Kindle Edition Amazon First Realm Publishing Category:  Science Fiction Publisher: First Realm Publishing ISBN-10:  1497340837 Pages: 272 Copyright: June 18, 2014 ISBN-13: 9781497340831 Price: $6.99 (eBook) Half-human Alekzander Brede is a law unto himself…or so he thinks. Elektra Tate, the street orphan who loves him has other ideas.   Excerpt The blast ricocheted off the left engine and its fire skidded across the windshield, surprising Brede who immediately pulled up the Scythe's volt guns. They disengaged from the flanks of the ship, spread like wings and began blasting from revolver barrels. Brede, forced to dip and roll the Scythe, steering the ship where he wanted the guns to fire since they did not have the ability to shoot in various directions; they only shot straight ahead. The two attacking fighters separated and brought themselves up at the rear of the Scythe that shuddered from five direct hits. Brede swore in Amphidian, rolling the ship one last time and dropping it straight down then bringing it up behind the two fighters themselves. He kicked up the speed of the blasts to maximum revolution and rolled the Scythe end over end trying to spread as much destruction as he could before they regrouped. They surprised him again by stopping, spinning and heading directly at him, guns blazing. But before Brede could respond, the crow's nest gunnery disengaged itself and rose over him. It swung out in an arc, a battery of firepower searing the oncoming ships and then swung the opposite way repeating the damage disabling them both enough to send them limping away to whatever base they originated. Brede overrode the nest gunnery controls and spun it out and down to face him through the windshield. "See Alekzander," Elektra grinned at him through her own windshield. "Aren't you glad I tagged along? I told you I could back you up." "Get the fuck in here." He sent it back into hibernation mode and waited for her to join him in the cockpit. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? And how the fuck did you get onboard without me knowing?" He asked when she did. "I live on the street Alekzander. How do you think I get around?" she still had the stupid smile plastered on her face. Brede clenched his fists to avoid hitting her. "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you I didn't fucking want you?" She shrugged and put her boots on the top of control console. "I figured you needed help so I—" "Did I not tell you to stay the fuck out of my business Elektra?" He said in an even voice designed to unsettle her and force him to control his temper. "Well, yeah, Alekzander, but you know I just thought you might need the help and guess what—you did!" She laughed and let it fade as she watched his expression freeze. "I did help you Alekzander," she pointed out quietly. "If you ever, ever do this again I will kill you Elektra. Don't make the mistake of thinking I won't. You will never come near my business again, do you understand?" She nodded eyes wide as if the thought of being obnoxious or unwanted never seriously crossed her mind and that she finally understood he meant what he said. "Okay Alekzander." She pressed her lips together and blinked. Brede ignored her for the next five hours, and she sat in the navigator's seat without speaking. At last he programmed the Scythe to autopilot and left the cockpit without saying a word. He crawled into his small sleeping space and lay on his back staring at nothing, too furious to think. "Alekzander?" He heard her voice and turned his head eyeing her. "What?" "I—well, I don't have anywhere to sleep, just the jump seats up front." He said nothing. "So, um, I was wondering if…maybe I could climb in here with you…" "Elektra." "I'm not very big Alekzander I won't take up much space." She said quickly. "It's just that it's very cold up in the pit and…" Brede closed his eyes and sighed through his nose, a habit that increased when Elektra Tate was around. "Christ. Alright." "Thanks!" Her boots were already off and she was up in a second. She lay on her back next to him silent for a long while. Finally she turned her head and looked at him. She reached out and ran a finger down the crease between his brows. "This is from too much frowning Alekzander," she said quietly. "You need to smile more. I bet I could make you smile." She ran her finger along his jaw. Brede said nothing, deciding she was human enough to be enjoyable and that she deserved whatever she got.

Barrington Does It Again! June 27, 2014
By Ursula K. Raphael
This review is from: The Brede Chronicles Book 1 (Kindle Edition)
I became a fan of Barrington's after reading Isadora DayStar...I didn't expect her to be able to top that...and then Barrington wrote The Brede Chronicles - a science fiction bodice ripper set in a dystopian future complete with aliens.

This story is packed with action and drama, and most of it is unpredictable, much like the characters. Barrington has created a complex world without relying too heavily on technological details. In other words, it's entertaining and descriptive without being overwhelming -something that both hardcore and casual science fiction fans can enjoy.

There is one particular "secretion" scene which is weirdly erotic...Barrington's characters are true xenophiles, and she has given new meaning to the word "sugar".

I would love to read a crossover novel with both DayStar and Brede together.

In the meantime, I'm predicting that The Brede Chronicles will be the best sci-fi novel of 2014!

Fight on, Elektra!
ByHodgePodge Galoreon July 1, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
Crisscrossing paths between worlds, Alekzander Brede and Elektra Tate are an unlikely duo. He is a mercenary, bred with superior alien and human genes; she is a blonde-haired thief with a crackshot and undying adoration for her only friend. A superior crossbreed, Alekzander is cruel and emotionless - the killer-for-hire has few friends and many enemies. An abandoned child living on the streets, Elektra fights to survive the never-ending abuse and garbage. Their love-hate relationship is a force to be reckoned with as they face their fates.

Due to the story being the first of The Brede series, the author allots time for character introductions and setting depictions until she shifts gears and charges forward with an intense and fantastic ending.

Ms. Barrington's heroines captivate me with their feisty spirits. Similar to the female protagonist in 'Isadora DayStar', Elektra Tate embodies the same 'scrappy dog' verve Ms. Barrington is known for penning; she fights for her life amidst those who would rather use her, abuse her, and kill her. Fight on, Elektra!

*Review Copy*

The Brede Chronicles
ByClare O'Bearaon February 22, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition
This dystopian read shows great imagination, colour and depth. I can recommend it to anyone who would like an out-of-the-way setting and wants to mix people from other planets in among Earth people.

We meet Elektra Tate in New Cairo, in a city where poverty and density of population are even greater than today; it's hard to imagine how enough food gets to the populace. Earth's economy we are told has imploded, though we don't know why. Probably the Earth people we meet don't know and the off-worlders don't care. I loved the imagery of three-mile-high skyscrapers following the introduction of a new metal called Minidium; this is an Everest base camp height and of course most of the people in the building are not living at this height but at lower levels. Meanwhile the wealthy have taken over pyramids, or pyramid shaped buildings. Contrasts abound.

Elektra is a petty thief, blonde hair making her unusual, and she's like everyone's idea of an annoying little sister at the start. She follows one off-worlder around, Alekzander Brede, hoping to be useful to him and gain his support. These tall, strong off-worlders can interbreed with people if they so choose, and Brede is a genetic mix though he doesn't like admitting to it. Brede is too busy dodging numerous assassins and making design improvements to his spacecraft to be friendly to Elektra, but he gets used to having her around.

I don't want to go into even as much of the plot as is in the blurb, because it gives away the story, but mainly we see Elektra grow up through a few stages of struggle and learning, pain and loss. She finds out what it is to love and to fear for someone's life besides her own. By the end she is really someone to admire and a thorough survivor.

The reasons I am not giving The Brede Chronicles more stars, despite the action, human dramas and well-realised varied settings, are twofold. First, the named, speaking characters are very few for a book this length, with only two women, utter contrasts. We could see the book as a script for a play. Second, the formatting and proofreading in my copy are less than ideal, which distracted me a lot and kept drawing me out of the immersion in the adventure and back onto the printed page. This is not beyond resolving and I hope it can be remedied for other readers.

In conclusion I would look forward to the next instalment, especially as we are left at a moment of high drama (or curtain fall in a Jacobean tragedy).