Heavy Weight of Darkness - Independent Book Review
Willard Bennett – court marshaled, imprisoned, and class status revoked, he is now like most people: limited freedoms, no opportunity to advance, rights and privileges restricted, life-extending health services denied, and worse, the shame of once having it all, and then losing it. Many hard days and fitful nights he had dreamed of retracing his footsteps, finding the woman who did this to him, and ending her.
In a desperate act to curb insurrection on Earth, space command’s admiralty and tribunal branch offers him redemption in the form of a new mission: track, find and kill Cassandra Kurtz. In return, he will receive his freedom, commission, life extending health care and a return to his former glory.
Originally enthused, he researches Cassandra’s origins, the once first class, full citizen from the oldest family of the Third Republic turned insurrectionist on Earth and a full-blown terrorist on Mars. But it’s after his investigation of the Delta Quarter, where it all started for Cassandra, that Bennett’s resolve diminishes.
Drawing inspiration from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the Heavy Weight of Darkness is the sequel to the Endless Fall of Night where questions are answered, lives are altered, and truths come out in the final confrontation between Acting Captain Willard Bennett and the infamous disrupter, Cassandra Kurtz.
J. M. Erickson ISBN: 9781942708551
Kindle (EPUB) 978-1-942708-56-8
Amazon Paperback ISBN: 9798337949963
Amazon: ASIN: B0DFTYCL1X
Amazon Hard copy: ISBN: 9798337952222
B&N Softcover: 9781942708551
B&N eBook: 2940186138525
"A violent clash of duty, truth, morality, and vengeance, Heavy Weight of Darkness by JM Erickson is a soul-searching second piece to an exceptional sci-fi series." Self-Publishing Reviews
Favorite Reviews - 5 stars
Hunting Armed Men
One world’s sunset is another’s sunrise.
First Officer Robert Lee VI sees himself as a man of duty, trapped between a derelict captain, his rightful inheritance and Earth’s ruthless command. His orders are absolute: seize his ship, crush the Martian colonies, and terminate the notorious insurrectionist, Cassandra Kurtz.
On the red frontier, Willard Bennett has traded his Earthly commissions for the restorative grit of the Martian underground. Meanwhile, the legendary "Colonel Kurtz" herself—Cassandra IX—is weary of the fires she started. Guided by her AI, Alethia, the woman who broke Earth’s fleet now seeks the one thing more dangerous than war: human connection. Three souls collide at the intersection of imperial order and Martian defiance in this visceral reimagining of Heart of Darkness.
Hunting Armed Men follows the events of Endless Fall of Night and Heavy Weight of Darkness as the hunt for one woman will decide if the future belongs to the empires of the past or the pioneers of the void.
Author: J.M. Erickson
Publication: April 17, 2026
Publisher: Emergency Comms Press (ECP)
ISBN (Kindle Format): 978-1- 942708-52-0
ISBN (KDF Soft Cover): 978-1- 942708-57-5
ISBN (KDP Hard Cover): 978-1- 942708-58-2
ISBN (ePub): 978-1- 942708-59-9
ISBN (B&N eBook): 978-1- 942708-60-5
ISBN (B&N Soft Cover): 978-1- 942708-61-2
Birds of Flight series
Albatross
Raven
Eagle
Falcon
Flight of the Black Swan
The Prince: Lucifer's Origins
Rogue Event
Time is for Dragonflies and Angels
Afterlife Code
Albatross: Birds of Flight - Book One
Revised Edition
Time Is for Dragonflies & Angels -
Anthology of Short Stories and Novellas
Hunting Armed Men
by J. M. Erickson
Emergency Comms Press (ECP)
book review by Philip Zozzaro,
US Review of Books
"“You're about to go all-in to fight and kill them, and they are a reiteration of this Hemingway of a bygone age."
Cassie Kurtz is a hunted woman living in the mountains of Mars, where her closest friend is Alethia, an AI connection. Kurtz is a natural leader whose words and actions can inspire a resistance movement. Robert Lee VI is the executive officer of the Robert E. Lee spaceship, an ambitious man with something to prove. Lee encourages a mutiny among the men so he can assume command of the ship and pursue the rebel, Kurtz. Willard Bennett could educate Lee on the foolhardiness of his quest, as Bennett has tangled with Kurtz before, ending up maimed for his troubles. However, Bennett's life was spared by Kurtz, and he emerged a better person for it. The hunt is on for Kurtz as well as Lee and his collection of mutineers. The year is 2158, and chaos is a constant.
