Jewel of The Stars - Season 1, Episode 1 - Earth's Remnant by Adam David Collings

Jewel of The Stars - Season 1, Episode 1 - Earth's Remnant

The Cruise is Over

Haylee was more confident designing starships than raising an autistic child. She just wants a relaxing holiday with her family. But when Earth falls to an alien armada, she knows life will never be the same again.

Les was just a cruise ship captain. Now, he must rise up and become something greater, if he is to keep his crew and passengers alive.

Braxton never wanted to leave the space navy, but now, taking a cruise is the only way to feel the stars around him. This crisis may be his ticket to regaining the life he thought was gone forever.

Can they overcome their differences and save everyone on the ship?

If they reach unexplored space, they might yet survive, but an unstoppable enemy stands in their way…

The Guru's Review: 

I am so glad that I offered to review this novella. This is the author's debut novella being published outside of the three anthologies where his other short stories are published.

Jewel of the Stars is a wonderful, engaging, novella! Pure entertainment with 100% science fiction space opera action and adventure. Collings has created a world of the future that is very much believable. It seems to be right at the front door of our reality. It would not surprise me that going on a space cruise for a holiday as depicted in this novel could occur within the next 50 years. I read an article this week that stated that the technology for warp speed is much closer now. 

Despite the 116 page length of this novella, Collings succeeds in showing enough of this futuristic setting and technology. It is set 100 years from now and I could picture what this would be like. I found myself likening this to some world building of the last two Star Trek movies. I say that as a compliment to Collings. 

I am glad that I found the free prequel short story, The Fall of the HMAS Adelaide. This prequel lays the foundation of the alien invasion of Earth and the attempts of its crew to alert Earth's authorities of this invasion. This novella is referenced by Braxton in Jewel of the Stars. I would like to see more of this connection between Captain Evelyn and Braxton in future episodes. I would suggest that readers of this series read this free prequel before reading JotS. It can be found here.

I kept thinking while reading the prequel that Captain Evelyn Bilingara is very much like Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager. Not sure if that what Collings wants us to picture from this depiction. And Ethan reminds me so much of Commander Oren Monash in Deep Impact. 

The main theme depicted in this prequel is a subtle Christian one of self-sacrifice. The decision that Captain Bilingara is forced to make is one that any human would find the most difficult. Its consequences are almost hard to bear and to the point of wondering if you would be able to come to terms with it if you were to survive it. Maybe that is why those that make this decision do not and have to be an integral part of the consequence of this decision. 

Even this prequel is engaging and one you cannot put down in one sitting. It does whet your appetite for Jewel of the Stars. 

Collins has obviously researched the technology and world building elements he has included in this novella and its prequel. I appreciate this as it forms a solid foundation for this episode and adds credibility as well as plausibility. Not once did I feel that any of the depicted technology or how it was used was questionable or far fetched. 

Collings has constructed this novel based on 3 main characters. These intersect with each other when this alien invasion threatens their livelihood. I found myself becoming endeared to all three but my favourite would be Braxton White. He is the rebel, bordering on being a renegade who likes to take risks, change the rules to suit the situation he is in and lives on an adrenaline rush. An action man. 

Captain Les Miller is the typical "by the book" type of leader. He sees that this way provides safety for the crew and for space travel and does not like to deviate from this. The events of this novel definitely challenge his status quo and modus operandi and take him out of his comfort zone. He is not the same Captain after this novella finishes. 

Haylee Scott is a weapons engineer who has been made redundant and now with an uncertain future. She is the typical career woman and devoted mother. I felt for her in volunteering her expertise in retrieving and installing the weapon from the USS Boston, realising that she may not make it back to her family. I appreciated the interaction that she and her husband had and his point of view when she was about to leave on this mission. That was heart-wrenching and if Collings had developed this even further, I would have been in tears. Being a parent, you place yourself in their shoes and can fully appreciate what this would mean if I had to make this decision. 

One thing Collings portrayed well in this novella is the dynamics between Braxton and Miller. Being a military trained man, Braxton instantly sees that now they are under threat of alien attack and are defenceless, all the rules that govern this civilian ship should be ignored and they adopt as much as possible defence tactics to secure their survival. Miller is bent on remaining by the book and not putting the safety of the civilian passengers at risk when they are not a military orientated ship. The clash of expectations, focus and personalities show what this would be like in the future if civilian space vessels are not prepared when placed in unplanned military conflict. 

One of the aspects that shone for me is how Collings has taken this civilian crew of The Jewel of the Stars and developed them into a pseudo military unit over such a short period of time due to the urgency of the situation and what its outcome could be if no action is to be taken. This provides much of the action, adventure and suspense in the second half of this novella. I became further endeared to Haylee as she was pivotal in this part of the plot. I was not prepared for the outcome concerning her. Speaking of such, I felt that Collings could have dealt with the aftermath of this affecting her family better than he has. Maybe this will be addressed in the next episode. It needs to be. This is an important issue seeing how emotional their parting was and what this meant as I have described above, and how it played such an important dynamic in the development of the plot arc here.

Having the conflict between the alien and Braxton was well done. It showed what the crew of the Jewel of the Stars are up against and the degree of the threat against them and therefore Earth. I was not prepared for the last aggressive interaction between this alien and the weapon retrieval crew and its outcome. I felt this was a clever move on Collings' part. 

Collings has not included obvious Christian themes in this debut instalment. I learnt from the author (from material he provided for an Author/Novel Spotlight post I will be publishing next week) that this series is designed for the wider sci-fi audience and not specifically the Christian market. The only obvious Christian theme is at the end. A minor character explains a biblical allegory of what they have become since defeating the alien and cannot return to Earth: a remnant, similar to that of Israel in Old Testament times. Once this is explained, the reader sees where the title of this instalment has its basis. 

