This week saw the release of the first volume in Sarah Barnard’s new Earthlink series. Impact opens the story with the promise of more to come; Sarah’s working on book 2 right now and has books 3 and 4 in the planning and note making stages.

Earthlink introduces us to Sage, and in Impact she is just eighteen and hasn’t worked out who she is yet. Ever since she hit puberty, Sage has had a voice in her head. Not voices, she’s very clear about that, and not speaking; Sage’s voice doesn’t tell her things, it screams. The voice screams all day and all night and the psychiatrists want her to take mind numbing drugs to keep it quiet, but Sage won’t take the pills.

Earthlink: Impact

Earth is maturing and finding a voice amongst the complexity of life flourishing and expanding on the surface. The problem is that the dominant species can’t hear her screaming.

Apart from one; Sage Gardiner – a troubled eighteen year old who’s convinced she’s a nutcase.

Earth is being watched closely, for its own protection and to hopefully prevent a repeat of what happened on Mars. Sage is the hope they’ve been looking for and when she endangers her life in a near fatal car wreck, they break all the rules and step in to save her.

Can Sage step into the role planned for her?