Without Mercy is a story that is absolutely integral to the entire In Search of Infinity/The Lost Stories book series. Outside of Oscar, Norman and Chloe, Sunjata is without question one of the most important characters of the early portion of this series and I wanted to make that be known with this story. This is the longest short story I have written to date and it should be noted that it did not take very long for this story to come together. I started writing it immediately after I announced my plans to release Encroachment. I wanted this book to be the bridge between Living Through the Glass, Ubiquitous Aspirations, Encroachment and my upcoming novel Prisoner of Castigation.
Without Mercy touches on a lot of different elements. At its core, it still follows the theme of being a cautionary tale of how one can go too far when trying to accomplish a goal much like Ubiquitous Aspirations and Encroachment. Unlike the first 2 stories, the topic of redemption and defining a legacy is clear and it is very much addressed at the end of the story. I felt it was not necessary to leave it open-ended because the general sequence of events are already outlined in Living Through the Glass.
This story is far less individualized. Ubiquitous Aspirations and Encroachment are stories where the main characters were allowed to have their own secret lives away from the group dynamic that is The Elders. This story is not because not only does it tell the story of how The Elders came to be, but it also gets into Sunjata's role in contributing the divisiveness and mistrust among The Elders and their offspring. Also, the first 2 books have very minimal intervention from the narrator Chloe. This one breaks away from that form for a time and in those instances, the story will appear as if it is a summary for Living Through the Glass. I needed this inclusion of the narrator as an important character to occur because it is a very early setup to elaborate on some plot points for the latter half of the In Search of Infinity series. While the story does shy away from matters of love, it must be said that platonic relationships are not without their share of problems. The interactions Sunjata shares with Oscar and Chloe are two such instances where the definitions of the pairings are vague and I intentionally veer away from what some may consider to be the obvious resolution of those relationships.
Without Mercy is on sale at Amazon for $0.99 USD or free for download with Kindle Unlimited.
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