Collings ends this novella on a positive and satisfying note with more than enough anticipation for the next episode. I loved how the crew are now more unified and have become a hybrid crew of civilian origins but now military focused as they are now in a war for their survival, being the last free citizens of planet Earth. 

I firmly believe that Collings is on a winner with this series. It has a very promising future. This is even better than what I was expecting when I read this novella's description. 

Highly Recommended.

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Lynessa's Curse by Adam David Collings

Lynessa's Curse

Mankind reached for the stars, and civilization crumbled.

The Red Planet was Mankind's first home after Earth. But when silence fell across the solar system, humanity found themselves in a new dark ages.

Alastair is a serf, toiling in the lands of his lord. Each day the blue orb of Earth rises on the horizon, whispering of the ancient time of magic when mankind traveled the night sky, but that time is long past and he is content with his lot. Until his beloved Lynessa is struck with the dreaded curse – a mark on the skin that brings certain death.

When Alastair hears the legend of an artifact from the time of magic that can lift the curse, he leaves his lord's lands and journeys to the Argyre Planitia in search of a fabled cure. But the dense jungles there contain unthinkable creatures, remnants engineered from a time long ago, and a tribe of warriors who will stop at nothing to protect the artifact.

Lynessa’s Curse is a novella originally published in Medieval Mars: The Anthology (Terraformed Interplanetary Book 1) created by Travis Perry. Begin your epic journey on the Red Planet today!

The Guru's Review:

This is the first of Collings work I have read and I must say, I am impressed. He writes well and certainly has an active imagination. I loved Collings' depiction of the Medieval style lifestyle/hierarchy and setting on a terraformed Mars. I understand that this short story is part of an anthology (Medieval Mars: The Anthology (Terraformed Interplanetary Book 1)) set in this same setting. I bought the anthology to see how the rest of the short stories all fit together as this is how the anthology is described, 

A future terraformed Mars, where civilization crashed back into a Medieval Era. Christian Knights called “riders” patrol the Pilgrim Road from Olympus to New San Diego, on the Chryse Sea. The technological past is known as the “Age of Magic” and only a handful of people understand how the remaining ancient devices really work. Lighter gravity in dense air makes flying dragons and bird riders a reality; alloys of the past make “magic” swords; and masters of ancient knowledge wield wizard-like power.

Nine authors spin tales in this unique story world, one which combines elements of science fiction and high fantasy.

Lynessa's Curse is one very enjoyable tale. I instantly liked the character of Alistair and Waleran, the two main characters. Alistair is the love-stricken serf who proves that he will do anything out of love for Lynessa and it is this that forms the main thrust of the story. Lynessa has contracted an illness that the community regard as a curse from God and these cursed are segregated to their own community, left alone to die the horrible/painful death that this curse brings. It is this that further motivates Alistair to not give up on Lynessa; it is not only his love for her but his bitterness and disillusionment towards God, who would allow this to happen to his beloved, that he sets out to find a cure so he can Lynessa restored and prove God wrong. 

I loved the mythology of this story. The backstory of the highly technological age that created the terraformed Mars that is now known as The Age of Magic has a certain mystique to it and throughout the novel I found this more and more intriguing especially when part of the cure for this curse is to be found in this past technology. It was certainly beneficial on my part to have watched the video created by Collings where he describes the background to this mythology and backstory and more of the previously mentioned anthology.

For a short story, Collings has created some good world building within this backdrop of a terraformed Mars and its mythology. This really does form a solid foundation for this short. I would have loved to have seen more of this world building and the backstory to how Mars was terraformed and what caused the silence over the universe that caused this Earth colony on Mars to be cut off from Earth and plunged into a Medieval world. This really caught my imagination seeing that the recent movie, The Martian, and a news story outlining how Mars would never be inhabitable is the opposite to this anthology's premise. I am not sure if my curiosity for the above is explained in one of the other short stories in the Anthology, if not, it has scope for further explanation in future anthologies, as this is Volume 1 that I mention in this review. This depiction of a highly technological age that preceded the terraformation of Mars and an undetermined catastrophic event that plunged this colony into the medieval lifestyle is reminiscent of another Christian fantasy story called the Chiveis Trilogy by Bryan M. Litfin where Earth is almost destroyed by nuclear war but a remnant of the human population survive but have no recollection of the technology that preceded the war and reverts to a Medieval style of life where Christianity is lost and the main religion is satanic in origin. This is a worthy comparison as Collings' has depicted his world with Christ.

Collings has balanced the character of Alistair with that of Waleran. Waleran is confident, experienced in weaponry and warfare, is skilled in the strategy of same and is confident and loyal to a cause. He is the leader while Alistair is the follower. However, it is Alistair's determination and motivation in the cause for seeking the cure to Lynessa's curse that enables him to take on this leadership role when Waleran is unable to (spoiler avoided as to why this is so) and I found this twist a very satisfying one that enables the ending of this tale to happen.

I loved the adventure that Collings has depicted for Waleran and Alistair in seeking the cure and having to battle more than the elements in this quest. Here, more of Collings' imagination comes into the fore and despite the shortness of the story length, he manages to pack quite a bit of action without making this part of the plot thin or just not realistic. The barbarian type races, the dragons, and "mountable" and flyable large birds add much adventure and suspense to this part of their quest.

Spiritually, Collings has depicted a rather medieval mindset in relation to the interpretation of Scripture and how they see God as evidenced by the fact that this illness that Lynessa and others have is seen as a curse from God and not as an illness that can be cured. It is Waleran who sets the record straight in outlining from Scripture itself what is the real cause and the correct character of God. Waleran is depicted as a bit of an evangelist type person in this regard and Pastor Bryan, who believes in it being a curse from God, is rather Pharisaical in his approach to this curse. However, I appreciate the inclusion of the redemptive nature of Christ's death on the Cross in relation to this curse and various mentions of having a relationship with Jesu Christu (Jesus Christ) and living by faith in Him.

