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Fragmented Control
Before the shadow warrior, Kullos, was defeated, he sent the fragments of his dimensional control device through portals in time and space. Each contains vast, unstable power. In the wrong hands they could be devastating weapons.
When one drops at the feet of the most dangerous wizard tyrant Tempestria has ever known, he becomes unstoppable by the people of that era. Time is rewritten and the Guardians must Intervene to save history. It’s their first day on the job, and one wrong move could change their world forever.
But threats of tyranny and murder are as nothing to the true threat that approaches. Out in the wider cosmos, someone searches for Tempestria. The ancient Enemy that even the mighty shadow warriors could never defeat.
And any world she encounters along the way will be Cleansed.
When one drops at the feet of the most dangerous wizard tyrant Tempestria has ever known, he becomes unstoppable by the people of that era. Time is rewritten and the Guardians must Intervene to save history. It’s their first day on the job, and one wrong move could change their world forever.
But threats of tyranny and murder are as nothing to the true threat that approaches. Out in the wider cosmos, someone searches for Tempestria. The ancient Enemy that even the mighty shadow warriors could never defeat.
And any world she encounters along the way will be Cleansed.
288 pages, Paperback
Published March 28, 2022
7 people want to read
About the author
Gary Stringer
12 books24 followersScientist by profession, I try to give real science concepts a fantasy twist in my writing.
Update for June 2025
The first FOUR books in my Salvation of Tempestria series - Shifting Stars, Gathering Storm, Shadows Fall and Fragmented Control - are now permafree.
Tempestria series
For anyone interested in my earlier work, the Majaos Trilogy may also be found at that same site. Majaos trilogy.
While studying for my B.Sc. in Chemistry, I met a friend who introduced me to fantasy fiction, especially TSR, AD&D type books. Despite all I've read since, that remains my frame of reference for the fantasy genre.
My Salvation of Tempestria of Series, beginning with Shifting Stars is rooted in a updated version of that kind of fantasy world. But it's just 1 world within a wider sci-fi/fantasy universe and the story is told by an immortal girl from the future with a plan to save the world...or possibly end it.
Living in the seaside town of Blackpool, UK, enjoy long walks and theme parks in the summer, and theatre shows in the winter.
Sporting interests include tennis and netball.
Update for June 2025
The first FOUR books in my Salvation of Tempestria series - Shifting Stars, Gathering Storm, Shadows Fall and Fragmented Control - are now permafree.
Tempestria series
For anyone interested in my earlier work, the Majaos Trilogy may also be found at that same site. Majaos trilogy.
While studying for my B.Sc. in Chemistry, I met a friend who introduced me to fantasy fiction, especially TSR, AD&D type books. Despite all I've read since, that remains my frame of reference for the fantasy genre.
My Salvation of Tempestria of Series, beginning with Shifting Stars is rooted in a updated version of that kind of fantasy world. But it's just 1 world within a wider sci-fi/fantasy universe and the story is told by an immortal girl from the future with a plan to save the world...or possibly end it.
Living in the seaside town of Blackpool, UK, enjoy long walks and theme parks in the summer, and theatre shows in the winter.
Sporting interests include tennis and netball.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 14, 2023
And the journey continues....
Details: Fragmented Control Book four in The Salvation of Tempestria Series by Gary Stringer Published March 2022. For the best experience, this series should be read in order.
Plot: When a fragment of a powerful device ends up in the hands of a wizard who has proven himself not to be kind or capable of the power he possesses, history must be rewritten to correct this mistake.
Thoughts: The gang is all back, including Dreya, Kat, and Mandelee in this fourth installment of the Tempestria series. Like some of the other stories in this series, you get the opportunity to travel to other worlds. One of my favorite parts of this book happens when Dreya stumbles across Amber. The parallelism between Andreynak and Amber made me like my already favorite character Dreya even more. Kat's continual positive influence on Dreya is evident as she becomes a more caring character. With Kat’s pregnancy looming and the dragons seen in a much better light, the story flowed nicely for this reader.
Recommend: This is a perfect series for fans of genre blending Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Magic that will take you on epic journeys to face down different foes. There was no spice or any noticeable triggers that pulled my attention as I was reading.
Stars: 4.5 stars
Details: Fragmented Control Book four in The Salvation of Tempestria Series by Gary Stringer Published March 2022. For the best experience, this series should be read in order.
Plot: When a fragment of a powerful device ends up in the hands of a wizard who has proven himself not to be kind or capable of the power he possesses, history must be rewritten to correct this mistake.
Thoughts: The gang is all back, including Dreya, Kat, and Mandelee in this fourth installment of the Tempestria series. Like some of the other stories in this series, you get the opportunity to travel to other worlds. One of my favorite parts of this book happens when Dreya stumbles across Amber. The parallelism between Andreynak and Amber made me like my already favorite character Dreya even more. Kat's continual positive influence on Dreya is evident as she becomes a more caring character. With Kat’s pregnancy looming and the dragons seen in a much better light, the story flowed nicely for this reader.
Recommend: This is a perfect series for fans of genre blending Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Magic that will take you on epic journeys to face down different foes. There was no spice or any noticeable triggers that pulled my attention as I was reading.
Stars: 4.5 stars
July 14, 2024
Having read the first book and quite liked some aspects of it, I wanted to give another book in the series a try. Again, things I enjoyed were the premise (although for a while the blurb didn’t become immediately obviously linked to the story with the massive info dump at the start), the great writing and revisiting the characters which I quite liked.
The series plot line has progressed through and, I think this is definitely one of those series where reading in order is a necessity. To keep the pace, and aside from the initial info dump, the descriptions are scant and I struggled to quite visualise what was going on. For me, this is the essence of fantasy- only with words can you build the picture in readers heads and perhaps, I needed a little more help in that than I got in this book. I kept reading the ‘gentle reader’ and got pulled out of the story each time (it’s so iconically linked with Bridgerton now, I advise the author to remove!).
I think the storyline is good though and if you are a fan of the series, you won’t be disappointed. As a standalone, this book might confuse and put off a reader, but do read book 1-3!
The series plot line has progressed through and, I think this is definitely one of those series where reading in order is a necessity. To keep the pace, and aside from the initial info dump, the descriptions are scant and I struggled to quite visualise what was going on. For me, this is the essence of fantasy- only with words can you build the picture in readers heads and perhaps, I needed a little more help in that than I got in this book. I kept reading the ‘gentle reader’ and got pulled out of the story each time (it’s so iconically linked with Bridgerton now, I advise the author to remove!).
I think the storyline is good though and if you are a fan of the series, you won’t be disappointed. As a standalone, this book might confuse and put off a reader, but do read book 1-3!
April 21, 2024
Stringer's prose carries the reader along quickly and errors are minimal. The content is dense and imaginative. The most positive aspect is Stringer's intense worldbuilding. Omniverse building?
The only negative worth mentioning is the author's effort to catch readers up on his universe. It's a common issue at this point in some series, that problems are inflated to a cosmic scale and the solutions can seem arbitrary to the mere mortals reading it. To correct for this, some exposition from a couple of characters was used to get us up to speed. This resulted in an epic info dump the likes of which I've never seen before. There are only about twenty lines of dialogue in almost three chapters. Fans with the momentum they've gained from three previous installments won't be bothered, but with a break in their reading schedule, or planar-being forbid, someone jumping into the series out of order, the reader will find themselves utterly untethered. In short, the fans shouldn't need it, and newcomers can't handle it.
Throughout the rest of the book, when the author feels the need to reference previous events, the reader is addressed directly: "As you will recall, gentle reader, during their fight with Kullos, Dreya and Manddalee had combined their efforts to shatter the shadow warrior's dimensional control device—" This is a bold style choice, which I have mixed feelings about. It lends a tongue-in-cheek quality that I think might work better in a lighter narrative. For fans of sci-fi-fantasy hybrids, I don't hesitate to recommend picking up book one, Shifting Stars.
The only negative worth mentioning is the author's effort to catch readers up on his universe. It's a common issue at this point in some series, that problems are inflated to a cosmic scale and the solutions can seem arbitrary to the mere mortals reading it. To correct for this, some exposition from a couple of characters was used to get us up to speed. This resulted in an epic info dump the likes of which I've never seen before. There are only about twenty lines of dialogue in almost three chapters. Fans with the momentum they've gained from three previous installments won't be bothered, but with a break in their reading schedule, or planar-being forbid, someone jumping into the series out of order, the reader will find themselves utterly untethered. In short, the fans shouldn't need it, and newcomers can't handle it.
Throughout the rest of the book, when the author feels the need to reference previous events, the reader is addressed directly: "As you will recall, gentle reader, during their fight with Kullos, Dreya and Manddalee had combined their efforts to shatter the shadow warrior's dimensional control device—" This is a bold style choice, which I have mixed feelings about. It lends a tongue-in-cheek quality that I think might work better in a lighter narrative. For fans of sci-fi-fantasy hybrids, I don't hesitate to recommend picking up book one, Shifting Stars.
March 24, 2025
Gary Stringer brings us back to explore the aftermath of major battles in the ever evolving, exciting, and lore-filled universe of Tempestria with Fragmented Control! Before his defeat, shadow warrior Kullos launched fragments of his control device into different pockets of time and space. One of these powerful devices ends up in the hands of a dangerous magical tyrant in Tempestria, forcing the Guardians to have to intervene. I love seeing Stringer’s intricate world grow and deepen with each addition! It’s really fun to see the aftermath of Kullos lead to this new conflict as we’re launched on another time-traveling adventure exploring the rich worlds of Tempestria. This is another really cool adventure that stands alone, but I’m also enjoying how Stringer has been quietly building a larger villain and conflict in the background, one that starts to spill over here as we’re introduced to a more ancient Enemy. If you love fantasy, time travel, interesting lore, and fun characters, definitely come battle throughout time with Fragmented Control!
January 11, 2024
This book is a seamless blend of sci-fi and fantasy. The sci-fi is lite, not overwhelming, so you won’t get bogged down in technical terms. The fantasy includes magic that occasionally reads like a dungeons and dragons game at times, but I didn’t mind, I like D&D and the gameplay mechanism provides a great structure for the plot. The plot was interesting - I love the idea of an ancient Enemy that might be impossible to defeat.
The wordsmithing is great, but there are several uses of ‘gentle reader’ in the narration that knocked me out of the moment, along with some lengthy omniscient talking to reader. Still, these pet peeves of mine only happened occasionally, and otherwise, the use of showing/ not telling is really quite well done.
This is a good book to read. I’d like to read the rest of the series, and for bonus series kudos, you didn’t have to read the other books to know what was going on in this book.
The wordsmithing is great, but there are several uses of ‘gentle reader’ in the narration that knocked me out of the moment, along with some lengthy omniscient talking to reader. Still, these pet peeves of mine only happened occasionally, and otherwise, the use of showing/ not telling is really quite well done.
This is a good book to read. I’d like to read the rest of the series, and for bonus series kudos, you didn’t have to read the other books to know what was going on in this book.
June 14, 2025
Even though I’ve read the first book in the series, it’s been a while ago, so I was completely lost when reading this fourth installment. The massive info dump at the beginning was supposed to catch new readers up to speed, but I struggled to get through it. I’m not a fan of “telling” or the narrator constantly referring to the reader as “Gentle Reader” because it’s distracting and takes me out of the story.
Once I got further in, however, I found the characters and plot interesting. I remembered Catronia and her daughter, and their allies who aid them on their time-hopping/world-visiting quests. Cat, Dreya, Mandalee are such strong, well-drawn characters.
I highly recommend you read this series in order to avoid any confusion. Fans of the sci/fi fantasy genre would surely enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me.
3 Stars
Once I got further in, however, I found the characters and plot interesting. I remembered Catronia and her daughter, and their allies who aid them on their time-hopping/world-visiting quests. Cat, Dreya, Mandalee are such strong, well-drawn characters.
I highly recommend you read this series in order to avoid any confusion. Fans of the sci/fi fantasy genre would surely enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me.
3 Stars
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews