BOOK REVIEW - "FRACTURED, FRAGMENT 01" (DARK TRENCH SHADOW SERIES, BOOK 3 OF 4) BY KERRY NIETZ

 What is the greatest danger facing Threadbare the debugger? Anti-tech terrorists threatening to destroy the status quo? A sadistic representative determined to enforce the status quo? Or his girl-friend Damali, which is the opposite of a debugger's status quo?

After a multi-year break working on other series and a stand-alone, Kerry Nietz returns with book 3 of his Dark Trench Shadow Series with "Fractured, Fragment One." At the time of review, "Fractured, Fragment Two" is published and available. In his acknowledgements, Nietz mentioned that when he was writing the latest installment of the Dark Trench Shadow Series it was getting to long for one book, so he divided it up into two parts.

Nietz's first novel was "A Star Curiously Singing," the beginning of the  three part DarkTrench Saga. Later, he introduced the DarkTrench Shadow series, which starts at the same point of time the earlier series did, but took a divergent route with some of the same characters, and ends before DarkTrench Saga does. If you haven't read any of his Dark Trench books, my suggestion would be to read the first two DarkTrench novels ("A Star Curiously Singing" and "The Superlative Stream," and then read the DarkTrench Shadow Series ("Frayed," Fraught," and "Fractured" both Fragment 1 and Fragment 2), and then conclude with "Freeheads," the last of the DarkTrench Saga.

For those unfamiliar, the DarkTrench stories fall into the distopian category, a world where the planet is under Sharia Law and a part of the populace are debuggers, with head implants. The books are full of plot twists, as well as interesting characters.

I highly recommend all of Nietz's books. I've read 14 of his novels (I'll be starting Fractured, Fragment 2 in a couple of days), his autobiographic "Fox Tales," and "Just Dumb Enough," a collaboration by the March Lords, including Nietz. 

2024 INTERVIEW WITH KERRY NIETZ

 

Since I started this blog, I've only had one repeat interviewee, that being Donna Fletcher Crow. Well, now Kerry Nietz has become the second. I have interviewed him a couple of other times when I was a contributor on a couple of other blog pages.

JR:  Welcome back to the blog, Kerry. It’s been almost four years since I interviewed you last. To put it in perspective, it was about 6 months into COVID. Anything you’d like to update us about from that time?

KN: Great to be back, Jeffrey. Hard to believe it has been that long. Much has changed since we last talked, not the least of which is that society has pretty much returned to normal. No more masks or quarantines. No more infection counts. 

My family marked a couple milestones since then too. My wife and I celebrated our 20-year anniversary a couple years ago. I now have a child in college and two more in high school. We also took one epic cross-country family trip since then. 

I became a 3D printing enthusiast during that time too. Even printed myself a full set of Halo armor to wear at a writers’ conference. (Realm Makers.) That armor now serves as a cool office decoration.

JR: I remember a line from Steve Taylor’s song “Am I In Sync?” about a scientist who “lost his mind to renegade mice.” For some reason, that makes me think of your Takamo universe series known as The Muto Chronicles, consisting of "Rhats!" (2018), "Rhats Too!" (2019), "Rhataloo" (2021), and "Rhats Free"! (2024). What’s a muto, and would you like to tell us about the series?

KN: Mutos are man-sized space-faring rodents. They hail from a portion of the Takamo Universe called the Rhatsibahn Empire. They’re typically scoundrels and lackeys (think Star Trek’s Ferengi) but occasionally a nobler character emerges. My stories follow a couple of those honorable types.

JR: Hearing about the Takamo Universe makes me hungry, though it might be that I confuse it with the Indianapolis pizza chain Jokamo’s. For those like me who forgot your explanation four years ago, what is the Takamo Universe? Are mutos a regular part of that realm, or are they your unique contribution to this literary world?

KN: Takamo started as a turn-based mail-in computer game (meaning the computer ran the numbers and gave the results) back in the eighties. It was crafted by a handful of college students and grew to have over 10,000 participants. Along the way, an encyclopedia’s worth of lore developed. 

Mutos have been part of the mythos since the beginning. In fact, "Rhataloo" is based on established Takamo canon, though I added a fair deal to the story. The other Muto Chronicle plots are mostly my creation. Randall Ritnour, the driving force behind Takamo today, suggested places for my rhats to visit, what they might be searching for, and who they might encounter. I took it from there. 

JR: You had at least one non-muto book since I last interviewed you, a novel that captured my imagination: "Lost Bits." Could you tell us about the story, and did I miss any others I might have missed?

KN: Sure. "Lost Bits" grew out of an everyday occurrence at home. While searching for something, I happened to open one of our upstairs cupboards and discovered a stack of dusty, forgotten eReaders that my kids had either worn out or outgrown. 

I felt a touch of melancholy. “How sad. These machines that were an integral part of our life are now discarded.” I moved from that to “What if that happened to a robot?” So, I started writing about what might happen if a robot woke up in a junkyard and decided to look for his human family. Along the way he befriends other technological misfits. I think of it as a robot-centric "Homeward Bound." 

As for missed books: Aside from "Lost Bits," I’ve released a short story anthology entitled "Digital Dreams and Other Distractions," another rhats book ("Rhats Free!"), and I contributed an anecdote to a non-fiction book called "My First Novel: And What Became of It."

JR: One of my favorite writers is the late, great Allistair MacLean, and I figured one reason why: his heroes knew the importance of teamwork and each one had one or more others working with him. Should that friend not make it, the hero recruits a replacement. I find the same thing in your stories (Threadbare and Bullhammer, Frohic and Abs, 404 and Sam). Am I the first to notice this? Was this a theme you consciously had in mind, or did these just develop as you wrote?

KN: I rarely go into my stories with the characters fully figured out. I’ll have a few strong ideas about the main character, but the characters he meets along the way spring up from the narrative. 

Subconsciously, I’m sure I’m resurrecting and reimagining people from my past. I’ve been fortunate to have many longstanding friends, some of whom I’ve known since early childhood. Aspects of their personalities show up in my characters often. 

JR: Thank you for your time. And could you believe I wrote an interview without mentioning a certain book? What projects are you working on? Will there be a “Rhats Fore!”? (Sorry, couldn’t resist. Yeah, right.) Anything else you’d like to say? And how can we keep up with you on-line?

KN: Yes, how did you avoid mentioning Amish Vampires in Space? It remains my most talked about novel. You can reach me via my webpage, Facebook, and X.com.

I’m currently working on another story in the DarkTrench Shadow series, which currently includes the novels "Frayed" and "Fraught." It is turning out longer than I originally expected, but I hope to finish it in the early fall and move it toward publication from there. 

After that? Not sure. I have a few non-fiction ideas and another fiction idea or two I’m kicking around. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another rhats book in the future. My youngest son and father are fans of that series now, so I need to give them something new to read. 

I think I’d call it Rhats More!, though.     

BOOK REVIEW - LOST BITS BY KERRY NIETZ

 How did K-404 end up in this pile of discarded technology? Why is there a disconnect of years in his memory? And can he protect his friends, humans that distrust him, and himself from annihilation?

If you enjoy dystopian science fiction and you have yet to discover Kerry Nietz, shame on you. And "Lost Bits" is the place to start. Those who are familiar with the Dark Trench Saga, the Peril in Plain Space trilogy, "Mask," and his "Rhats!" additions to the Takomo Universe, you enjoy his creative new novel.

I'm not a super geek, but this book has some inside jokes I got. For example, you'll notice that on the title has a zero and a one in the title, the two numbers of the binary system. Likewise, each chapter is designated by the typical arabic numbers (such as 21) and the binary counterpart (0001 0101). Not to mention the dreaded 404 code when something's not found. But you'd expect no less from the computer programmer who wrote of his experiences with Fox Software in his autobiographical "Fox Tales."

One thing I enjoy about Nietz is that he deals with community and friendship. I enjoy his friendships of ThreadBare and BullHammer in the Dark Trench Shadow series and with Frolic and Abs in the Rhats books. Here, we find 404 befriended by Sam, Wes, Blue, Fuzzy, and Radial. 

As usual for a book by Kerry Nietz, I highly recommend this story.

 

Interview With Kerry Nietz

Late October 2013. With less than a week before posting date on the Hoosier Ink blog I then contributed for, my scheduled interview fizzled at the last minute. What do I do?

I then remember seeing an ad for a book that just came out that not only sounded interesting, but it also fit the Halloween season. This novel, the first of the Peril in Plain Space series, was Amish Vampires In Space, written by Kerry Nietz (pronounced Neets). So I contacted Kerry and a week later I posted one of my favorite interviews.

I've read several of his novels as well as his auto-biographical Fox Tales: Behind The Scenes Of Fox Software, and thoroughly enjoyed each one. He also is a contributor to a devotional series which I'll mention later. So here's my interview with Kerry Nietz.

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JR: I believe your most recent project is a contribution to the second volume of the Faith In Fiction Devotionals (you also wrote the foreword in the first volume). That series is exactly what I'm trying to deal with in this blog. Could you tell us about that series, and are there plans for more?

KN: I’d be happy to, Jeffrey. The Faith in Fiction devotional series is the brainchild of author Christopher Schmitz and is geared toward the large segment of Christians out there that enjoy science fiction and fantasy. About a half-dozen authors contributed. Each of us created devotions based on speculative stories we’ve enjoyed in the past (e.g. The Hunger Games or Dune) along with our own stories. In my case, I took some of the short stories that have stuck with me—by classic authors like Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Jack Finney—and connected them to Biblical wisdom to form, I hope, concise inspirational messages. I think it’s a fantastic series. I’m glad Chris asked me to be part of it.

JR: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing your best-known project is Amish Vampires in Space. One thing that impressed me in the Peril in Plain Space series is the emphasis on our responsibility to community and that our community may be larger than we think. How do Christians develop a stronger community, especially dealing with pandemics, protests, and political division?

KN: Wow, good question. The times have certainly made many aspects of community more difficult. I know I find myself, even when I’m outside the home in public spaces, wanting to isolate and withdraw. Just putting on headphones and going about my business, oblivious to those around. (Plus, it’s hard to communicate when everyone is wearing masks!)

Even online community can be difficult. There’s a lot of fear, uncertainty, and anger out there. It’s tempting to withdraw from that altogether—and for a season that might not be a bad thing, especially if you have people nearby who you should be connecting with. In Acts 1:8, Jesus talked about first reaching those closest to you and moving outward in your witness from there. I have younger kids, and I know I’ve enjoyed hearing and seeing more of them during these otherwise trying times—especially since I know they won’t always be this young. My oldest just signed up for drivers training!

I guess if I had any advice, it would be to be sensitive to those God puts in your path—either in your local vicinity or online. There’s a lot of hurt and insecurity out there. It’s a great opportunity to put faith in action. Find ways to serve and console!

JR: Maybe it's just me, but I also believe your dystopian works (the Dark Trench Saga, the Dark Trench Shadow Series, and the stand-alone novel Mask) also point to community in a more hostile society. (Does that mean vampires, zombies, and werewolves are less hostile?) Any lessons we can learn from Radial, Sandfly, and ThreadBare?

KN: I think the wisdom there too is to thrive in whatever environment you find yourself in. Be the encourager and the problem-solver. Steer clear of the negative as much as possible. Resist complaining and squabbling. Find like-minded folks and work toward a common, righteous goal.

One advantage Sandfly, Threadbare—and to a lesser extent—Radial have is that they are in near-continual communication with their support team. Whenever there’s a problem, there’s always someone available to talk to. Normal humans like us are invited into something similar with God himself. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all situations.” If there’s one thing I think the world needs more of right now, it’s prayer.

JR: I know Amish Werewolves of Space came out late last year. What else is in the pipeline?

KN: I just sent a story off to the publisher. I’ve written a handful of stories in the Takamo gaming universe over the last couple years. It’s fun, because their universe is so vast that there are a lot of story ideas to play with. (Takamo started as a by-mail game in the 80s and is now being developed into a massive multiplayer online game.) It’s pure escapism. So far, my stories have revolved around a society of aliens that look like man-sized rats. This latest entry involves them too, but there’s a bit of an alternative history angle.

JR: Thank you very much for your time.

KN: You’re welcome, Jeffrey. Thanks for inviting me. May God bless all your endeavors! 

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Who do you consider your community? Are there those who you should consider part of your community you tend to overlook or ignore? How do you get them involved in community?