It is this revelation from Waleran and Lynessa being cured and how this happens, that shows Alistair that he and his community have an incorrect view and interpretation of Scripture (pharisaical) and who God is that encourages him to let go of his bitterness and anger towards God and be restored to Him and realise that God is his Saviour and not a God who is merciless. Nice way to end this engaging short.

I would love to see more of this story in future volumes of Medieval Mars Anthology or outside of this. There is a lot of potential with the world building Collings has created.

If this story represents the quality that Perry and these nine authors set out to develop for this Anthology, then I am in for a real treat when I read the rest of it.

Rating:

World building: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Spiritual level: 3/5

Story: 4/5

Strongly Recommended. 

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Optimus 4 by Ross G. Gaehring

Optimus 4

In the year 2063, Earth is dying, beset by the geopolitical and ecological disasters of the Great Tribulation. Isolationist America is under the iron-fisted rule of General George Brinton Mclellan, a tyrannical century-old right wing dictator, obsessed with 1970s pop music, Busby Berkeley musicals and Ronald Reagan. Two Special Forces Troopers are assigned the unpleasant task of entering the “Dead City” of Detroit to retrieve a Christian radical and former war hero, Commander Rance Edwards. Descended from a famous African American, an aristocratic Wehrmacht General, a legendary Native American, a Jewish freedom fighter and European Royalty, Edwards became a member of the despised Christian sect after being wounded in the disastrous Euro-American War. A gifted fighter pilot, he is needed for the Dictator’s last desperate gamble to save America; the invasion of another planet. Rance soon finds himself tempted by a burning love for his former fiancée Christine St. James, newly married to another man. He’s also about to face his greatest challenge… preparing his fellow fighter pilots for the imminent climactic battle in space.

The Guru's Review:

When this book showed up in my Recommended for You feed on Amazon, I remembered that I had bought this in 2014. I checked Amazon to see how the reviews were tracking and was surprised to see that there was only one review and it consisted of two words: "Great read". Only one review and such a short one pushes my buttons! I really feel for an author when this happens. I also noticed that this book is now out of print.

I decided that seeing I had bought this book due to its plot and that there was only one review, I would read it now seeing I was taking a break over the Christmas/New Year period from reviewing author requested reviews. I am glad I did as this is an excellent debut novel by Gaehring.

The first impression I had was that Gaehring writes well and this novel is a joy to read. He has a confident use of the English language and I found myself looking up some words that I had not seen before and others that I had very little understanding of. I enjoy doing this in a novel as this challenges my understanding of the English language, I learn more words and I love seeing how the word fits in with the context of the sentence structure and paragraph. The dictionary feature of the Kindle comes in very handy here and encourages me to do this.  

The next thing I noticed is that Gaehring knows how to research and construct a novel with his plot well supported from this and integrated well in the same. This makes the novel very credible and realistic and adds depth to the warfare and science fiction elements. It also aids in the cohesivity of the overall novel. 

This is the only novel I have read where each chapter is broken into segments. Each chapter has three of these. The first is a paragraph that has a holographic disc jockey announcing the songs of the 1970s that is pumped all over the USA. Reminds me very much of the DJ in Good Morning Vietnam, the role played so memorably by the Robin Williams. In this segment, our DJ, Jazzy, mentions the songs that America's dictator, the Great General George Brinton McLellan, favours and other songs that are mentioned in the narrative of the novel that later follows in the chapter. I laughed at this as there were so many of these 70s songs that I knew and had them playing in my head as I was reading. Really enjoyed this! That was a very clever and creative effect by Gaehring and balanced out the drama of the plot and its dramatic and suspenseful events. Gaehring has an extensive knowledge of the songs of this decade as evidenced in the Sources and Notes section at the back of the novel, which is very impressive, where all the songs are listed over 10 pages of the Kindle version. Five hymns are also included but these are not mentioned by Jazzy but rather sung by Rance's Christian community. 

The next segment of each chapter is a running account of the upbringing and background information to General McLellan's life leading to how he became this General and dictator. It does provide a detailed account of his character and the events that influenced him to seek dominance and dictatorship but I am not sure why Gaehring included this to the extent that he has (in every chapter) as despite him being one of the main character's, I would have preferred the author to have treated Rance, the major character with this treatment as I felt that Rance needed more development as what development Gaehring has given him is very effective, but it would have given Rance even more credibility in his rank as Commander and as a Christian, seeing Rance is the protagonist and one the reader endears themselves to.

On this latter position, Gaehring has depicted Rance as one self-confident and self-assured Christian who knows who he is in Christ, is well grounded and founded in the Bible and lives this out in every aspect of his life as the Bible instructs Christians to do. He also has a tender heart towards God and is in tune with the Spirit in all he does as evidenced by the many mini prayers of repentance, intercession, and supplication that he offers to God during the course of each day in the various duties, events that he is involved in, and interaction with Christians and non-Christians while also experiencing the direction and presence of the Spirit as well during these times. This latter interaction with the Spirit is rare in Christian fiction today, and I and another reviewer, call this genre, Spirit-filled fiction. It is defined as follows, 

(These books) are focused upon characters with (or who develop) an intimate relationship with the Lord. They talk with Him all the time, day in and day out, hour by hour, minute by minute. It can be very potent in a first-person account told by a character. 

The result of this type of relationship is that the Lord moves much more obviously and powerfully in the lives of the characters. The Lord heals people, and gives miraculous resources and solutions to characters—both the believers and non-believing characters. The Lord becomes an active character in these books. It’s a wonderful thing to read and experience. When it is done well, we finish the book in an attitude of worship—built up and empowered by what we have experienced in the lives of the characters.

