Tired of reading scifi and fantasy stories that take themselves too seriously? Zaftan Entrepreneurs is a unique First Contact story; it is part adventure and part corporate and political satire spiced with comic relief.
Here, you'll find nasty, snarly aliens, fantasy creatures, humans, romance, magic, and--just like the real world--incompetent politicians and feuding bureaucracies. What more could a fantasy/scifi reader ask for?
An alien mining ship from Zaftan 31B discovers Gundarland, a land populated by humans, dwarfs, elves and other fantasy races. The alien ship orbits the planet and initial scans show promising mining sites that could yield exotic minerals ladened with rare elements. The zaftan crew launch robotic explorers which do considerable damage to private property and enrage the native population. At the center of the explored territory, MacDrakin Gemseeker, a dwarf miner, and Leslie Higginbottom, the only constable in the area, are attracted to each other, but the alien incursion comes between them. The politicians in Dun Hythe, the capital, have worked a deal with a zaftan negotiator and the constable must protect the robotic explorers, much to Higginbottom's dismay. Meanwhile, MacDrakin's mining property is twice invaded by robots and he destroys both of them. The second one was armed and fired a weapon at him. MacDrakin declares war on the aliens and the robots and vows to destroy them all.
With Higginbottom ordered to protect the robots and MacDrakin hunting them down, their budding romance falters and seems doomed. On the space ship, the zaftan captain, Yunta, is furious at the loss of so many expensive robots. When an extensive mineral deposit is discovered underneath the town, Yunta sees an opportunity to avenge the loss of the explorers. She orders the mineral deposit mined without regard to the town or its inhabitants. She dispatches as many crew members as possible to protect the mining machines and remaining robots.
MacDrakin, in the meantime, has assembled a small army and intends to defend the town. If he can defeat the zaftans and drive them away, he hopes that will also clear the way for him to resume romancing Higginbottom.
I've written a number of short stories and a few novellas that took place in my fantasy land that I called Gundaralnd. All of these stories took place in a medieval setting. One day, I was thinking about changing the setting to something more modern, like the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. I came up some with criteria like steam engines, pollution, telegraph, democracy in its infancy. While I was working on these settings, I had a great idea; aliens discover Gundarland and try to fleece what they see as unsophisticated natives. This scenario led me to have a great deal of fun writing the story.
Prepare to fly through a sci-fi world filled with slimy Zaftans, clever Yuks, a perky Pink Dragon Puppy, and many other colorful characters. Hank Quense's creativity is limitless! This story is filled with action, romance, and Quense's trademark unique, satirical wit. You will laugh out loud at lines such as, "Dwarf romance was fraught with peril because both males and females had beards." Hank Quense has painted yet another vibrant world of fun and fantasy that will entice and entertain any reader who values his artistic gift.
Lynn Coyle
After reading Tales From Gundarland, I thought Author Hank Quense was all out of imagination but, he seems to have an imagination that is non-stop. I have no idea as to where he comes up with some of his descriptions of his characters. Zaftans are huge squid-like creatures with nasty dispositions. A pink dragon pup (accidentally generated by an unknown magical process) runs around the Presidential Palace. Nut-busters are dwarf warriors armed with a two-foot long helmet spike. Other unusual characters are too many to list.
Hank Quense is full of funny stories! As I said when I read Tales From Gundarland, this book would make a wonderful series of movies. Martha Cheves:http://marthaskitchenkorner.blogspot.com/
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Hank Quense adds more than a dab of humor to this book and a great deal of insight into the workings of the bureaucrats. I'm sure I have not done justice to this book. It is impossible to describe the antics going on from each side of situation. This is a must read book. You'll be glad you did. Five Stars--Readers Favorite
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