Ferret Run - GS Freeman

    2026; 286 pages.  Full Title: Ferret Run – Secrets of Arcadia.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres : Science Fiction – First Contact; Fantasy; Adventure-Intrigue.  Overall Rating: 8½*/10.

 

    You know what they say: The third time’s the charm.

 

    Actually, Professor Lupus Hare is hoping that the second time’s the charm.  Several innocent people perished when he made his first endeavor.

 

    And what an endeavor it is!  Professor Hare wants to break through the barriers of the multiverse!  Get in contact with a parallel dimension.  And he and his team have just finished building something called a Collider, which smashes tiny particles together that hopefully will then open gateways to parallel universes.

 

    If successful, this would be a truly groundbreaking experience for all concerned.  Except for one being: Chancellor Trinn.  She’s from a different world, in a different universe, which has a different level of technology.  So Trinn has a different motive for helping Professor Hare’s research come to fruition.

 

    She wants to go home.

 

What’s To Like...

    Ferret Run is a Sci-Fi fantasy novel by GS Freeman (aka G. Scott Freeman) set on an undisclosed planet populated by sentient animal species, including walking/talking ferrets, cats, swans, polar bears, and many more, even a land-dwelling shark.  Humans are an unknown species, at least to start with, and at least to everyone except Chancellor Trinn.

 

    Our protagonist is a ferret named Victoria Lanell.  Her parents died years ago, and she presently lives in care of aa guardian goat named Earl Kidd whom she calls “Papa”.  Lanell is also one of Professor Hare’s trusted assistants on the Collider project.

 

    Amazon appropriately lists the book’s main genre as First Contact Science Fiction, a theme I’m quite partial to.  But there is a lot of deeply developed character interaction going on as well.  Earl is hiding many secrets from Lanell; Trinn will do whatever is necessary to return to her home world, and the titular “Secrets of Arcadia” seems to categorize everyone as either “eco-friendly” or “pro-science-&-technology”.  GS Freeman also blends touches of wit and humor into the storyline, which I liked muchly.

 

    I enjoyed meeting the chemist Dr. Crusher, being one myself.  He gives new meaning to the concept of super-glue.  The flying spiders are definitely something to avoid crossing paths with, and I want to visit the “Starducks” shop someday and get me a cup of nuka.  I’m proud to say I chuckled at the mention of “Rick and Morty”.

 

    The ending is suitably tense and exciting.  Things stop at a logical place and the primary plot thread (the “first contact”) is resolved for the nonce.  Here's hoping a sequel is in the offing.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  5.0/5 based on 3 ratings and 3 reviews.

    Goodreads: 5.00/5 based on 7 ratings and 7 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “I think there’s something older at work.  Something that bridges biology and physics.  Something in the architecture of existence itself.  Look at her.  She’s alien but not foreign.”

    He took a step closer.  “What if dimensional physics doesn’t just transport matter, but favors certain patterns?  What if there’s a design at the core of reality that selects for this kind of form?”

    Myles let out a low whistle.  “That’s not science; that’s metaphysics.”  (pg. 14)

 

    “So she can hear us?”

    “She will once the nanos finish mapping phonemic structure.  Give it twenty minutes, maybe less.  Then we can test comprehension.”

    Hare nodded thoughtfully.  “Then we observe.  See how she handles isolation.  You learn more from what an animal does without instructions than you ever do with a prompt.”

    “She’s not an animal,” Myles muttered, eyes still locked to the display.

    “She is to us,” Hare said flatly.  “And we are to her.  Symmetry’s just perspective, Moleman.  What matters is who’s holding the clipboard.”  (pg. 173)

 

Kindle Details…

    The e-book edition of Ferret Run presently sells for $2.99 at Amazon.  It is also available in paperback format, for $15.99.  To the best of my knowledge, this is GS Freeman’s debut full-length novel.

 

Why bother with methodical research when we can just throw particles at each other and hope for enlightenment?  (pg. 29)

    There’s only a small amount of profanity in Ferret Run.  I noted just 20 instances in the first 2/3 of the book, and these were all of the milder, eschatological variety.  Later on, a scatological term popped up, but just once.

 

    The main issue with Ferret Run is the editing.  There are a bunch of typos, and literally dozens of punctuation errors, to the point of where it became distracting.  There were also two or three continuity issues.

 

    But those things are all fixable via another round of editing.  What counts is that the world-building, character development, and storytelling were all superb.  For me, Ferret Run was a delightful page-turner, and I strongly hope it’s the start of an epically exciting series.  After all, several beings are desperately wanting to get back to their native phases of the multiverse.

 

    8½ Stars.  One last thing.  Professor Hare uses the acronym PDE several times in the story.  It stands for Percussive Dimensional Event.  Is that way-kewl or what?!