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Mark Henwick
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The Dark Takes Fools: An Epic Space Opera Odyssey Series (The Long Way Home Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Mark Henwick (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 227 ratings
See all formats and editions
Their war has just ended. Their struggle has just begun.

Finally discharged from the military, Jan and Bjorn are the only two survivors of a group recruited from the remote and isolated colony of Calloway. It’s left to them to find a way to get life-saving technology back to their home planet before the colony dies.

It’s an impossible task, but no one can convince Jan and Bjorn of that.

Betrayed by the Earth’s government, never more than a step from disaster, they have to battle against corruption, greed… and pirates… on The Long Way Home.

“I adore the Firefly/Space Western vibe…”
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Long Way Home
  2. Print length
    295 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 1, 2022
  6. File size
    3622 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

From Goodreads...

Best books I've read in a long time!

The characters leap off the page, and the stakes are bigger than ever. I've got so into the lives of this misfit crew that I know I am going to reread this many times over. If you love space drama with battles, intelligence and very relatable characters you'll absolutely love this!

Marvelous space opera with characters that have become old friends to me!

Henwick's serial The Long Way Home is what sci fi adventure should be. The worldbuilding is fantastic, the characters are loveable (well, the good guys are), and the story is enthralling.

The Long Way Home is a phenomenal story of adventure, love, loss, and found family. The worldbuilding is fantastic, the characters are wonderful, and the story is intense but has laugh out loud moments.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B5529RLR
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Marque (July 1, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 1, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3622 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 295 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 227 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Mark Henwick

Mark Henwick

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Author of the long running Urban Fantasy 'Bite Back' series and the Science Fiction series 'Among the Stars' and 'The Long Way Home'.

Mark was born in Africa and left out in the sun too often.

An early interest in philosophy and psychology was adequately exorcised by tending bars. And while trying to enroll in a class to read Science Fiction full time, he ended up taking an engineering degree which splendidly qualified him to move into marketing. That in turn spawned a late onset career in creative writing.

When not working, Mark gets high by the slightly less conventional means of a small microlight aircraft, or down and dirty on a mountain bike.

He lives with his family in the south of England, but can often be found in the Rockies.

(Amazon doesn't allow active links here, so the URLs below have to be copied and pasted to your browser)

Updates can be found on :

http://www.facebook.com/TheBiteBackSeries

https://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Henwick-Extraordinary-Science-Fiction/100084665841200/

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
227 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

moreld
5.0 out of 5 stars I Have a Plan
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022
Verified Purchase
Mark Henwick is one of the top writers out there. I'm more familiar with his books on vampires, but turns out he does science fiction equally well. He does people extremely well. 'The Dark Takes the Fools' is a very good piece of science fiction. Not exactly hard science fiction, but close enough to make for believable background to the main story, which revolves around two young people recently discharged from the military who are trying to save what's left of their colony on some godforsaken planet located on the fringes of settled space. One of the problems they have are the pirates who are systematically preying on ships and crews. The other problem is getting back to the inner planets to recoup their combat pay that was owed to them for six years of their enlistment and in jeopardy of being lost. How they go about accomplishing this makes for a very interesting story. If you enjoy science fiction without the big battle scenes and all that goes with that, you just might like this toned down version of the same; all in all a very well done book.
3 people found this helpful
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E. Nolan
4.0 out of 5 stars Breezy Fun Space Adventure
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
[This review covers books 1 & 2 so there may be some mild spoilers]

Jan & Bjorn hail from a colony all the way at the edge of Terran space,
and it's not a thriving one. In fact a recently discovered ecological
long cycle in the planet's native biosphere ensures that Terran crops will
fail at certain points in the cycle, the first of which is coming fast.
Unless the colony can undertake emergency terraforming measure, which are
far beyond both its technical and financial resources, everybody in the
colony will die.

The only possible out is for some of the settlers to sign up for the
Terran foreign legion, which is apparently desperate enough for manpower
to temporarily offer payment in Terran dollars rather than credits.
With real dollars, spendable on the inner worlds, the colony could buy the
technology it needs. The rub is that the world was settled by a strict,
and strictly pacifist religious sect so soldiering is normally right out.
After long prayer and contemplation the elders decide that they can pre-absolve
two soldiers and the resulting sin, while large can be spread through the
colony widely enough that they can, probably, take the karma hit to welcome
the soldiers back later.

Now it is later. Jan & Bjorn have been mustered out and things are not going
well at all. The military totally fine-print reneged on their contracts
paying them in credits rather than dollars leaving them unable to buy the
terraforming machines they risked their souls for. Worse, an unfortunate
run-in at a bar left them sentenced to several weeks of, effectively,
community service on the space station where their ship home was to depart
from, and they missed it. Only the intervention of their platoon NCO,
herself also mustered out, but from full Terran service, gets them another
ride.

