Freeing Eden

SCI-FI:  Zara spends half her life alone aboard her trader ship. When she made planetfall, she just wanted someone to talk to, and a clone at an autobrothel sounded the way to go. The clone she got turned out to be a fully human trueclone. Intrigued, she decided to buy him. Not in any hurry to find Kell’s true identity, they decided to land on Eden, a planet torn by rebellion over control of a drug sought by all civilized worlds. His memory returning, Kell finds himself thrust into a rebellion as a former leader against an offworlder warlord. Zara urged him to leave Eden, her feelings for him mixed. Kell’s feelings were clear – he loved her, but he could not leave until the situation on Eden was resolved. Captured by the warlord, Kell’s struggle to liberate Eden takes on a more complex dimension.

G.S. Kenney begins “Freeing Eden” with a novel concept – cloned humans who provide sexual services. It is a page-turner. Zara’s desire to find Kell’s maker against a convoluted interstellar political mosaic promised readers an interesting adventure. Readers will readily identify with Zara, but she becomes a bit player in a story taken over by Kell and a role thrust on him from his past. G.S. Kenney shows flashes of good dialogue and people interaction. However, these fail to lift “Freeing Eden” from a tired theme that has been used far more successfully in other novels. Nevertheless, this well written novel will appeal to readers who love world-saving heroes.

Paul Brenner