In a far distant part of the universe, three beings escape with an object of power called the Rule of Lachesis, one of the three goddesses that had created the universe. The Rule gives the ability to warp space and time to the owner’s will. Fleeing for their lives, they see their planet being destroyed knowing that the same fate will befall them should Lachesis and her creatures ever catch up with them. In modern day Britain, Sylvia Garrick is leading a team to first design a secretive high tech research facility which can completely contain and if necessary utterly destroy it’s contents. Once the facility s built, her team begins the painstaking process of trying to understand an unknown substance. By altering the local electrical field they can start to unravel it’s secrets. A while later they find that it can absorb organic matter. But then, the mysterious billionaire benefactor who was funding them dies and shortly afterwards the research facility is destroyed, leaving the group in turmoil.

This is the first in a sci-fi series which is split in two parts, the first covering the alien escape from their planet, then the team investigating the mysterious object. Up front, it is certainly interesting as a reader, trying to understand what events are unfolding and how it might affect what is going to happen. Unfortunately, this book will not really cover the interaction between them and what is happening on earth. The second part with the facility reminds me very much of the Andromeda Strain, however building your facility in the middle of the English countryside with a restaurant on top doesn’t strike me as the most secure way to go. Neither does the testing of the strange material, as when they decide to add organic matter, they use a piece of bacon from a sandwich. It also doesn’t help that one of theses top level scientists just happens to be an elite espionage agent for another group, which means that their security team really did not do their job properly. It’s a shame that these things stopped the story from being enjoyable, the characters are unusual mix even if they do not come across as an elite group of scientists. It’s a shame that when we are first introduced to them, they call each other out by name, when we don’t even know who is who.

The saving grace for the story is the writing that does help to drive the story along, and give life the the characters as best it can. As a short story, there is only limited time to fully flesh them out, but you get an idea of what drives each of them and the situation they find themselves in. Also, the descriptions of the original aliens was certainly intriguing enough and a reason to come back for more of this series.

Overall, while the writing is excellent, the plot and human side of the story let it down. If you enjoy the story, then there is a complete set of five to read and hopefully it will improve as the series progresses.