Unfortunately *that* ship turns out to be pirates leaving the pair no choice
but to pre-pirate it, and from there things keep escalating until Jan finds
herself in charge of a small fleet while at home things have gone from bad
to worse as the strict-but-sincere elders have been usurped by a band
of fanatics headed by Jan's unbeloved uncle..

These two books apparently appeared in episodic format on Henwick's
mailing list so each ends with a cliffhanger, generally heralded by
Jan's confident announcement: "Don't worry! I have a plan" to general
universal consternation. (The next book is supposed to have been
written in one go).

I found them quite entertaining, though the serial format does let
Henwick pull multiple rabbits from different hats. I like that both
Jan & Bjorn do take their religion quite seriously, but without letting
the peril to their souls disconnect their consciences. I would not quite
call these milsf, though that is an element, but rather breezy space
adventure. I'm on board for the next outing.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great first book in a series
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2022
Verified Purchase
Good character development. Good universe building and great story lines. What is not to like. Ordering second book now. Looking forward to it.
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Xanlthorpe
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, Different
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2022
Verified Purchase
Lots of detail provided in the beginning which takes awhile to jell into the storyline but does eventually produce a reasonable worldview for this series. Good character development, augmented with some fortuitous meetings with supporting cast members. Multiple conflicts with the majority of any violence taking place out of sight. The storyline pauses at the end of this book and provides a gentle urge for the reader to continue in the next installment.
One person found this helpful
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Kress Cave
5.0 out of 5 stars worth the read and looking forward to more
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
Hard to stop, once I got started. I ended up continuing on to buy the next book and then the last of the 3 book series. I found myself wanting at least not just one, but two or more to continue the story line. I am looking forward to them. I think the best is yet to come.
One person found this helpful
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M. L. Orlin
3.0 out of 5 stars too much bombast, not enough movement.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
Verified Purchase
I quit midstream because it just didn’t move fast enough and an assumption by the author that it would be easy for readers to make logical jumps that seemed to me to be somewhat obtuse. Looking for another good story instead.
One person found this helpful
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Math Nerd
5.0 out of 5 stars Pirates and fighting on land and on ships in space
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2022
Verified Purchase
Janice Skelling and Bjorn Thorsson are discharged from the military after fighting a war. They enlisted along with 3 other volunteers from their planet so as to earn enough money to buy 5 bio-processors to help their frontier planet, Calloway. But they are denied most of the money. That is just the beginning of their problems. On their voyage home they encounter pirates, space battles, and a smattering of other human cultures in space. Very good read.
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LAP
4.0 out of 5 stars a solid and entertaining read
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book was really enjoyable. Interesting characters and plot that I am interested to continue reading about in the sequel.
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Top reviews from other countries

Max Petzold
1.0 out of 5 stars One way to write a book
Reviewed in Germany on March 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
Its horrible writing if I can read 170 pages without realising that the main character is a woman. Just why?
And an fundamentalist religious group sending their daugther to war? Yea, cant read that, takes me to far out.
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Kindle Customer Baz
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb old school space opera.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2023
Verified Purchase
If like me you're a fan of good sci-fi with a creadable storyline this is for you. Recruited to fight a war that wasn't theirs to pay for terraforming equipment to save their failing planet when it's finally over they discover that they have been cheated out of their back pay and can't get the tech they need. This starts the incredible journey to set things right. Nonstop action from fighting space pirates and slavers to saving their home world from it's own stupidity join this roller coaster ride that will have you turning pages till the small hours and wanting more when you finish, brilliant read, Baz.
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M.A.SPRIGGS
4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read
Reviewed in Australia on January 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
From the first page this story captured my attention and wouldn't let me go until I had finished. Two surviving soldiers prepare to go home after they purchase life saving machines for their planet but find they have been cheated by the army and then captured by pirates. This is the start of an excellent action packed adventure where a few desperate guys start a war against the bad guys even though the survival rate is low. Highly recommend.
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Walszi
4.0 out of 5 stars A Jolly Space Romp
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2022
Verified Purchase
Enjoyed this . An easy read over a few evenings. Could perhaps do with a bit more “tech” and character development but my appetite is whetted for Book 2.
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Edward A. Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written. Highly recommended.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
I have enjoyed Mark Henwick's books and this series is my favorite so far. The first 3 books in this series was originally published as episodic series sent to his newsletter subscribers. I was hooked from the start and looked forward to each new episode. I purchased all three books to encourage the author to write more!
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