Gaehring has depicted Rance as not being afraid of the Gospel of Christ, providing a defense of the Gospel when he meets resistance against it, ridicule, humiliation for being a Christian in this post-rapture world where Christianity is banned and those penalized/banished by identifying as such. I found this depiction of Rance as a Christian very encouraging and uplifting to my faith, and I can see that this could be a valid witness to a reader who does not yet believe in Christ and see what Christianity can be like and that there is no valid grounding in being an atheist or humanist.

It was again encouraging that Gaehring depicted the redemptive nature of the Gospel and of the Spirit where two characters accepted God's gift of salvation, where the plan of salvation as presented was not preachy or overdone. Again, I adhere to a specific new genre of fiction and it is classified as redemptive fiction, 

These books offer standard rebirth scenarios where a person accepts the Savior as their Lord. They give their life to serve Him and their lives are transformed—sometimes almost violently, often slowly and gently. They show a realistic look of the daily walk of faith for a believer. A clear Messiah is revealed who died for our sins. Through repentance and baptism, a person is forgiven and cleansed, beginning a new life in the Kingdom of God.

The last segment of each chapter is the continuation of the plot. It is here of course that all the action, suspense, battle scenes in the likes of Star Trek and Star Wars takes place but not to any great detail as we are used to in these movies; this novel is only 242 pages so length limits this, but it still gives a good picture of the battle between the Greys of Optimus 4 and the human invaders. Most of the plot takes place aboard the spaceship USS Hornet showing the raving machinations of General McLellan who is so obsessed with eradicating and exacting revenge on the Greys for what they had done to Earth and being the supreme autocrat for the Earth, despite its dying status and this new planet, Optimus 4, that he seeks to colonise as Earth dies. It is here where Rance and the General clash and Gaehring shows the true nature of how a Christian should treat conflict without compromising their faith or actually sinning in the process. To me, this shows the depth of Gaehring's relationship with Christ and it is again, encouraging and uplifting to my faith.

I also liked the example of how Rance dealt with sexual temptation from his ex-girlfriend and this is portrayed exactly as it needs to be dealt with, knowing where you stand in Christ, not compromising your faith or relationship with Christ, stopping the advances before arousal and desire are sparked in the Christian and in the scene, being firm and forceful in asking her to leave. Rance's mini sermon about sexual purity to his small Christian community was also a breath of fresh air and I applaud Gaehring for not holding back in the depiction of this biblical truth. 

The only reason I gave this novel a 4/5 star rating (Strongly Recommended is my equivalent) is that as stated previously, I cannot see why Gaehring provided such a detailed account of McLellan's life as he is not the only main character. Also, I felt the novel ended abruptly, leaving a few plot lines unresolved such as what becomes of the human survivors and the relationship between Rance and his ex-girlfriend? What happened to the remaining Greys? I can only surmise that these will be addressed in a sequel as this novel screams out for one, but by the title it does not imply that this is a series. For all the positive elements I have outlined in this review, I would love to see this story continue and the author provide more of these spiritual/biblical/Spirit-filled themes. 

Strongly Recommended (4/5 Stars)

One Nation Under gods (Abbaddon's Sword, Book 1) by Grace Walton

One Nation Under gods (Sword of Abbaddon Book 1)

From bestselling Inspirational Romance Author- Grace Walton. Book One in her new Swords of Abbaddon series- One Nation Under gods, a Dystopian Inspirational Romance. 

This is a novel of what ifs. What if, through the centuries, the Christian religion remained a small house church movement? What if it never became a mainstream faith? What if the Bible had never been gathered together from the many and disparate scrolls of wisdom existing to encourage and nourish those first few early Christians? What if one repentant, forgiven Nephilim/Half-Breed Angel family remained? One family so committed to Christ, they dedicated a man in every generation to serve God in a most horrifying and sacrificial way? What if?

Half-Breed Angel Salem D’Angelis has his life all planned. He’ll run the family’s vast Texas ranch. He’ll marry a local girl. He’ll start a family. He’ll escape his family’s celestial curse and live an ordinary quiet life. Then it appears - the supernatural summons marking him as the Sword of Abbaddon. Now without flinching, he’ll use his preternatural skills and gifts to be God’s Destroyer.

Lily Meade comes from small-town Pagan royalty. Her grandfather is the High Priest of the Pantheon Church of beachside Providence Point, Texas. Her Nana is the church’s hereditary Oracle. Lily will inherit that position if she completes her one-day service as a Temple Servant. But how can she be a prostitute, even a holy one, for 24 long hours? 

Their lives collide one hot summer night. She’s running away. He’s stoically facing his destiny. Salem knows his life is almost at an end. Lily thinks hers is just beginning. The only things standing between them and ultimate destruction are ten righteous people and one tattered scrap of Holy Script. 

Love is powerful and often used as a weapon. But can it or any puny human effort, ever truly stay the Sword of Abbaddon? 

The Guru's Review:

When I saw this book on the Free Read Feed site (free kindle books), I had some reservations about downloading this to read. You see, it contains one of my favourite topics, the Nephilim, and a genre I am not so fussed on reading, Romance! The last thing I wanted was for this book to be yet another of the myriad of paranormal romances between angels and humans, even from Christian authors! Yet what helped convince me was two things, there were very edgy speculative elements in the plot and Amazon classified this as Religious & Inspirational Fiction > Science Fiction & Fantasy and not paranormal romance. Christian science fiction and fantasy are some of the genres I review and I love novels that contain edgy, speculative elements. Seeing it was free, I considered I had nothing to loose.

I do, however, know that an author makes a book free to increase the book's exposure, including promotion by word of mouth, and hopefully get some sales and reviews in the process. So writing a review would not be an issue for me as I review every book I read.

