Durga System Boxed Set One: Starfall - Negative Return - Deviant Flux

Author’s Note I learned about the Durga System universe in small glimpses. I chased leads, followed characters, asked questions, peeked through cracks in doors. And slowly — so slowly — the Durga System world started to make sense to me. In the original short story that introduced me to the world, Willem Jaantzen was the villain. I tried writing a draft of the first Bulari Saga book with him still in the villain role, but I was too fascinated by him — and by his crew — to let him stay there for long. As I worked my way through the Bulari Saga, I found myself delving back into the history of Jaantzen’s core crew members: Starla, Manu, Toshiyo, and Gia. In exploring their stories, I ended up writing the three novellas you find in this boxed set. They’re meant to be read in any order, but I’ve organized them in the order I wrote them. Starla Dusai was the first of Jaantzen’s crew to capture my attention. I was fascinated by her relationship with Jaantzen, their individually painful histories, and the deep father-daughter love that had grown — mostly unacknowledged — between them. In Starfall, I wrote their origin story and discovered what they both had to give up to get to where they are in the Bulari Saga. Next, I couldn’t stop thinking about Manu Juric, Jaantzen’s right hand man and closest friend. He has a quirky wit and a casual ease about him that have made him a fan favorite, and I needed to know how he and Jaantzen met. When I sat down to start Negative Return, I found Manu sitting in a bar, getting ready for the biggest paid hit in his young life. With a start, I realized he was planning to kill Jaantzen — and the rest of the book just wrote itself. Negative Return was one of my favorite books to write simply because I love being in Manu’s head so much. I wrote Deviant Flux in part because I wanted to bridge the gap between the scared yet fierce teenager Starla is in Starfall and the competent leader she is in the Bulari Saga. Along the way, I gave her the best mentor a girl could have: Giaconda Áte. I’d written about Gia before, but never from her point of view — and as I worked my way through Deviant Flux, she slowly started to open up to me. For years, I’d been trying to c***k the nut that was her history, but I couldn’t get her emotionally vulnerable enough on my own. That required a visit from a very charming — very unwanted — ghost from her past. Writing these books has been like solving a puzzle. The entire world is one massive picture, and every book or story lets me shine a light on another small portion — whether that’s another neighborhood or another character. And even when the Bulari Saga is complete, I know I won’t be done with this world. Stay tuned for more novellas, and another series of novels featuring a pair of notorious space pirates in their pre-baby years. Have a favorite character you hope to see more of? I love to hear from readers. Drop me a line: jessie@jessiekwak.com.