Local author Barry Kinservik.

Author Barry Kinservik’s first novel, “Decimation Force,” takes place in a world where humanity has nearly destroyed itself, before an alien invasion forces the warring remnants to work together to save the planet.

Kinservik details a gritty reality for his heroes. “As they finally got in a foothold in survival, they’re trying to figure out if they can truly overcome this new enemy and where they came from, and what do they really want.”

The story follows a team of young mecha pilots who work together to wield a giant robot with detachable war machines. Large, monstrous aliens made of flesh and steel offer constantly varying challenges. Kinservik gives teen and up as the target demographic.

He lists his characters as one of the big draws of the story. “The premise gives you set pieces, but within those set pieces the characters both grow and [fall].” Kinservik sees the often-strained relationships of the team members, fraught with conflict and the potential for redemption, as a microcosm of their world as a whole.

Reliance of others serves as a central theme of the story. “We can’t do it alone. As much as we often want to try to take the world by ourselves, we really can’t. Even those of us that are more introverted or isolated, we weren’t ever born in a vacuum, we’re still beholden to somebody for our existence.”

Despite his enthusiasm, Kinservik is relatively new to writing. He says he’s only been writing “officially” for three and a half years. In that time, he was written three books. “What first got me into it was a long process of realizing how much I love stories and through my time at college, realizing that I did indeed have enough love and skill to give it a shot.” After playing around with a few different projects, he decided on his sci-fi adventure story.

He gave the major challenges of writing “Decimation Force.” “Probably it just being my first book. It was a lot of learning.” He gave research as one hurdle. “Research into guns, velocity of rockets, all sorts of kind of things that probably put me on a list somewhere.”

Kinservik gave the most interesting find during his research. “That lobsters don’t have brains. They have a ganglia of a nervous system, and there’s a kind of a hot topic debate among scientists as to whether or not lobsters can actually feel pain.” The research was put to use in a scene where the team faces off against a gigantic, city-crushing lobster.

Kinservik gave the creation of his book as the most rewarding thing about being a writer. “The fact that I came up with something and followed it through to its completion and then was able to then successfully do that two more times to finish a trilogy story.” The sequel to “Decimation Force” is titled “Decimation Force Two: on the Brink of Extinction,” which is followed by “Decimation Force Three: To Avenge a Trillion Earths.” While the characters in the first book complete their arcs, new characters take over the story in the sequels.

Kinservik has a final message for potential readers. “If you’re a fan of old school Power Rangers or Voltron or any big robots or Godzilla fighting all sorts of weird, bizarre monsters, then it’s up your alley. And if not, then perhaps it’s a good time to try sci-fi and see if you enjoy the engaging characters, their struggles to survive and grow as people.”

The book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.