Friday, August 27, 2021

Prelude to Sorrow

Cover Story

Welcome back to the wonderful world of the IX. I realize this post is rather close to my previous article relating to Exordium of Tears, but I only recently found out that the next adventure in the IX series is due for imminent release in September.
Thus the need to accelerate my plans a little. . .

So, over the past couple weeks, we’ve seen how the story of our adventurers from Earth has evolved, and how their journey has been encapsulated within a 'mini-reveal' incorporated into each cover.

Today we look at the final book in the original trilogy: Prelude to Sorrow.

Here’s a glimpse of what they encounter:

*********

The task force dispatched from Arden to eradicate the Horde menace failed, and for those few left alive, the tenet by which they have survived for so long resounds as never before.

Fight or Die!

Now marooned, out of time and out of place, the survivors lick their wounds and struggle to recover while the Horde gather their strength for a final strike that will change the course of history forever. The fate of the galaxy – and more – hangs in the balance.

But fate, it seems, isn’t done with the Ninth, and our heroes find themselves forced to mount a last-ditch attempt to end the threat once and for all.

Will the darkness be vanquished, or will our heroes’ efforts finally signal the beginning of the end of their adventure?

Find out in – Prelude to Sorrow – the stunning conclusion to the IX saga.

*********

As the title implies, this story is an overture. An introduction to what the real menace is, and how insidious its reach can be. Those who survived the battle on Exordium don’t have time to feel sorry for themselves. There’s too much at stake. The future of Arden and planet Earth itself are at risk of being swallowed by an ancient evil determined to wreak havoc.

Do you see how that’s reflected in the background of the main cover? How it crumbling? As if the very foundations of their world are being torn away from beneath their feet, and there’s nothing they can do about it?

Or is there?

The IX symbol is a glowing brazier, radiating and smoking with the steady, building heat of a kiln. The dross is being removed, purifying what remains so that it’s ready for the crucible of battle. And battle they do, for the DNA matrix is still there, hidden within the gray of the backdrop, yet visible enough to remind us of the power of the human-Ardenese bloodline.

Yes, no matter what it takes, the glorious Ninth and their comrades will shine like beacons in the darkness. Somehow, someway, they will find the strength to endure, so that their legacy lasts for all time.

For ALL time?

You’ll see, in a spectacular finale that will leave you breathless. But you get a hint in the starburst radiance leaping away from the top of the 'X' and off into eternity.

As finales go, the cover to this book is superb. Roy Mauritsen worked his magic again and rounded the series off with a profoundly satisfying piece of artwork. One for which I have always been grateful.

As well I should be.

When you think about it, book covers act as an introduction to your work. You’ve spent many, many months building a world; filling it with inhabitants; devising a storyline; planning out an adventure that you hope will keep readers entertained. And part of that process is creating the right first impression.

First Impressions Count!

And with the covers to the IX series, I know readers will be enticed to pick up my books, read the blurbs, and be drawn inside. That won’t happen unless you have the right team around you. So all thanks to Roy and the team at Perseid Press for creating something truly special.

And the thing is, it’s not over yet.

The IX series made quite an impact on those who read it. The fans demanded more. They wanted to delve into the history of the Horde and discover how they came to be; how they managed to ravage a civilization in its ascendency; how they then became the mindless, savage brutes we first met in the IX.

Yes, how did they manage to overthrow a society millennia in the making in so short a time?

Well, what the fans want, the fans get! Stay tuned for a brand-new revelation. . .

Otherwise known as

The IX Genesis
A IX Origins Novel

As seen in next week's full cover reveal and backstory.

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The IX

Roman legionnaires, far from home, lost in the mists of
Caledonia.
A US cavalry company, engaged on a special mission, vital to the peace treaty proposed by Presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln.
A twenty-first century Special Forces unit, desperate to
prevent a nuclear catastrophe.
From vastly different backgrounds, these soldiers are united
when they are snatched away from Earth at the moment of their passing. Thinking they may have been granted a reprieve, imagine their horror when they discover they have been transported to a failing planet on the far side of the galaxy,
where they are given a simple ultimatum.
Fight or die.
Against all odds, this group of misfits manages to turn the tide against a relentless foe, only to discover the true cost of victory might exact a price they are unwilling to pay.

How far would you be willing to go to stay alive?

The IX.

Sometimes, death is only the beginning of the adventure.

Exordium of Tears

Fight or die.
That simple yet brutal reality is the tenet by which the refugees from Earth – including the fabled lost 9th Legion of Rome; the 5th Company, 2nd Mounted Cavalry Unit; and the Special Forces Anti-Terrorist Team – were forced to live by while the Horde menace existed. Believing that the threat is over, the
survivors now yearn to settle down, start families, and reclaim the lives stolen from them.
But such aspirations might remain beyond their reach, for a shadow looms on the rose-tinted horizon of new beginnings.
The release of the re-genesis matrix has done much to foster a restoration of exuberance across Arden. Along with a resurgence in floral and faunal diversity comes the results of splicing the Ardenese and human genomes: transmutation. A
metamorphosis of stunning magnitude that not only affects the living, but those still is stasis as well.
Recognizing the emergence of a new hybrid species, the Architect – the arcane AI construct tasked with the preservation of the Ardenese race – responds by unlocking
previously hidden and inaccessible areas of the city. It also releases an archive of sealed state secrets. Such revelations are eagerly perused, whereupon a shocking discovery is made.
Prior to the fall, it was common knowledge amongst the Senatum (the highest levels of Arden’s government) that not all the rabid Horde had joined in the rampage across the stars toward Arden.
Realizing that the peril still exists, the newly reformed administration elects to respond in earnest. Existing resources are utilized, suitable candidates are chosen, and a flotilla of ships is sent out to secure, quarantine, and reclaim the outer colonies. A mammoth and hazardous undertaking. And nowhere more so than at the planet from where the
outbreak was known to have originated – Exordium – for there, the ancient Horde are not only supremely evolved and highly organized, but are capable of a level of lethal sophistication, the likes of which has never been witnessed before.
It is into this kiln of incendiary potential that the cream of Arden’s fighting forces is deployed.
Worlds are torn asunder, suns destroyed, and star systems obliterated. Yes, tragedy is forged, in a universe spanning conflict which proves once again that…

Death is only the beginning of the adventure.

Prelude to Sorrow

Fight or Die.

The task force dispatched to eradicate the Horde menace on far Exordium failed, and for those few left alive, the tenet by which they have survived for so long resounds as never before.

But fate, it seems, isn’t done with the Ninth, and our heroes find themselves forced to mount a last-ditch attempt to end the threat once and for all.

Will the darkness be vanquished, or will our heroes’ efforts finally signal the beginning of the end of their adventure?

Find out in – Prelude to Sorrow – the stunning conclusion to the IX saga.

IX Genesis

Arden, birthplace of a people who have mastered the secrets of arcane, reality-bending technology, and home to a civilization that now spans more than thirty planets throughout an entire quadrant of the galaxy. They are wise and understanding. Majestic in vision. Powerful beyond compare. And intent on extending their benevolent influence throughout the stars. . . Until the fateful day their thirst for knowledge leads them to push too far, too quickly. In doing so, they open a door into the antiverse, a realm where the very nature of existence is an anathema to life. An antithesis to all that is good. Evil. And that evil is sentient, as highly contagious as it is fueled by an irresistible proclivity to feed and multiply and spread. And feed and multiply it does. Faced with an overwhelming flood, the Ardenese have no option. They must fight or die!

Where to find us:

Friday, August 27, 2021

Prelude to Sorrow

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