Under Far Galaxian Skies (Balfour's Trilogy #1), by Natalie Kelda
The Book
Synopsis:
Balfour has committed the ultimate crime: the murder of his sister’s boyfriend. It doesn’t matter that it was accidental.
Sentenced to working as ship labourer, Balfour is convinced he deserves it when he's captured by pirates and forced to a distant galaxy. He barely escapes enslavement, fleeing into a city more deadly than anything he’s ever known.
Venomous reptiles hunt him. Iron-fisted tarilla chiefs are on the brink of war.Balfour must adapt quickly or prepare for a slow, torturous death in the hands of people more bloodthirsty than the Star-Eaters of old.
But the biggest threat is his lingering self-loathing. If he can't fight through it, nothing else will matter — because he won’t live long enough to see it.
Under Far Galaxian Skies is the first in a trilogy that can be read on its own or as a continuation of the first 3 books in the Inner Universe Series.
My Review
Under Far Galaxian Skies is the new book in the space fantasy series Inner Universe, written by Natalie Kelda; it can be read as the start of a new series, Balfour's Trilogy, or also as a sequel to Quarantine Thirteen and the rest of books in the Inner Universe series. A thrilling novel, which shows Kelda's growth as an author, while still maintaining the mental health theme that is common across the series.
Balfour was sentenced to a life of work in space ships after accidentally committing a murder; but his destiny becomes even worse when the ship is captured by pirates due to the captain's hubris. Taken for enslavement to a galaxy he doesn't know, he barely escapes, becoming an outcast in a strange city, running from the tarillas that are fighting their own conflict and that won't doubt on slowly killing him if caught.
With this relatively low stakes proposal, Kelda takes us into a story that is excellent at portraying themes such as found family and the danger our characters are experiencing; all the cast ends growing into you, despite the focus still being put on Balfour. Talking about Balfour, it is interesting to see how he's a character that is dealing with the guilt and ptsd that appears as a result of the accident that got him condemned; mental health is an angular piece of Kelda's storytelling.
The world-building picks my curiosity, but it somehow feels a bit as a secondary element in comparison with the characters; there's a big conflict ongoing when Balfour arrives, but it is just in the background while we follow our main group. Fauna is quite dangerous, in ways that remembers me of the Australian stereotype.
Under Far Galaxian Skies ends with a pretty open situation that leaves us waiting for a second book; if you are thinking about picking Kelda's books, and like adventure fantasy, you can directly take this one as the starter. Really eager to see how Balfour and company continue surviving in such an hostile enviroment.
The Author/s
Natalie Kelda
Danish by birth, Natalie Kelda now lives in the green hills of Yorkshire, UK. She spends her evenings writing, drawing, and creating while only mildly hindered by her adventure cat, Barry.
Natalie has been an active Viking reenactor, advanced martial artist and avid horse rider. She loves to take on new challenges - especially if the activities build experiences that can help with writing the next story or the one after.
Storytelling and inventing new worlds has been a part of Natalie’s life since before she could read or write. Nowadays she mostly writes in English but you’ll often discover hints of her native Danish or some of the other languages she has picked up along the way.