The Earth of this 24th Century is a military dictatorship, with a General William Myson at its head. Alexander Delgado is a man whose accomplishments are long behind him. As a member of the Military Intelligence he was respected by all his peers, but his star has faded since Myson's rise to power.

But things look as though they are about to change as General Myson himself selects Delgado to undertake a special mission.

Vournilass Lycern is a Seriatt, a member of an alien race. After long diplomacy she is to bear the child of William Myson. This however does not quite meet with her wishes and she absconds to The Affinity Group - an almost religious and deeply mysterious society.

This is Delgado's mission, to retrieve the Seriatt, Lycern, and return her to Myson so she can bear his child.

The problem is that Seriatt females exude a pheromone that is intensely addictive to humans, and so Delgado faces a difficult choice - complete his mission or...

This is an unashamedly science fictional story. I've read books over the years that almost seemed to hide the sf behind labels such as techno-thriller. That always annoyed me. Stories set in near future with the next generation of technology can't be sf, I hear, because they could happen. Well that's the definition of sf as far as I'm concerned - things that "could" happen "if". That they are not as is here and now but do not contravene known laws of science.

This story is most definitely entrenched in the land of science fiction. It takes place in the 24th Century; it includes alien life forms; Delgado is augmented by means of nano-technology.

In some ways it reads like a cyberpunk novel crossed with a military-sf plot. And it benefits from both as far as I'm concerned - most especially as these are sub-genres of which I am not the greatest fan, but here Martin Sketchley includes just enough of each to allow him to tell his own story.

There is a level of sexual content in this book. But it is not overplayed, it certainly doesn't get to the point of holding up the flow of the plot as can be the case when sex scenes are introduced almost as a cheap thrill diversion before getting back to the plot and showing what happened when the sweat dried off.

In this novel there has to be a certain level of sex for the plot to hold together, hinging somewhat as it does on the addictive quality of the Seriatt pheromones. But it is the effect of this pheromonal addiction that is particularly well handled. Sketchley has characters suffer withdrawal symptoms as though going cold turkey from a drugs habit.

When I read first novels by authors there are a couple of ways I feel that they can go. There are authors that right from the get-go have the most perfect prose, the most believable characters and dialogue, and exquisite turns of phrase. These are not common.

Then there are authors that have ideas. This type to me would seem the most interesting to watch. Prose can be sharpened with practice, but if an author doesn't have the spark of ideas then all the descriptive excellence will not produce an exciting read.

Sketchley does not have the most beautiful prose, but it is prose that allows the story to be read - it doesn't clog things up with unnecessary flowery imagery. His ideas though look as though they are worth watching.

This is an enjoyable, intriguing universe Mr. Sketchley has begun to show us. I know there are going to be many, many more tales that are in his 24th Century awaiting us.

Synopsis
By the beginning of the 24th century, social breakdown and environmental decay have led Humanity to withdraw into gigantic habitat towers, insular, safe, and sterile. A new governmental system has evolved: Structure, imposing order upon Earth so that mankind may prosper among the stars. Some prosper more than others, however; beneath Structure's superficially benevolent exterior is a military dictatorship headed by General William Myson — leader, profiteer, sybarite. A man whose many political enemies would dearly love to know that his already vast personal fortune is secretly being swollen through arms deals with the mysterious, alien Sinz.

Seriatt is home to an exotic three-sex race bound by tradition and honour, and located near to the wormhole gateway used by the Sinz. The Seriatts see Myson's arms dealing as a threat, and with tensions rising, Myson realises he must link Earth and Seriatt politically to ensure that his grip on power remains firm. After many diplomatic overtures, it is agreed that he will father a child by Vourniass Lycern, the assigned child-bearer to the Seriattic Royal Household.

But when Lycern decamps to the quasi-religious Affinity Group, Myson orders Alexander Delgado to fetch her. Once a feared and respected officer in Military Intelligence, the changes that followed Myson's rise to power have seen Delgado's status plummet, his independent character and unorthodox methods unwelcome under the new regime. Resentful and bitter, Delgado sees the mission not as a chance to regain his former status, but as an opportunity to engender far greater change. When he comes into contact with Lycern, however, his carefully laid plans fall apart, and the choices he must make will change his life forever.

Martin Sketchley's first novel skilfully blurs the boundaries between good and evil, male and female, human and non-human. Sexuality, gender roles, the nature of authority – the very essence of what it is to be human – are explored within a gripping narrative that highlights the contrast between what we perceive ourselves to be, and what we really are.