Planet Earth is in the rearview, and the action is on the Red Planet in this fast-paced science fiction novel where a battle for dominance is being waged, primarily between men and women. Lee credibly reflects the entitlement inherent in those born into a renowned lineage; he believes the ship is his birthright, along with the higher rank. These aspirations are counterbalanced by his weak leadership and lack of charisma. Kurtz is well written as a strong, formidable figure who is both calculating and humane. Bennett is the sagacious veteran providing keen analysis of Kurtz and Lee. The conversations between Kurtz and Alethia are astute, often funny, and occasionally touching. The narrative is vibrant from start to finish and combines enough action and drama to satisfy the reader.
Endless Fall of Night - Self-Publishing Reviews
Based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, we see our future that shows striking similarities to this age of imperialism, classism, and capitalistic expansion where racism is commonplace, slavery exists, and a minority of people are in absolute power. Instead of Belgium Company’s outposts along the Congo River in Africa in 1899 or a US Swift Boat going up the Nung River in Vietnam in 1969, this is the great Third Republic on Earth and colonies on Mars in the year 2126.
Cassandra IX, patrician and first-class citizen, is exposed to a traumatic experience that later has her questioning the established social order. She is eventually tried and convicted as an insurrectionist, her personal AI deactivated, social status and titles revoked, and she is sent to prison. Cassandra is then approached by Captain Willard Bennett of the light cruising ship the Jefferson Davis to investigate why the Martian colony New Georgia went dark, leaving severed heads on spikes and the message “Bring Cassandra Kurtz.”
With no choice but to go, Cassandra’s life is about to change in unimaginable ways.
“A gripping SF tale that explores themes of humanity and loyalty.” - Kirkus Review
“…simultaneously eerie and inspirational—a fitting achievement for a book that unflinchingly explores the depths of human depravity.” - Kirkus Review
“…blindside story twists, bursts of clever banter, boundless imagination, and sly social critique make this darkly prophetic work of sci-fi a quick and memorable read.” - Self-Publishing Reviews
Publication: June 1, 2024
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-942708-53-7
Kindle ISBN: 978-1-942708-51-3
Heavy Weight of Darkness - Kirkus Reviews
Set in a near future, Erickson’s SF novel—a reimagining of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness—follows an alleged terrorist on Mars and the man tasked with killing her.
Former captain Willard Bennett has been in prison for more than two years, mostly due to his failure to complete a mission involving Cassandra Kurtz, a convicted insurrectionist whose attacks on Mars’ colonies has challenged “the very foundation of [the Third Republic] society” and jeopardized the fascist government’s expansion on Mars. (The Third Republic is considered a successor to the Third Reich.) After having his elite patrician status and all of its benefits revoked, Bennett is given a last chance at redemption: He must locate and destroy Kurtz’s base of operations on the red planet and assassinate the elusive terrorist. Once Bennett begins going through confidential files chronicling Kurtz’s nightmarish past, however, he experiences an epiphany of sorts—his privileged existence has allowed him to sleepwalk through a reality that includes slavery, sex trafficking, and the dehumanization of entire populations of people. His search for Kurtz through the subterranean wilds of Mars—which are populated by genetically modified beasts—quickly turns into a search for himself as he is forced to reevaluate his entire life and all of his misinformed decisions.
The cast of deeply developed characters and the impressive focus on worldbuilding are obvious strengths, as is the relentless pacing, but the novel’s real power comes from its timely thematic punch: “I can easily see why it would be better to be free in hell than a servant above” (John Milton joins Conrad in the novel’s literary allusions. Erickson ends the novel with a tantalizing revelation, which could easily be expanded into future installments of the series.
A page-turning cautionary tale providing a glimpse into a world in which greed, racism, and hate shape our future.
Copyright 2026 Joseph M. Erickson All rights reserved.
J.M. Erickson
Independent Writer
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Intelligent Design II: Apocalypse
Intelligent Design: Revelations to Apocalypse
Future Prometheus: Emergence & Evolution
Future Prometheus II: Revolution, Successions & Resurrections -
Future Prometheus - The Series