Review of Voyage: Embarkation

Voyage. Such an apt name for the tale that Zachary has spun. Journeying between worlds rich with varied cultures that are at once both alien and deeply resonant, the story of Kal is enthralling, exhilarating, and educational. From debating moral quandaries and disparate life philosophies, to exploring the consequences of over-relying on technology or shunning it completely, Voyage is verdant with thought-provoking ideas delivered within the pages of an impeccable science fiction adventure.

Diving into the vibrant, vivacious universe that Zachary has built is an experience I will never forget, and I will be following his career with rapt attention.
Simply, I cannot recommend Voyage enough; it is a powerfully polished chronicle well-worthy of pride of place on any book-lover's mantle.

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #14 Ludo

The final showdown. Kal's enigmatic nemesis is unmasked, and his megalomaniacal plans for the entire metaxia are worse than Kal or Tria could ever have imagined...

The conclusion to Voyage: Embarkation fulfills the eponymous catastrophe byline perfectly, with tragedy, action, and revelation driving the series to a bittersweet cliffhanger. Bring on Windbound!

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #13 Taboo

Earth without nanites. A carbon copy, right down to the town names. Even better, they have the technology to build Tria a body! Kal's finally found a place he can call home. That is, until he discovers the Dogma, and the backwards-thinking bigotry germinating just below the surface...

Tackling the vicissitudes of college life in a discriminatory society worryingly like our own, Taboo exposes the struggles of being homosexual among a breed of pig-headed puritan chauvinists. A must-read for everyone.

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #12 Liberty

Nanogenic radiation. Kal's kryptonite. The one thing preventing him from returning to Earth, and now the reason he must play the game of office politics under a corrupt corporate bureaucracy. If he wants to live, Kal's going to have to learn the meaning of 'crunch time'...

An ineffably adroit commentary on the pressures of the IT industry wrapped in a dystopian adventure, Liberty is witty, tense, and satirically perceptive. Embarkation just keeps getting better and better!

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #11 Requiescence

Kal finally finds a nice, normal guy, one who happens to be just as passionate about swimming as he is. What's more, the world he lives on is a near-perfect analogue to Earth: sandy beaches, smiling people, magic. Wait, magic?

From warm intimacy to whirlwind anarchy, Requiescence is unrelentingly enthralling from start to finish. The portentous ending demands the immediate acquisition of the next chapter. Excellent!

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #10 Unpossible

A brief stop-over in a paradoxical un-world helps Kal shuck the cloak of over-cautiousness he has worn since the last catastrophe.

Serving as an intermediary palate cleanser between larger story arcs, Unpossible delivers a bite-sized chunk of thoroughly enjoyable perplexity.

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #9 Nanogen

Falsely imprisoned for attempted genocide, Kal is stripped of his pad and thus denied his ability to flee through the metaxia. An entire world blames him for their month-short mortality, and if he can't find a cure, his own lifespan might be even shorter...

Corruption and conspiracy run rampant in the ninth chapter of the Voyage series. The lethality of mishandled technology and a glimpse at a mysterious new enemy make for an intelligent and intriguing adventure. 

 

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #8 Benevolence

A tyrannical dictator with the lifeblood of a world in his grasp seems like a pretty obvious evil. What kind of heartless monster would Kal be if he didn't intervene? But then why is Tria so anxious to simply leave the world to its miserable fate? What could possibly be worse than total, joyless slavery?

Conjuring echoes of Animal Farm, Benevolence investigates the oft-ignored dangers of 'fixing' perceived injustices, and prompts reflection on the indefatigable animalistic tendencies that all humans carry inside them. Magnificent!

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #7 Duality

Loneliness is an inescapable factor of Kal's metaxic adventures. Sure, he has Tria to accompany him, but his disembodied clone is more interested in talking linguistics than carrying a casual conversation. What he needs is someone more corporeal, someone who understands what it's like to lose their home...

The bittersweet duet of love and loss resonates powerfully throughout the seventh chapter of the wonderful Voyage series. Touching and revealing, Duality's tale of earnest romance is no less captivating than its plot-focused predecessors.

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #6 Norselands

A civilisation 21000 years more advanced than Earth has to have a cure to Kal's nanoradiation allergy, right? Not to mention the technology required to survive on a planet Ragnaroked to near oblivion. Kal's reasoning is sound, but he lacks the perspective of a society that has repeatedly endured and escaped Armageddon. He will find that their logic does not quite match his...

 

Sprinkled with more tantalising tidbits about the nature of the metaxia and how Kal came to be exiled to it, Norselands is by far the most visually evocative and delightfully distinct chapter of the Embarkation series yet.

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Review of Voyage: Embarkation #5 Corporeal

Find Tria a body, then offload him on one of the more peaceful worlds of the metaxia. That was Kal's plan, and he was prepared to do whatever it took to achieve it, even if that meant throwing ethics out the window and tampering with another world's culture. But playing God is a fickle endeavour, and Kal might not be ready for the consequences...

With a fascinating society of technological nomads and a cast of new characters, Corporeal explores the ramifications of imposing one culture's ideals on another, and the cost of a supercilious mentality when engaged in foreign relations. A wonderfully stimulating read.

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