expertly woven into an engaging plot. You develop an excellent feel for the characters and the personal obstacles they face, as well as those embraced within the plot. This futuristic world has some technologies that are both beautifully and terrifyingly imagined, those that will aid our heroes, and those that will stand in their way, and some times the line between which is which can be blurred. Really enjoyable, interesting, and most importantly fun to read. I look forward to seeing where book two takes us next.
I found Stellar Fusion (Infinite Spark Book 1) to be a fascinating and enjoyable read. The author, E.L. Strife, pulls you into their futuristic world, introduces you to the ideas and structure of their domain, and wastes no time in driving the plot forward with compelling characters and imminent danger. Comradery, loyalty, survival, threat, and danger are expertly woven into an engaging plot. You develop an excellent feel for the characters and the personal obstacles they face, as well as those embraced within the plot. This futuristic world has some technologies that are both beautifully and terrifyingly imagined, those that will aid our heroes, and those that will stand in their way, and some times the line between which is which can be blurred. Really enjoyable, interesting, and most importantly fun to read. I look forward to seeing where book two takes us next.
June 10, 2018
The first in E.L. Strife’s Infinite Spark series, Stellar Fusion follows an elite military-like team on its mission to save Earth from the Suanoa, who have already subjugated numerous alien species. The team’s leaders, Sergeants Nakio Atana and Jameson Bennett, must overcome their differences and work together if they have any hope of keeping their team alive. The stakes are raised even higher when they discover the slaves being held on the Suanoan vessel. While among these slaves, Atana begins to piece together mysteries from her past.
Stellar Fusion is an action-packed space opera—the stakes are high, the relationships are intense, and the heroes are over-the-top. Strife creates a world that is fun to explore and inhabits it with unique species and interesting characters. The concepts explored are simultaneously familiar and unique. It’s a book that makes you want to know what’s going to happen next.
As much as I enjoyed Stellar Fusion, I do have a few issues to address. At times, the prose could get a bit confusing—unclear descriptions, curious word choices, and lots of POV hopping. While the story itself is good enough to overcome these issues, there were times it detracted from the overall readability.
All in all, Stellar Fusion is a fun, fast-paced space romp that’s definitely worth a read. I look forward to the next installment.
Stellar Fusion is an action-packed space opera—the stakes are high, the relationships are intense, and the heroes are over-the-top. Strife creates a world that is fun to explore and inhabits it with unique species and interesting characters. The concepts explored are simultaneously familiar and unique. It’s a book that makes you want to know what’s going to happen next.
As much as I enjoyed Stellar Fusion, I do have a few issues to address. At times, the prose could get a bit confusing—unclear descriptions, curious word choices, and lots of POV hopping. While the story itself is good enough to overcome these issues, there were times it detracted from the overall readability.
All in all, Stellar Fusion is a fun, fast-paced space romp that’s definitely worth a read. I look forward to the next installment.
May 22, 2018
Loved the book! I especially enjoyed the attention to detail within the book. Really helped set the scene. I especially enjoyed the theory of operations of the weapons! I look forward to the next book in the series.
October 17, 2018
Everyone has secrets. Sometimes, we don't even know them ourselves.
No family. No friends. No lovers. No ties of any kind.
That's life in the Universal Protectors, and Nakio Atana wouldn't have it any other way.
Sent on a possibly one-way mission to the invaders' ship, Atana leads Jameson Bennett and his team of Protectors to watch her back. A little too closely for Atana's taste.
In Stellar Fusion (Infinite Spark Book 1), Elysia Strife takes the reader on a thrilling mission filled with danger, intrigue, and unveiled mysteries. Inventive technology and alien cultures combine on this ride through a dystopian adventure.
What I liked:
For the most part, I got lost in the pages. I enjoyed the development of the main characters, Atana and Bennett. Clues into their individual histories made them come off the page. They're solid characters that one can easily relate with and root for in their personal and interpersonal struggles as they strive to accomplish their mission goals.
What I didn't like:
There were times when the story slowed down too much; dragging if you will. At times, behavior or dialogue seemed out of character or unnatural for the scene and felt forced just to move the plot along to the next conflict or resolution. More often than not, I found myself willing to go along with it as the next few pages seemed to provide an adequate explanation of these "odd behaviors."
I enjoyed Stellar Fusion by Elysia Lumen Strife and give it a solid four stars. I look forward to continuing the journey with Atana and Bennett and look forward to seeing what happens next.
No family. No friends. No lovers. No ties of any kind.
That's life in the Universal Protectors, and Nakio Atana wouldn't have it any other way.
Sent on a possibly one-way mission to the invaders' ship, Atana leads Jameson Bennett and his team of Protectors to watch her back. A little too closely for Atana's taste.
In Stellar Fusion (Infinite Spark Book 1), Elysia Strife takes the reader on a thrilling mission filled with danger, intrigue, and unveiled mysteries. Inventive technology and alien cultures combine on this ride through a dystopian adventure.
What I liked:
For the most part, I got lost in the pages. I enjoyed the development of the main characters, Atana and Bennett. Clues into their individual histories made them come off the page. They're solid characters that one can easily relate with and root for in their personal and interpersonal struggles as they strive to accomplish their mission goals.
What I didn't like:
There were times when the story slowed down too much; dragging if you will. At times, behavior or dialogue seemed out of character or unnatural for the scene and felt forced just to move the plot along to the next conflict or resolution. More often than not, I found myself willing to go along with it as the next few pages seemed to provide an adequate explanation of these "odd behaviors."
I enjoyed Stellar Fusion by Elysia Lumen Strife and give it a solid four stars. I look forward to continuing the journey with Atana and Bennett and look forward to seeing what happens next.
June 7, 2020
Scifi works like the Infinite Spark series have never really been my go-to for reading material. Despite my love of some scifi shows growing up and a few brushes with scifi classics in university, the genre just doesn't hook me in the way that others do. I happened across this series by chance as a beta reader for one of the later installments and quickly found myself wrapped up in this world, wanting to know more.
Stellar Fusion is a great start to the series. We're introduced to an Earth that's not so familiar to us, guarded by the Universal Protectors against sinister alien forces. I'm most drawn to this series through main characters Bennett and Atana, who are thrust together and tasked with the difficult mission in this struggle to protect Earth. Their raw emotions and quirks make them lovable, and I'm eager to continue to follow their journeys of self-discovery throughout the series.
There were a few areas where the flow and dialogue became a bit confusing for me, but the overall story is well worth the read and enjoyable for scifi and non-scifi fans alike.
Stellar Fusion is a great start to the series. We're introduced to an Earth that's not so familiar to us, guarded by the Universal Protectors against sinister alien forces. I'm most drawn to this series through main characters Bennett and Atana, who are thrust together and tasked with the difficult mission in this struggle to protect Earth. Their raw emotions and quirks make them lovable, and I'm eager to continue to follow their journeys of self-discovery throughout the series.
There were a few areas where the flow and dialogue became a bit confusing for me, but the overall story is well worth the read and enjoyable for scifi and non-scifi fans alike.
November 13, 2018
Sergeants Nakio Atana and Jameson Bennet both carry a lot of secrets. And they both put the mission and their teammates before their own well being. So when the Suanoa put Earth's population in danger, they are the people the Shepherds turn to to protect the planet. To do that, the two sergeants will have to learn to accept their pasts, embrace their futures and trust each other.
This is a fun read. Lots of action with flawed, authentic characters and a really well developed, complex society. Sometimes that is a double-edged sword because there are times when you have to work to keep all the details straight. It's worth the effort, though.
If you're looking for an action-packed military scifi that takes place both on Earth and in space, look no further. You've found it!
This is a fun read. Lots of action with flawed, authentic characters and a really well developed, complex society. Sometimes that is a double-edged sword because there are times when you have to work to keep all the details straight. It's worth the effort, though.
If you're looking for an action-packed military scifi that takes place both on Earth and in space, look no further. You've found it!
May 28, 2019
Intense!!
What a fast moving, intense story. Fantasy and Sci-Fi at it's best. A lot of violence, some loving, going places none of us have gone before. Wow!
What a fast moving, intense story. Fantasy and Sci-Fi at it's best. A lot of violence, some loving, going places none of us have gone before. Wow!
January 22, 2020
Great book, really interesting characters in a different and awesome world! Writing was a little strange sometimes, but pretty great read!
January 31, 2020
A Nova in the Dark
Stellar Fusion was a good read. The book is excellent and in depth. There are layers to the characters that get shown the farther you get into the book.
Stellar Fusion was a good read. The book is excellent and in depth. There are layers to the characters that get shown the farther you get into the book.
December 20, 2024
I liked it.
April 18, 2025
If you love character-driven sci fi with a great message, I really recommend Stellar Fusion. I loved Atana’s transformation throughout the book, from cold, businesslike super soldier to a compassionate leader who will stand in front of any threat for her people and friends. The tech is incredibly detailed and intriguing, and I loved the different alien species. Can’t wait to read more from these characters as their story continues!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews