Volume II – Edge Effects

The second volume of the Dominant Species series, Edge Effects, takes place one thousand years in the future on a newly discovered planet many light years from Earth.

Verde’s Revenge is a jungle planet green, thriving and fertile. Containing a wealth of natural resources, it is the chosen location for a new off-world colony. Earth’s enormous colonizing machinery is beginning preparations for the coming human invasion. But by law, the planet’s flora and fauna must be inventoried for biological hazards before human feet can tread there. An apparent glitch has put the surveys behind schedule – and contractors are already down on the planet’s surface. Biologist Rachel Sanders thinks she has drawn a lucky card when she’s hired to perform the biological surveys on Verde’s rich ecosystems. She will soon discover new and diverse species – and along the way reveal a growing threat more perilous than she could ever have imagined.

The volume is constructed as a series of vignettes laced together with the genetic threads of the first volume. Like the first, it is character driven, the characters rich and well developed. In this story we are transported to a new world populated with a lush panoply of plant and animal life. Through clues strategically placed, we begin to see that some of the residents of the new colony are part of the genetic lineage of the characters in the first volume and as the story unfolds, the sense of mystery grows.

The story takes place in an environment both physically and sociologically removed from our daily experience. But with a strong and highly detailed sense of place, it transports us into a world matchless in its richness and mystery. Within this context, humankind struggles against perils both inside and outside its tribal milieu. The relationship between humankind and the organic world is still an ever-present theme in the story’s narrative.

Like the first volume, the story is a voyage of discovery that will appeal to a broad demographic. It is horrific and cerebral at the same time, offering up both thrills and ideas for all to enjoy.