The edgy, speculative elements in this novel I found very intriguing and wanted to see how this author would blend bible truth, doctrine, Christian romance, the redemption of the Nephilim (on its own one very edgy, speculative and controversial topic!), spiritual warfare, demonic possession, demonic curses and enchantments without compromising the Gospel. Sounds like a very complex and challenging feat for any author! I must say that after reading this novel, I can quite honestly say Walton has successfully achieved this. All the above elements are blended in seamlessly into the world building that she has created. I am not a romance reader, but I do enjoy the inclusion of romance if it is not the dominant topic of the novel but is part of the many other elements/topics or plot lines. In this novel, such is the case. I really enjoyed the romance between Lily and Salem, and it seems Walton excels in this area (of romance) as she has achieved this in her previous novels, not that I have read them, but the reviews say so!

I loved the supernatural elements between Salem's lineage and Lily's. A violent clash between good versus evil, the angelic versus the demonic, the Omnipotent versus demonic power, God's Word versus a demonic counterfeit gospel. All this created an increasing level of suspense and tension throughout the entire plot, especially between the developing relationship of Lily and Salem, the fulfillment of the special mission from God that He has bestowed on the D'Angelis family, and the evil taking over Lily's grandmother. 

I was impressed that Walton is not afraid to present the Gospel in this novel. It needed to be in order for Lily to know the truth and decide to accept Jesus and for any reader who is a non-believer to be exposed to this too. I guess also, that because Lily grew up in a pagan/demonic cult and is very disillusioned in it, then it makes sense for her to know the truth behind this pagan way belief system and this truth can only lead to Christ. I must say though that the Gospel elements are not preachy, not contained in only one conversation or single part of the plot but is interspersed throughout as we see Lily learn about God, His Word, repentance, forgiveness, salvation, mercy and Christian/Biblical living leading to her conversion. 

Walton has depicted the sexual promiscuity of thought and behaviour typical of pagan/satanic worship and it is not just hinted or mentioned but is slightly graphic in speech and innuendo especially as part of the attitude of Venus who is a product of this pagan cult and her dislike of it. At first I was a bit annoyed at this, but then realised Walton is only depicting how people would act in an environment where many cults co-exist with their lack of sexual morality and where Christianity is the extreme minority. I was glad that this was so and not the attitude of this Christian author. As far as Venus is concerned, this depiction of her being a product of the pagan cult dominant in sexual promiscuity, showed the spiritual deficit and sense of hopelessness that she felt and it was this that led her to finally realise that it is the God that Salem and Lily follow that she needs.

What I found interesting was the specific speculative elements relating to the background of the spiritual mission that God had bestowed on the D'Angelis family. Here God had chosen the D'Angelis lineage as Nephilim to be granted forgiveness and salvation and for a male member or each generation to be the Sword of Abbaddon who would be used by God to eradicate that current city if this appointed Sword could not find an unpublished piece of Holy Script and 10 Christians (Christians are in an extreme minority in the culture depicted in this novel). If so, then God would spare this city and apocalypse would be avoided. Once Salem accepts and dedicates himself to the role of Sword of Abbaddon, repents from his life of sin, deepens and furthers his relationship with God, that forms the springboard for the Gospel to be presented to Lily and for him to show the Love of Christ to her and live out the Gospel in his life. I really enjoyed this and I applaud Walton for portraying this in a Christian character that could also be seen as an ideal Christian male role model. It was great having Salem's brothers be part of the plot towards the end with their different spiritual powers and them being a band of brothers to rescue Lily as assist in Salem's mission as the Sword of Abbaddon. 

Another area where Walton shines is plot development and how the various plot lines are tightly interwoven and interconnected. This makes the plot flow very smoothly and contributes greatly to the building of suspense and intrigue. No wonder myself and other readers say this is one book that you cannot put down. 

Walton ties all the main plot lines together very nicely for those concerning Salem, Lily, and all the support characters and leaves the reader with a plot line open for the continuation of this series, this next one being about Salem's younger brother, Rome. 

I am really looking forward to the remaining two novels in this series. Walton states on her website that this novel is her first foray into the speculative Christian fiction genre and she does this very well and I say this as one who reviews in the majority of this genre. She has proven from this novel that she is quite a natural at it. I would love to see Walton explore this genre more once she has finished with this series. 

Highly Recommended.

The Called: Chosen (The Called Series, Book 2) by Justin Price

The Called: Chosen (The Called Series Book 2)

The Called Series continues with Chosen. The Antichrist has unleashed something terrible on earth that is gaining power by the day while believers must flee for their lives. Nations rebel against Samyaza al Assad and the World Council, causing global war to break out. More twists and turns await in the second installment of the series as the tribulation officially begins and the called of God find their place in a world that has become brutal to them.

The Guru's Review:

I was really excited to be back in this novel, with familiar characters,  its setting, past pace, suspense, and I am so glad to see that Price has continued what he started in the previous volume where I described that he,

blended the genres of the supernatural, science fiction, apocalyptic and eschatology into a multi-layered construct that works very well and adds depth to the plot and the overall enjoyment of this novel.

This provided strength to the previous novel and does the same with this one. Price has progressed everything in this novel. The plot is developed more with the evil plans of Samyaza al Assad, the world population becomes deceived by his charm and deceptive schemes, the one world political system forges deeper roots into the threads of society with more control of the masses and Christians are further persecuted with an ever increasing search to destroy their underground residences and force them to recant their faith or be executed. This adds to the pace making it a cannot put down tale just like the previous installment. Despite the pace, Price still manages to develop the characters further and their fear, despair, trust in God, faith is very evident and I found myself relating to their emotions in a tangible way. I kept thinking that I pray this is what I would do when similar plot lines become reality in this world. 

