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The Helix War
Terra Insegura
from the author of marseguro-The battle for survival returns to earth
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this "abomination." But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth's Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro's location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this "abomination." But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth's Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro's location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
- GenresScience Fiction
400 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2009
2 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Edward Willett
170 books117 followersEdward Willett is an award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction for both children and adults.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 18, 2013
Terra Insegura is the second book included in the omnibus edition titled the Helix War, which also includes the first book Marseguro. I have the separate books, but I dove right into Terra Insegura immediately after finishing the first book. Not that the first book ended on a cliffhanger--it was a fully resolved book--but because the premise and the "hook" at the end of the first book demanded I read more.
Read the Terra Insegura review at SFReader.com
Read the Terra Insegura review at SFReader.com
August 10, 2023
When I came back from a SF convention in Winnipeg, the author's city, with Terra Insegura, I had to re-read the whole Marseguro novel, bought 15 years before, to get reacquainted with the characters and the world. But it was worth it, with turns and twists away from the expectations of space-op, with actions, conflicts and good characterization (i.e. one of the antagonists had a strong motivation for his actions).
I recommend it as a fine example of Canadian SF.
I recommend it as a fine example of Canadian SF.
June 19, 2012
Terra Insegura is the second book included in the omnibus edition titled the Helix War, which also includes the first book Marseguro. I have the separate books, but I dove right into Terra Insegura immediately after finishing the first book. Not that the first book ended on a cliffhanger--it was a fully resolved book--but because the premise and the "hook" at the end of the first book demanded I read more. *grin*
The premise is book two requires a little spoilerage of book one, so if you haven't read that one yet, you may want to stop reading now. In Marseguro, the genetically modified amphibious Selkies, along with their creator Victor Hansen and a slew of unmodified humans, escaped the persecution of the religious group the Body Unified by fleeing to a new planet they dubbed Marseguro. They successfully hid there for 50 years, until one of the unmodified humans, Chris Keating, activated a signal. The Body Purified attacked the unprepared planet in an attempt to purify it of the monsters created by genetic manipulation, but the Selkies fought back, creating a plague that kills all unmodified humans unless they've been innoculated. In the chaos of the battles, Chris Keating is innoculated and ends up on one of the Body Purified ships. The plague spreads, wiping out all of the Body Purified, including those on the ship containing Chris Keating. The only problem is, Chris is a carrier of the plague . . . and the ship is headed back to Earth, where the plague will wipe out humanity.
Terra Insegura begins with Richard Hanson--a clone of Victor Hansen, with his memories implanted with a gene-bomb--and a crew of mixed Selkies and humans from Marseguro are headed back to Earth with the innoculation in hopes of saving humanity from Chris Keating's arrival. But what will they find when they arrive? Will the Body Purified have contained the plague, or will it have been released on the unsuspecting population? And if it has gotten out of containment on the ship, how devastating will the plague be? Regardless of what's happened, the crew from Marseguro intends to help in whatever way they can. They never intended the plague to escape beyond their own planet.
I'll start by saying that I thought this book was much better than the first, which I enjoyed well enough already. This second book was more convoluted, with multiple points of view scattered to the four winds and space beyond, all of them with their own motivations and personal conflicts. If you recall my review of Marseguro, I emphasized the fact that the best part of the book, for me, was the characters, and those strong characterizations continue here. The plot was also more convoluted and involved loyalty, betrayal, action in space, battles on land, torture, and so many twists and turns I lost count. I wasn't sure how to classify the first book or this one--it's not really hard SF, nor it is military SF, although it has aspects of both. Someone suggested it was space opera, but I didn't think it fit that description (at least my definition of space opera) either, although that's the closest probably. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would have read a third book if there was one.
So, final thought on this is that if you'd like a light military SF novel, or a light SF novel, or perhaps a slight tweak on space opera, then you should definitely pick up The Helix War and check it out, keeping in mind that I think the second book is much fuller and richer than the first.
