The 7th PreLight

The Sel is one of the seven known pre-light races, a lien race that is curious about humanity, which is why they entrust Liuani with the task of researching the Humans. Meanwhile, Liuani's friend, Rysal is working on a new technology and when Liuani discovers what it can do, she is frightened. In Sel city itself, detective Asuun investigates a murder that shows strong connections to similar murders in the past five hundred cycles. As he digs deeper into past serial crimes, he discovers that the killers had no memory of the crimes they committed, crimes with a singular signature. Asuun and Liuani cross paths eventually and the story takes an unexpected twist.

The 7th PreLight by Brett Mumford is an intriguing tale and unlike stories where humans research into other races, readers encounter a race whose history is similar to humanity's becoming curious about humans. The author succeeds to arouse and sustain the curiosity of readers. The story reads like a well-crafted murder mystery and thriller with strong elements of balanced and stunningly imagined science fiction. Brett Mumford invents a world that is mysterious and expansive, and murder becomes one of the strongest spices in the story. The detailed and marvelously inventive setting of this beautiful tale will absorb readers; the characters are compelling and multi-dimensional, and the conflict is written with intelligence. This evenly-paced and fun science fiction features prose that is enticing and a voice that is hard to not listen to. A gorgeous treat for fans of the genre.