This is one thing that I enjoy about novels like this. May sound like an oxymoron but while being entertained immensely, Price paints a very sobering picture of what the future could be like and it is this that provokes the Christian reader into thinking about their faith, being ready for this, and drawing closer to God in preparation. We are encouraged in the Word to always be ready and to be prepared to take a stand for our faith. Price succeeds here. I would love to think that a reader who does not have a relationship with Jesus would also be encouraged to consider their future as well and to identify that God needs to be a part of this. 

I loved the example of Abbie, how being submitted to God, she risked everything out of obedience to Him to have her singing career instrumental in bringing multitudes to Christ and despite being reprimanded by the government for it, she still found it worth the cost. I pray that this encourages Christians to stand firm in their faith through whatever trial or adversity they are going through, whether now or in the future as depicted in this novel, that they lay down their lives and count the cost for Christ.

It is also good to see that Price has continued the work of the Spirit in bringing people to Christ by using various characters as a witness to Him. Seeing one major character from the previous installment come to Christ and another being on the verge is very encouraging as the Word tells us that there will still be conversions to Christ in the last days before Jesus comes back and during the Tribulation Period which this novel has as its setting. It is through plot lines like this that an author gets to deliver the message of the Gospel in a showing and not telling/preaching manner. Price does this well and it is very refreshing.

Price continues his inclusion of angelic visitation and I appreciate his depiction of them as Messengers that they are, as described in the Bible, that they seek no vain glory or attention to themselves; they just want to deliver God's message, encourage those they have been sent to minister to and be on their way. Another aspect of the realistic world building that Price has created. 

I can see that the next installment will have more of the supernatural and spiritual elements developed as this installment lays the foundation for this. Demons and or demonic beings are released into the world at the beginning, but do not have any involvement in this novel, other than being prepared for their role which will take place in the next installment. Sounds like that is going to be one even more action packed read. Bring it on, Justin!

I consider that Price has developed his writing skill and plot development further in this novel than the previous and this is good to see, shows he is becoming more seasoned as a writer and creator of edgy, speculative fiction.  

Despite its shorter length, 126 pages, he does pack quite a bit in and it does feel longer which is a good quality for a novel of this fast pace and subject matter. It is enough to drop you in the mix of it, allow you to be taken for a fast paced ride and then left with one riveting cliff hanger, dangling for more. The opening sequence to this next installment based on this ending, should make the reader hit the road running. I look forward to this immensely. 

Highly Recommended. 

Interview with the Authors of the Realms of Our Own Anthology Part 1

I discovered the anthology of Realms of Our Own (ROOO) through the Facebook group, Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a group

"for authors, would-be authors, or just fans of Christian speculative fiction to exchange ideas, brainstorm, and swap experience and advice about navigating the difficult road of being a Christian author in a predominantly secular genre." 

The only other anthology I have read is the Crossover Alliance Anthology, but in that anthology, it is stories that fit in the edgy Christian speculative fiction genre and are not related to each other in plot, characters, worlds, or time frame. When I read about the concept of what ROOO was, I found this to be very innovative, unique and was very curious to see how this worked. So I bought the first 7 books in the 10 book anthology (the remaining 3 to be published very soon) and have reviewed the first 5. It is from reading and reviewing these, that I felt it was worth exploring more about this concept and to see what the challenge was like for the authors involved. 

So instead of myself as interviewer asking the questions, I have let the authors be in the driver's seat and let them describe their experiences of being part of this unique anthology. In doing so, it will give potential readers the background and encouragement to check out this innovative concept. 

Part 2 of this Interview, will be published when the remaining 3 books are released within the next month or so. 

So grab a coffee, relax, and be transported into the imagination of these pioneering authors. Enjoy!

The Concept of the Realms of Our Own Anthology. 

Realms of Our Own (ROOO) was conceived as a unique spin on a popular genre. Collaborative anthologies in Speculative Fiction were truly popularized by Robert Asprin in his Thieves’ World series. The city of Sanctuary was created as a common setting, and a collection of Fantasy authors came together, created their own unique characters, and wrote short stories set in Sanctuary. These stories would occasionally feature characters submitted by other authors, although usually only in support or cameo roles. The success was far greater than anticipated as fans loved to see different aspects or viewpoints of the same characters viewed through the perspective of other, different Point Of View characters.

Others went on to emulate this model, such as George R.R. Martin’s Aces High, which was set in an alternative future New York City, after an alien engineered virus gave random mutations to humans, many of which became superhero-like (Aces) while others horribly twisted mutations (Jokers). The fact that this concept was not only extremely popular among Fantasy fans, but that it could cross genres within Speculative Fiction was the genesis behind the idea.

So the new “twist” in ROOO is that, rather than a single, unified setting with different characters interacting within it, the characters themselves would be the constant, while the stories, settings, and sometimes even embodiment of the characters themselves would be the variable. This will allow authors to truly use their creativity in creating unique stories, while stretching their imaginations as they figure out how to incorporate nine other characters into their story and setting. The only requirements is that each character must appear and be recognizable (preferably at least named) in each of the stories, but it is up to the individual author which characters will take the leading roles in their story, and which characters will be supporting or cameo characters. 

Click on the book cover, to read more about the book and buy from Amazon.com.

David G Johnson

Author of Time To Change.

Developed the Character of Molan Hawkins.

Wow, what can I say about ROOO? Honestly, you ever see those classic Sci-Fi B (or maybe C) movies where the mad scientist creates something that grows completely out of control? That's a bit how I feel about ROOO. I have LOVED collaborative anthologies ever since I first read Robert Asprin's Thieves' World. What a brilliant concept, a shared setting with each author writing their own characters and stories within those bounds. One day I got an idea. What if we took this to the next level and created characters, but all authors had to use the characters in their own worlds. The possibilities were staggering, but I had no idea how truly cool this would be.

ROOO was riddled with frustration for two years. How do we post it, how much do we charge, how do we all claim credit for the same book? That plus the limitations of self-publishing, royalty splitting, etc just brought it to a standstill. I was still sold on the idea, but was very frustrated at the inability to execute it. Then, it hit me. The stories are set in a multiverse, right? Well let's publish as a multiverse. We have each author publish their short story individually, charge the minimum Amazon will allow, and cross promote. It seemed to be the answer, and the idea of ROOO was resurrected and has become a reality.

What strikes me as the best thing about this project, now reading half the 10 stories already out and looking forward to the other half due out soon, is how unique and engaging the stories are. I was afraid people might get bored seeing the same characters over and over, but since each author "reimagines" the characters in their multiverse, and in their unique setting, it is not repetitive at all. It is like digging into a box of chocolates and waiting to discover what amazing filling is inside this one. You kind of know what is coming, yet are still surprised at the delicious new taste each time. Each author brings their unique flavor and imagination to different stories, and each author selects different characters as main and supporting cast, so you get a delicious mix in the end.

Honestly I am excited to see the remaining five stories in their final versions, but I also have already begun gathering authors and characters for ROOO2. I can't wait to do this again. This is without doubt the most unique and fun project I have ever gotten to work on, and seeing the results is worth every bit of the trouble we went through to get it done.

Jeremy Bullard 

Author of Rewind.

Developed the Character of Grayson Floyd.

For me, ROOO was a completely unique experience. I presumed that having so many characters pre-made for me would make the story-writing much easier, as with writing fan fiction, but in fact, the opposite was true.

When you write fan fiction, you do have pre-made characters, but you generally have had weeks or months to get to know the characters -- their personalities, their flaws, their quirks and strengths -- so even if you write a completely unique story involving them, the characters themselves remain roughly the same. You do have to craft the story a bit, but it can   till be incredibly organic.

Further, when a writer writes his own story from scratch, EVERYTHING -- each character and situation -- comes from within himself, so he has a front row seat with their development. It's even easier to disengage the mind and allow the story to write itself. Because the story and the characters come from you, it's totally your rules. You can go in ANY direction with your story (so long as it remains consistent), without restrictions.

But with ROOO, each writer had only one character that was actually theirs. The other nine were total strangers, so you're effectively writing a story about characters that even you as the author don't know! It made writing my story extremely difficult. Still, I considered it an amazing experience, and am eager to participate in the next round.

Kessie Carroll 

Author of Soul Thief.

Developed the Character of Indalrion "Indal" Tay. 

I signed up for the ROOO anthology on a whim, because I thought it sounded fun. I had assumed we'd be trading around two, maybe three characters. What do you mean, ten characters? I have to tell a coherent short story with ten characters? I wrote down all the characters and their profiles, and stared at them for a while. Then I grouped them into pairs that made sense to me--the wolf anthro and werewolf, the two tortured teens with second sight, the homeschooling mom and the weird kid, the shapeshifter and the autistic savant. That left the angel and the woman in the wheelchair--and as my mystery plot began to take shape, I found places for them, too. In the end, I think Soul Thief worked out satisfactorily, clocking in at 8000 words.

Parker J Cole, 

Author of Godforsaken.

Developed the Character of Natasha Genesis.

For Book Trailer go here: Godforsaken

My major works are in romance so what’s a romance writer trying to do, hanging out with the speculative fiction powerhouses?

Working on ROOO was an exercise I thoroughly enjoyed. My first love is speculative fiction, with an emphasis on horror and sci-fi (thanks Stephen King and Gene Roddenberry). I didn't discover romance till I was fourteen years old. So when this opportunity came, I wanted to see if I could blend all my loves into one story.

When we were presented with the characters, I had the toughest time working with these various people. A wolf, an angel, an AI, an assassin, just to name a few, had to be included. What was I going to do with them? It was a hard question to answer. Yet, after a while, it became a wonderful exercise as I molded them into what I wanted them to be.

The best part about this project has been reading the final product from the other authors in the series to see how your character faired. In one of the books, my character Natasha Genesis had her soul stolen. In another, she’s the underground connection for illegal activity. In still another, she works with outcast angels who left Satan to right the evil in the world. How cool is that to see your baby portrayed in different ways. 

The sky’s the limit to what we can do and I look forward to contributing to more.

Zerubbabel Emunah, www.onetorahforall.com

Author of A Time To Play.

Developed the Character of
Karyn Littleton.

I have been a writer/author for most of my life. However, this is the first time for me to venture into the realm of fantasy. It was a very fun challenge.

The reason I choose to get involved in this project is that I hope to one day write a novel. This project helped me put into perspective some of the challenges of doing that. While this short story is not anywhere near the length of a novel, it still had some of the same elements within it.

Probably the greatest frustration to me personally was the editing process. I lost track how many editors we went through. My story saw at least five editors, each one different in his/her approach, some of the later ones pointing out possible corrections that were the result of previous editing changes. Now if that doesn’t frustrate a person, I don’t know what would. I am used to working with proof readers/editors, so that was not really a difficulty here. It was the fact that they were not consistent.

My particular story is a challenging one, in that, in order to portray the particular message behind the story, it needed to be written in a style that is not common. Thus, most of the editors balked at the style, rather than to look at the possibility there was purpose in it. I saw no other way to write this particular story.

We had some great characters to work with in putting these stories together. I have noticed that the next ROOO project that the characters will be more restrictive in what one can change and not change. I personally thought that the characters in this first project were great, but if certain traits needed to be tweaked just ever so slightly, then the author should have been able to do that, as long as the character was still recognizable. What I would like to have seen would have been something along the lines of an author having the ability to change one major characteristic or two minor ones, if needed, but beyond that, all the details of the character stays the same. A lot of the details were left out on purpose, which was good. However, as an author, I felt that this one area of control over our stories was taken away from us, control over our characters. But then, that is just me.

The time element of this project was quite a challenge. Getting ten writers, who are naturally loners, to work together in a timely fashion was really something to be a part of. This project has been two years in the making. It was not supposed to take that long, but between changing editors, losing focus, and the monetary issues, it came close to not happening. Losing focus? Yes, at one point the focus was taken off of the ROOO project and placed upon a magazine, which I was not interested in doing. Every one became excited about the magazine and as a result the ROOO project suffered and fell by the wayside. At that point, I gave up and figured that this was one project that would never see the light of day. I still followed along, but my heart was not in it any longer. Then with the monetary issues, that all but killed it. But I was wrong, thankfully. I am really glad to see that it is being completed.

The greatest blessing I had in this project is that two of my sons are also in it. We had lots of fun sitting around talking about this project and still do. I had that unique situation in which I could discuss the project face to face with other collaborators. I hope one day that my sons and I can do a project together.

Would I do this again? No. Why? The logical perfectionist within me has taken a few hits along the way in this project and I am not interested in repeating those hits. Thus, I will let others play in this room. I do believe that it is a worthy project, a worthy idea to pursue. It is just not for me.

Stanley Dixon, 

Author of The Revelation. 

Developed the Character of 

Sophie "Sophie" Sanchez.

I really enjoyed this collaboration because it gave me a chance as an absolutely new author to work with established, published authors. I got to get at least one of my ideas out of my head and into a format that someone other than myself can enjoy it. One challenge I had was to use other characters in my work when some of them did not fit the initial story I had in mind. I had to stretch my creative muscles right away. This, I think, will make me a better author in the future.

MICHAEL CARNEY, 

Author of Then Again.

Developed the Character of Jesse.

For Book trailer go here: Then Again

For me, the Realms Of Our Own project was very much a case of right place, only just right time. I was approved to join the Iron Sharpening Iron Facebook Christian writers’ group mere hours before the deadline (to take part in the collaborative project) was due to expire, with one author slot left to fill. I had no idea that there was even a project on offer when I applied to join the group – but as soon as I was approved as a group member and went and had a look around the group posts, I discovered the ROOO project. Sudden decision time: it was a case of “act now or miss out”. I grabbed the chance, offered up as my character contribution Jesse (one of the supporting characters in my Outcast Angels series-in-development), and off we went.

CHALLENGES & OBSTACLES

I guess the biggest challenge for me was that before writing this story, I hadn’t written any fiction for around 25 years – and what I wrote back in those days was stage plays. I’ve been writing professionally (i.e. writing and getting paid for it) since I was 17, which is now forty-something years in the past. But most of that writing has been advertisements, brochures, newsletters, blogs and so on. These days, I write online training courses about topics such as Social Media, Mobile Marketing and eCommerce, all of which need constant updating, so I’m writing almost every day – I’m just not writing fiction.

I’ve authored two non-fiction books (three if you count a book I ghost-wrote) and I’ve been pondering a book series about my Outcast Angels for a couple of decades, but it’s only in the last year or so that I’ve actually been working on creating the Outcast Angels universe.

Writing novels and short stories is different from writing plays (doh!), particularly in terms of characterization (in the plays, I simply cast people who matched my mental image of each individual part) and setting (I have to describe things a little more fully than EXTERIOR: CASTLE). On the other hand, playwriting has given me a solid grasp of story structure, plotting and dialogue.

GETTING STARTED

The first challenge for me in terms of the story itself was shaping the diverse range of contributed characters so that they could coherently inhabit my alien-less universe. In line with the rules of engagement for ROOO, I was able to conveniently ignore any extraterrestrial backstory and attribute most individuals’ powers to genetic experimentation (radioactive spiders being unavailable). Perhaps the most significant constraint was the existence of a chronomancer, which effectively demanded that the manipulation of time be included in the storyline. I chose not to try and invent a scientific explanation for that ability.

Once I’d assembled the cast of characters, I then looked for some task that might tax their collective skills. I like working with existing historical facts and giving them a tweak, so I decided to set my story on Millennium Eve and then went Googling to see what happened on that day. I quickly stumbled across the early resignation of Boris Yeltsin and that provided fertile ground for my imagination. I tossed in various bits of backstory from my Outcast Angels world and the story began to assemble itself.

Once our stories were written, we authors were assigned partners with whom to swap manuscripts for a first sweep through the editing process. That part of the process seemed to go relatively smoothly, with the biggest casualty being several of the dashes that I usually sprinkle far too liberally through my writing. Many more dashes and ellipses gave their lives valiantly in subsequent editorial exterminations.

ON TAKING PART

I’ve loved every minute of being part of this project. My collaborators have shared some wonderful characters with me, the reviewers have been kind and the result is a finished story that I’m delighted to have created as the first step in bringing my Outcast Angels to the world.

THE FUTURE OF SUCH COLLABORATIONS

Is there a future for multi-author collaborations such as Realms Of Our Own?

Absolutely – but there are always practical considerations when assembling such collaborations. The fact that this first ROOO endeavor has proven as successful as it has is a real tribute to the creator/co-ordinator David G. Johnson. 

Conceptually, the idea of a shared cast of characters is a fabulous one. In practice, one is faced with issues such as:

Who chooses the participating authors, if there are more who wish to contribute than can be effectively accommodated? 

Do contributors have the necessary writing skills (and is each of a comparable standard)? 

Will the authors deliver on time, creative muses being notoriously tardy? 

If those types of issues can be satisfactorily addressed, then concepts such as ROOO should enjoy a glorious future.


Thank you all ROOO authors for allowing us to get an insight into what you faced in bringing this new type of anthology to life. It has given me, and I am sure our readers,  a greater appreciation of you as authors and a greater love for this new, unique and innovative type of anthology.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in the very near future.