The premise is book two requires a little spoilerage of book one, so if you haven't read that one yet, you may want to stop reading now. In Marseguro, the genetically modified amphibious Selkies, along with their creator Victor Hansen and a slew of unmodified humans, escaped the persecution of the religious group the Body Unified by fleeing to a new planet they dubbed Marseguro. They successfully hid there for 50 years, until one of the unmodified humans, Chris Keating, activated a signal. The Body Purified attacked the unprepared planet in an attempt to purify it of the monsters created by genetic manipulation, but the Selkies fought back, creating a plague that kills all unmodified humans unless they've been innoculated. In the chaos of the battles, Chris Keating is innoculated and ends up on one of the Body Purified ships. The plague spreads, wiping out all of the Body Purified, including those on the ship containing Chris Keating. The only problem is, Chris is a carrier of the plague . . . and the ship is headed back to Earth, where the plague will wipe out humanity.
Terra Insegura begins with Richard Hanson--a clone of Victor Hansen, with his memories implanted with a gene-bomb--and a crew of mixed Selkies and humans from Marseguro are headed back to Earth with the innoculation in hopes of saving humanity from Chris Keating's arrival. But what will they find when they arrive? Will the Body Purified have contained the plague, or will it have been released on the unsuspecting population? And if it has gotten out of containment on the ship, how devastating will the plague be? Regardless of what's happened, the crew from Marseguro intends to help in whatever way they can. They never intended the plague to escape beyond their own planet.
I'll start by saying that I thought this book was much better than the first, which I enjoyed well enough already. This second book was more convoluted, with multiple points of view scattered to the four winds and space beyond, all of them with their own motivations and personal conflicts. If you recall my review of Marseguro, I emphasized the fact that the best part of the book, for me, was the characters, and those strong characterizations continue here. The plot was also more convoluted and involved loyalty, betrayal, action in space, battles on land, torture, and so many twists and turns I lost count. I wasn't sure how to classify the first book or this one--it's not really hard SF, nor it is military SF, although it has aspects of both. Someone suggested it was space opera, but I didn't think it fit that description (at least my definition of space opera) either, although that's the closest probably. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would have read a third book if there was one.
So, final thought on this is that if you'd like a light military SF novel, or a light SF novel, or perhaps a slight tweak on space opera, then you should definitely pick up The Helix War and check it out, keeping in mind that I think the second book is much fuller and richer than the first.
July 12, 2009
Terra Insegura continues the adventures of the Selkies (a race of genetically modified humans that share DNA with seals) and the "nonmods" (the humans) who have left their home planet of Marseguro (also the title of the first book) to travel to Earth. It follows two main protagonists and one of the best villains to appear in literature since Iago convinced Othello to do terrible, terrible things. The Marsegurites must help the people of Earth, some of the same people who want to destroy Marseguro and all life on it.
Perhaps the biggest antagonist in these two books is the "Body Purified", a fanatical, extremist, militaristic religion that is...well...to call the Body "anti genetic modification" is selling it a bit short. Set in the far future, Terra Insegura and Marseguro are a little window in to the way intolerance (and all kinds of isms) can be taken to a frightening extreme. Even within the Body, though, there is hope for understanding, and this seems to be a major theme of the series - the difference between knowledge and understanding.
Sometimes, there is a reticence to pick up Science Fiction titles unless you're already a Sci-Fi fan. Willett's books are kind to the Sci-Fi 'newbie'...one of the great things about Science Fiction is how, as a genre, it tends to address "really big questions" and ideas. Marseguro and Terra Insegura do this, in a comfortable and approachable way. You needn't be reticent about these books. Both of Willett's books in this series have a wonderful, driving pace, which, when coupled with multiple well-rounded characters and fascinating stories, make wonderful, captivating books that deserve to be read over and over.
Perhaps the biggest antagonist in these two books is the "Body Purified", a fanatical, extremist, militaristic religion that is...well...to call the Body "anti genetic modification" is selling it a bit short. Set in the far future, Terra Insegura and Marseguro are a little window in to the way intolerance (and all kinds of isms) can be taken to a frightening extreme. Even within the Body, though, there is hope for understanding, and this seems to be a major theme of the series - the difference between knowledge and understanding.
Sometimes, there is a reticence to pick up Science Fiction titles unless you're already a Sci-Fi fan. Willett's books are kind to the Sci-Fi 'newbie'...one of the great things about Science Fiction is how, as a genre, it tends to address "really big questions" and ideas. Marseguro and Terra Insegura do this, in a comfortable and approachable way. You needn't be reticent about these books. Both of Willett's books in this series have a wonderful, driving pace, which, when coupled with multiple well-rounded characters and fascinating stories, make wonderful, captivating books that deserve to be read over and over.
August 11, 2009
One of the hardest things for any writer to do is to write an adequate sequel to an already well-written novel. Too often sequels fall short of the previous novel, and fans are left pleased, angry, or disappointed. But this is not true of Terra Insegura. The sequel to Marseguro, published last year by DAW, Terra Insegura is an action-packed thrill-ride that outshines its predecessor.
Terra Insegura begins where Marseguro left off. The plague released by Dr. Christianson-Wood to fend off the Holy Warriors on the planet Marseguro has been accidentally sent back to Earth by the infected, but immunized, traitor Chris Keating. Richard Hanson, clone of the late Victor Hanson, who created the Selkies and whisked them away to Marseguro to protect them from the fanatical, purity-obsessed Body, heads to Earth on a mercy mission, hoping to stop the plague before it wipes out mankind. But the Body is not so easily weakened, even back home on Marseguro, and Richard will soon find out how well the Body can bounce back, even from a plague designed to kill pure humans.
Terra Insegura is a novel with a few tricks up its sleeve. Plot twists, surprise characters, and well-drawn action make this novel both enjoyable and a prime example of why science fiction is still awesome. I find it difficult to complain about this novel, because I had problems putting it down. Terra Insegura has just enough action to keep me fixed to the page, and plenty of suspense (and even a little romance) to make this more than just another book of explosions and space battles. It’s a novel that knows it is good science fiction and isn’t afraid to show it.
My only criticism is that the ending, while a good one, could have used a few more pages of development. Most of the ending works perfectly, but one tiny part needed a tad more to feel less rushed. But this criticism seems small compared to all that is great about this novel.
If you’re a science fiction nut, you should pick this book up. Terra Insegura is science fiction at its best, and hopefully we’ll be seeing much more from Mr. Willett in the future.
Terra Insegura begins where Marseguro left off. The plague released by Dr. Christianson-Wood to fend off the Holy Warriors on the planet Marseguro has been accidentally sent back to Earth by the infected, but immunized, traitor Chris Keating. Richard Hanson, clone of the late Victor Hanson, who created the Selkies and whisked them away to Marseguro to protect them from the fanatical, purity-obsessed Body, heads to Earth on a mercy mission, hoping to stop the plague before it wipes out mankind. But the Body is not so easily weakened, even back home on Marseguro, and Richard will soon find out how well the Body can bounce back, even from a plague designed to kill pure humans.
Terra Insegura is a novel with a few tricks up its sleeve. Plot twists, surprise characters, and well-drawn action make this novel both enjoyable and a prime example of why science fiction is still awesome. I find it difficult to complain about this novel, because I had problems putting it down. Terra Insegura has just enough action to keep me fixed to the page, and plenty of suspense (and even a little romance) to make this more than just another book of explosions and space battles. It’s a novel that knows it is good science fiction and isn’t afraid to show it.
My only criticism is that the ending, while a good one, could have used a few more pages of development. Most of the ending works perfectly, but one tiny part needed a tad more to feel less rushed. But this criticism seems small compared to all that is great about this novel.
If you’re a science fiction nut, you should pick this book up. Terra Insegura is science fiction at its best, and hopefully we’ll be seeing much more from Mr. Willett in the future.
June 5, 2009
Meh. Good enough to finish once I had started, but nothing really special about the story, characters, or world.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews