Hello friends & fans! This is a brief introduction to the Quantum Series by yours truly!
The Quantum Series is sci-fi with a dash of fantasy and a pinch or two of adventure and thriller thrown in! The series is set on Deanna, a backwater Terran colony on the fringes of known space – which orbits a star named Ramalama, and has two mad little moons named Ding and Dong (this is apparently some sort of local joke). Life out on the frontier isn’t always easy, and there are things that make living on Deanna a mite more interesting than on more civilized Human colonies – including the unique locals, the weird wildlife – and diverse alien tourists, immigrants and refugees.
A recurring cast of characters must overcome diabolical schemes, sinister villains, invading aliens – Human nature – and whatever daunting obstacles they encounter in their adventures together. Quantum fits neatly into the science fiction genre, falling somewhere in the scope of “space opera” and “adventure” sub-genres. Like much of my writing, it’s characterized by my unique (and often strange, I admit) sense of humor – and also features elements like time travel and, from time to time, more unexpected characters such as sentient, perambulatory plants and vampires!
Quantum is set in the same ‘universe’ or timeline as the Galaxii Series, but takes place considerably later than those stories – and centers around an entirely separate cast of characters and settings. There are currently 6 titles in the Quantum Series, with several more in the pipeline, so readers hoping for the release of new titles needn’t despair! These are currently available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover formats via Amazon, with the first five also available in audiobook format!
Books in the Quantum Series have received wonderful reviews from readers and reviewers alike, but the best so far has to be from reviewer Lee Hall who had this to say of the Quantum Series:
“The Quantum Series carries a consistent theme throughout all six of it’s stories; that being inclusion no matter how different one is or where they come from. Whether you are human, alien, plant or anything else in between. No matter your beliefs, non beliefs, orientation or anything else that may set you aside and make you different.
Christina Engela’s stories in this series champion that and it’s an important modern cause to stand for in literature. She manages to do and say that without being preachy and while also and importantly telling fun, action packed, sometimes quirky but always enjoyable stories.”
“Have you read the Quantum Series? You should!” – Lee Hall, writer & reviewer.
Books in the series are available in eBook and print, with some already starting to appear in audiobook format! You can read more about the series here. Titles in the series are displayed below:
(Book 1) “Black Sunrise“
Action! Adventure! Gender Dysphoria!
Cindy-Mei Winter had until recently been ‘Agent’ Winter, C.I.A. – that’s Colonial Intelligence Agency – and one of their best agents… that is, until they threw her out for coming to work in a dress.
After that disappointing and sudden end to what had been a promising career, Mei rewarded herself with a long relaxing vacation in the outback to celebrate her gender reassignment and her new start in life. The first stop on her journey turned out to be a little backwater planet called Deanna…
As a third-rate colony in the Terran Empire, Deanna had more than its fair share of dull moments… Dull – but also definitely weird… Deanna orbited a star called Ramalama – and if you think that’s funny, Deannas’ two moons were called Ding and Dong, respectively. (This was a local joke.)
Then the unexpected happened: A single Ruminarii Hammerhead – the first seen by Humans in over eighty years, arrived to invade the small backwater Terran colony! Mei had hoped to put her violent and somehow depressing past behind her, but now it seemed her new beginning (and her holiday) were going to have to wait! The Gimp were back, and this was no time to be a sissy! She faced seemingly insurmountable odds in the midst of panic, hysteria – falling sherry – and people hiding under furniture! What would she do?
Thankfully, with the assistance of an alien walking, talking plant called Fred, a local bounty hunter called Beck the Badfeller – and the Skeggs Valley Dynamite Fishing Club, she wouldn’t have to find out alone!
“A fun and enjoyable quirky multi-character story that carries an important message…’ That message which is intertwined with some action, comedy, and overall fun is all about diversity and inclusion. There’s even a talking plant!”
“Overall I found this story enjoyable with a positive message that puts the ‘conscience over paycheck’ concept into practice. There are some parts I found to be genuinely funny while in other moments it was thought provoking.
Seeing as this book is a part of the wider ‘Quantum’ series I will be sure to check out the others. 5 Stars” – review.
Action! Adventure! Time Travel!
The Time Saving Agency liked having fresh agents on the job, who had a clear mind and steady hand. After all, time travel wasn’t for the faint of heart. The pay was good enough, but as Johnathan Scrooby decided long ago – even if he didn’t get paid for it, the thrill alone was payment enough! Then again, the TSA realized they couldn’t afford to have disgruntled employees with the power of God at their fingertips, so the pay was very, very good indeed!
Scrooby was extremely tense. His job at the Time Saving Agency was a tough one – gazillions of lives depended on him not screwing up. Once, he’d screwed up in only a small way, and people wore those little yellow smiley faces on T-shirts for decades afterwards… And that was only a small screw up!
Things happened at a certain time in a certain way, which in a sense, is what Life was all about. If they didn’t, then things would be completely different – which was why, a week ago, the American War of Independence was fought in Mexico. Yesterday Napoleon managed to dig a tunnel across the English Channel, invaded London – and everybody at the Agency ended up speaking French for a while. Sorting that out had been… well, challenging… Mon dieu.
Something smelled funny in the Anals of History! Things were not as they were supposed to be. Someone somewhere was tinkering with the works, and it was up to Time Agent Scrooby – with a little help – to go back and fix it, or who knew what might happen next!
“A highly enjoyable time travel caper…”
“Overall ‘The Time Saving Agency’ is a fun read which sees the ‘Quantum Series’ taken on an unexpected journey of time travel while also continuing the journey of the characters seen in the previous book in the series (‘Black Sunrise’).
The narrative is delivered with a sophisticated level of humor and sometimes sarcastic wit that never allows for a dull moment. 4 Stars “ – review.
Action! Adventure! Assassins!
Deanna was just another third-rate colony in the Terran Empire, and it was pretty much as boring a lump of rock as could be expected. Boring, that is, until Gary Beck – aka Beck the Badfeller, Deanna’s most famous bounty hunter – ran over an obsidian crow with his jeepo on the highway to San Fedora one Saturday morning and didn’t have a spare tire. Things pretty much went downhill from there.
An assassin had come to Atro City, an assassin with a score to settle. She was refined and pretty – but as poets might say, beauty can be deceiving – and the same poets who described Helen of Troy as the face that launched a thousand ships, might have written about Villainessa Tittle as the bitch that sank them.
As an assassin, she was the worst kind: she took pride in her work, enjoyed what she did for a living, was bloody good at it, and above all, she was absolutely terrifying. She’d come to Deanna on business, and this time, unfortunately, it was absolutely 100 percent personal.
“Suspense, drama and modern issues all of which are tackled in a fun but important way…
As the Quantum series unfolds, it grows more and more impressive. Dead Man’s Hammer is proof that Christina Engela can build an established world and insert so many genres into it along with retaining a unique style of writing that not only tributes her influences but has a way of confiding in readers.”
“Suspense, drama and even tragedy are ways that I would describe the journey this story represents, not to mention that crime-mystery theme along with some more important issues that these books are not afraid to tackle; as much as this sounds heavy, it’s a fun read! Throughout Engela’s writing style naturally flows and is fun to read. 5 stars.” – review.
Action! Adventure! Disorganized Crime!
Returning from an evening spent in Mars City visiting relatives he didn’t know he had, Timaset Skooch arrived at the local space port to find the loderunner Celeste, his new acquisition, stolen. A few minutes later, the crew of his slightly run-down (and missing) ship, returned from a nearby pub, blind drunk, puzzled, and now unemployed as well.
Ever since he’d decided to quit being a P.I. and to try his hand at running cargo across the Outblack instead, things had just blown up in Skoochs’ face one day at a time (Florpavian Flamebirds tended to do that occasionally). Between the labor disputes and accidental deaths among the crew (who believed in settling disputes internally) Tim had developed a headache worse than the ones he used to get from getting kicked in the head. Things had way more complicated than he’d expected, and now the he and the odd-ball crew of the slightly run-down loderunner found themselves in the middle of a kind of cat and mouse game with some cloaks and daggers thrown in for good measure.
He was sure it had something to do with the 10,000 credits he’d been offered to transport two passengers to an asteroid in the rings of – um, Jupiter (as soon as possible, no questions asked) by a middle-man with no neck and a tendency to smile a lot. Trouble was, now the Martian Mob – or someone – seemed to be out to kill them all – and he was beginning to really regret winning that card game…
“A fun tale about the perils of voyaging through space to earn an honest buck with a meaningful important message…”
“From the early stages of this story Christina Engela makes great efforts to not only tell a story with wide appeal but also includes a powerful inclusive message about the subject of transphobia and embracing who you really are on the inside. “
“What ensues is a story with a powerful meaning along with the usual fun moments Engela is known for, space stories really are her specialty and the setting makes the writing feel very much at home. 5 stars.” – review.
Action! Adventure! Skinheads!
The third-rate Terran colony of Deanna suddenly found itself hip-deep in strange events. Well… stranger than usual. And by quite a margin.
Deanna was a melting-pot of races, species and all manner of creeds and cultures, and always had been – but something very fundamental had changed. Without being noticed, hate had come to Deanna and had built a nest there. Something sinister had stirred in the shadows on the remote, usually idyllic (if slightly weird) little backwater colony – something… disturbing. And where had all these damn neo-Nazi skinheads suddenly come from?
In the final weeks before the greatly anticipated royal visit of Prince Justin, Sheriff Peggy-Ann Muller, stretched thin by work pressure and the daily, frenetic meetings at the Governor’s office, Peg had little time to invest in sideshows. It was unavoidable that certain finer details would slip past her… like the sudden, puzzling increase in crime. A type of crime that had not been seen in some time. Hate crime.
Peg resolved to look into it personally – just as soon as her schedule would allow. But could it wait?
Something terrible was about to hatch! And when it did, the quirky residents of the third-rate colony would face a challenge unlike any they had seen before.
“Fun, quirky and most probably the strongest of the Quantum series!”
“As the story unfolded it became more and more gripping as events turn for the worse.
Sheriff Peggy Ann-Muller may well be in over her head even if she does express exactly what is going on through a powerful quote ‘Anyone else want to be on the wrong side of history?’ Powerful is probably the one word which sums up the plot of ‘Prodigal Sun’ but as usual there is way much more happening.”
“5 Stars – Great read.” – review.
Action! Adventure! Uncivil War!
Troubled times had come to the Terran Colony planet of Deanna, and unfortunately, having amusing names for its sun (Ramalama) and two moons (Ding and Dong) hadn’t made this quaint little world immune to bad things. Right now, things were looking pretty darned bleak.
A shock public assassination has just taken place in Lupini Square, and the popular Prince Justin – a young man with a rock star following, lies dead. The Jack and the Crow, Deanna’s two flags, are torn down outside the Governor’s Palace, and replaced with the red banners of the Deannan Service League. The three largest cities on Deanna are quickly and methodically overrun by the armed forces of a well-organized para-military group nobody on Deanna appeared to even know existed. The D.S.L. expects to make the most of the time it has before the remote Terran Empire’s government can formulate a response.
Deannan society is cut off from the outside, and completely paralyzed by martial law. People deemed ‘undesirable’ begin to vanish almost overnight. In the midst of all this, the local government goes into hiding, and volunteers secretly begin to rally and form the Loyalist Army, the stage is soon set. War is on its way. The quirky little colony is about to be enveloped in a destructive un-civil war…
Only… just not quite yet.
As Cindy-Mei Winter and her beau Gary Beck quickly discover, neither they, nor Deanna are as alone as they think.
“An epic ensemble of characters fighting for the importance of inclusion…”
“The Quantum Series carries a consistent theme throughout all six of it’s stories; that being inclusion no matter how different one is or where they come from. Whether you are human, alien, plant or anything else in between. No matter your beliefs, non beliefs, orientation or anything else that may set you aside and make you different. Christina Engela’s stories in this series champion that and it’s an important modern cause to stand for in literature. She manages to do and say that without being preachy and while also and importantly telling fun, action packed, sometimes quirky but always enjoyable stories. It’s also what is being fought for in this book.”
“Quite late on I realized this wasn’t going to be the final book of the series, at first I felt a little disappointed but then elated that what will follow if there is a 7th which will be one hell of a culmination and I am more than interested in reading.
Overall I have very much enjoyed reading the books in this series. They are fun, quirky, imaginative and their biggest quality is that the style and the way they read is very much accessible to pretty much anyone. I highly recommend the Quantum series to everyone!
5 Stars – Fun and powerful.” – review.
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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2021.