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Vindication to the Extremes
Joshua Landeros Author Interview
End of Knighthood is a ripping tale of military science fiction that follows the struggle of a cyborg super soldier as he continues to figure out his place in a futuristic war zone. What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this novel?
Number one would definitely be the cost of conflict. Even though Will scored a victory for the resistance movement, it cost many lives, including those of his friends. Another important one to me was accountability for the powerful, though this takes a few different forms. Will, in one of my personal favorite scenes, simply speaks to the child one of his victim’s. Aliss Howard, on the other hand, takes vindication to the extremes. These dichotomies were essential to the story.
There is a whole heaping help of action in this book. What was the funnest scene to write and why?
Tough one! I want to say it’s a tie between Marisol’s counterstrike against the terrorists and Aliss Howard’s flashback to the war in Mexico. Marisol was my first chance to write an action scene for a female cyborg, so that in itself was interesting to plan out. Not to mention the layout of the city was extremely fun to mess around with. Still, I also really like the Aliss scene because one, I fell in love with the character the more I wrote about him. Despite being a family man, he has a commanding presence to even other cyborgs and a twisted sense of duty. They were both a blast.
William Marconi a cyborg super soldier that is a carryover from the first book in the series. How do you see Will’s character change from book one to this book?
I think his biggest change is his sense of, as previously mentioned, accountability. Before he only had to answer to his superiors, so whatever harm he laid out to people didn’t even cause him to flinch. Now he’s taking the time to analyze the extent of his actions and how it affects others. I also wanted to add more scenes of him attempting to get to know the rebels as opposed to isolating himself like when they first met. He’s doing his best to break out of his shell, even if Gabriella isn’t having it.
Will there be a book 3 and where will it take readers?
I’m proud to say that parts two and three of End of Knighthood are written out. I decided to break up the book to make editing easier, but the wait will be worth it! Book Three in the series (Part II) will delve into the Crimson Angel’s next big mission in UNR territory. It also will explore Will’s struggle to cope with all he’s done. It will also show us more of Chancellor Venloran’s side of the story which I think readers will enjoy. That and a whole lot more, but I wouldn’t want to spoil anything! All I can say is it’s going to be very intense. Part II should be released by late July of this year, and Part III should be out by September. I certainly don’t want to keep people waiting!
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![End of Knighthood Part I: The Chess Pieces (Reverence Book 2) by [Landeros, Joshua]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51v3BB%2BFyEL.jpg)
Many of the major players for and against the evil United Nation Republic’s consolidation of power around the world reprise their roles in this gripping new sequel to Reverence, by standout author Joshua Landeros.
After the devastating battle at the Pentagon, cyborg super soldier Will has reluctantly joined the resistance movement. Just how to fight the enemy becomes the next question. Some want to expose the government’s sins, while others crave only to execute the tyrants in power. At the same time, Chancellor Venloran is overseeing a plan to eradicate his country’s enemies for good. This is truly a tale of tragedy and triumph, brutality and brotherhood, as super soldiers square off for dominance and the rights of non-UNR nations to live in peace.
Can the remaining countries of the world survive the determined march of Venloran’s seasoned and battle-hardened troops? Can the fresh new characters created for this superb sequel live to fight another day? And can Will, the super soldier who daily struggles with his former role, finally make up for it by helping curb the UNR’s steady growth?
The False Prophet
The False Prophet, by Harry James Fox, is set in a post-apocalyptic America where a plague wiped out a large majority of its inhabitants. The remaining populace, left angry and bitter, instigated wars and caused even more deaths while seeking retribution from various groups of people. With all remnants of modern civilization long gone, their society was essentially thrown back into the dark ages. At the opening of the book, the son of a mysterious prophet named Hiram Abaddon now seeks to continue his father’s legacy of dominion over any that do not support him.
The book has Biblical references with the main opposition to Abbadon (the False Prophet) consisting of Christians. The story plays out like one would imagine the tribulation as discussed in the Bible, with Abbadon seemingly synonymous with the Antichrist. One man, Donald of Fisher, along with a group of comrades, sets off to gain support in the fight against The False Prophet. The book is definitely picks up speed as the story progresses; the first half is slow to build and relatively uneventful but does well to setup the rest of the story. In this way it reminds me of Game of Thrones, in that it was a lot of information upfront, but once you were caught up, you were hooked. When news reaches Prophet City that there is an uprising, the story line really picks up and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Right from his introduction in the story, The False Prophet’s character is intriguing and easy to hate. Which is a perfect setup and a stark contrast to Donald of Fisher. The fact that the False Prophet is easy to dislike and connect with as an enemy really helped to keep my interest piqued. Although I felt like Donald’s character could of used more depth, it could easily be that I wanted this depth because his character was also so intriguing and begged to be explored.
Personally, I love the Biblical undertones of the story and the fact that a lot of the chapters open with a Bible verse helped to give insight into the chapter’s direction. I also like that the Biblical alignment is less obvious than in some other books that have attempted to use a similar setting or premise. Because of how it is done, I think this book will be more appealing to the general public than to a very specific niche. Overall, I find The False Prophet to be a fascinating and entertaining story. I can’t wait for the next one!
Pages: 368 | ASIN: B01N6PZUU0
What is Reality?
M. Thomas Apple Author Interview
Adam’s Stepsons follows Dr. Heimann as he designs the perfect soldiers for the United America’s in their war against the Martian colonies. What was your inspiration for the setup to this interesting science fiction story?
At the time I wrote the kernel of the story, I was working in a used bookstore and devouring all the short stories and novels by Phillip K Dick and Robert Heinlein that I could lay hands on. I was (and still am) fascinated by questions of “what is reality?” but I was (and still am) also intrigued by the question “who am I?” not only in terms of shared realities and perceptions but also ethnicities, religions, and personal relationships within the family. The sense of self is inextricably bound with community and history; my own family history, for example, is filled with generation after generation of soldier in nearly every major conflict since the 1680s. So I knew that I wanted the story of Dr. Heimann and his clones to take place during a military conflict of some sort. The US made it to the Moon first, so I figured any Moon Base would be set up by a future version of the US. But the rising powers of India and China would necessarily lead to competition and colonial expansion elsewhere in space. So I based the UAAF on the Moon, India on the ISS, and China (basically) on Mars. But something has gone wrong, as it usually does, and that sets off the conflict.
I should point out that, when I initially plotted the story and sketched out the characters, Dolly the Sheep hadn’t been announced, Battlestar Galactica was a late ’70s TV show starring Lorne Greene, and “The Clone Wars” still consisted of a single line spoken by Obi-Wan Kenobi. So as much as I’d love to say that I got the idea for soldier clones from the current zeitgeist, the underlying premise of Adam’s Stepsons actually predates the trend. My high school library had beat-up copies of Nancy Freedman’s Joshua, Son of None, and Ben Bova’s The Multiple Man, so it’s likely I internalized elements from those stories and subconsciously reproduced them in my own story.
Dr. Heimann and one of his cloned soldiers, Seth, have an intriguing relationship that becomes very deep. What were the driving ideals that drove the characters development throughout the story?
Dr. Heimann prides himself on his scientific bent of mind, but he struggles to cope to grips with the fact that he basically has no family left, and as Seth grows and begins to develop a real emotional attachment, the doctor desperately tries to push away the feelings he had for the person Seth is clone of. Meanwhile Seth has been trained (“brainwashed,” as the doctor puts it) to be an efficient killing machine, and his need for order compels him to seek out and eliminate anything unknown or unreasonable. Yet he, himself, can’t help feeling strong conflicting emotions, first toward the doctor and then toward his fellow clones. Both characters are driven to discover, deep down, who they really are as people, outside their rigid societal roles as scientist and soldier. Dr. Heimann knows that Seth is not his real son, but can’t help treating his stepson’s clone familiarly because it reminds him of what he has lost. Seth has been “programmed” not to think of anything other than army orders, but he can’t shake the sense that there is more to who he is as a person. Finding out he is a clone, and who his “brothers” are, is the trigger for the final confrontation.
Science fiction has always asked the ‘what if’ questions, but I feel that your novel went a step further. What were some ideals you used in building your story?
My original intention was to investigate not just the “what if” of human cloning (i.e., how would this be done? how would the clones grow physically and mentally?) but also the “what is self?” to a cloned human being. The scientists argue that personality is partly inherited and partly environmental; so if you were to make several different clones of one person and then controlled the information input, they would all become the same person. But personality also consists of emotional attachments made with other human beings on a deeper social level. Human beings are social animals; we need other humans to survive and thrive, and without others we have no clear sense of who we are and what our purpose is. So in order to examine this in a futuristic setting like a clone facility on the Moon, I needed to have a reason for making clones in the first place, plus other people who would provide the clones with that social environment. Once that was established, the real question became “Is what we’re doing morally ethical?” The military paying for the clones display classic cognitive dissonance, by using people they claim are not really people but know they actually are, in order to win what they call a morally righteous war but actually is destroying their entire society. Yet the General clearly also feels a sense of internal conflict, feeling obligated to protect every member under his command, including the clones, and also knowing through his friendship with Dr. Heimann who the clone really is and how this might affect his friend. Ultimately, I was interested in making sure none of the characters were typical “scifi” stereotypes, that they had ideals but were deeply flawed people, and ultimately would find themselves trying to make the best of what basically could turn out to be a lose-lose situation in the end.
What is the next book that you’re working on and when will it be available?
Right now I have a couple of projects I’m working on in various stages, but the one most closely related to Adam’s Stepsons is a metaphysical science fiction series set mostly on Mars. The first book is called Bringer of Light; a crew of ethnically diverse and somewhat misfit asteroid hunters recovers an extra solar object from beyond the solar system, experiences physical and spiritual changes, and ultimately becomes the new leaders of the united Mars colonies as they break away from the old political chaos of Earth and form a new society. The story combines hard science with various mystical systems of belief, ethnic and religious sense of self and identity, and international/interspacial political intrigue. I’m about a third the way through the initial draft; the aim is to finish writing by the end of summer 2017, and have an edited, polished manuscript done by spring 2018. The next two books (Defenders of Aeropagus and Return to Omphales) have already been outlined and plotted.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Dr. Johann Heimann designed the perfect soldiers: superhuman in strength and intelligence, immune to sickness and disease, programmed to lead the United Americas to a quick victory in the Mars Colony War. But Heimann didn’t anticipate the military’s unrealistic demands, or his own emotional responses to his creations. And now Number Six is calling him “Father”! What exactly is going on during the clones’ personality imprinting cycle? As Heimann starts his investigation, Number Six grows in confidence and self-awareness…and both discover the project hides a secret even Heimann, himself, doesn’t suspect…
End of Knighthood
End of Knighthood Part I: The Chess Pieces by Joshua Landeros is a ripping tale of military science fiction. The novel follows the continued struggle of William Marconi a cyborg super soldier as he continues to figure out his place and duty as a soldier and knight in this futuristic warzone. Will ends up joining the resistance movement. Fighting the UNR, the new world government superstructure, or curbing its growth becomes the center of conflict. Chancellor Venloran is the locus of these plans and wishes to destroy his enemies completely. Can non-UNR countries survive the rising tide and hardened troops? The principal question is, what will Will do to make up for his past transgressions on behalf of his former role?
Landeros paints a picture worthy of the classic military science fiction writers in their hay day. Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers can be felt in every leap of Will from rooftop to rooftop. He masterfully borrows what made these novels great by their action and dialogue. One of the strong parts of the End of Knighthood is not just the fantastic action, but the dialogue between the soldiers is some of the best I have ever read. This is what keeps these soldiers human and what makes them instantly relatable to the reader. Sure, it is cool to read the amazing action scenes that Landeros crafts, but in the quiter moments we get to see how these individuals struggle with their in between status and their struggle in the midst of war.
As far as action goes, you can’t get too much wrong when you have cyborg on cyborg action, but Landeros takes painstakingly careful steps so that the reader does not become lost in the rain of bullets and blows. We are able see every body fall, but we are also able to see the glimpses of humanity from these soldiers as they reflect later their deeds. Will, the main protagonist, and one of the few carry overs from the previous book, is one such character that we get to see who continues to develop.
In our current times of political upheavals and nation states, one would think a book such as End of Knighthood would be hard to swallow. The UNR seems to be something that could occur in the not so distant future, but with the addition of these tech enhanced soldiers, Landeros has given the reader enough of an escape to enjoy oneself rather than wallow in more reality. Despite having a military science fiction bend, the novel could appeal to anyone looking for an action centered yarn along with some political thriller overtones. The genre blending on Landeros’ part is spot on and should please a wide variety of readers.
All in all, the reader may lose some sleep going through one battle scene and turning the page for another, but it is sleep happily given up. I look forward to the next installment of the Reverence series.
Pages: 233 | ASIN: B06ZZCDJ44
Into The Liquor Store
Are you a fan of people watching? Can you spend hours just watching society go by and analyzing situations that seam small and insignificant but are all part of a bigger drama that is unfolding before your eyes? Charles Sims-Charles creates a future version of Earth in his novel Into the Liquor Store. This novel does not have a linier plot line, it has no great mystery to solve, there is not even a major conflict in need of resolution. Instead we are transported into a world where the main character Bink is a spray paint graffiti artist and connoisseur of cannabis and we follow him through a series of life events. While the events all lead up to a surprise ending your left wondering just what is going on sometimes. Add in the Galactic Triumvirate (GT) and the colonies on the Rings of Saturn and the moons and you have an intriguing story to follow.
Bink’s journey is told through his eyes and through a third person narrator view. This adds to the disjointed effect of the novel, but adds to the feeling of watching someone’s life unfold from a distance, as if you were watching a movie. It is the year 2218, Earth is now called Terra and the inhabitants are called Terrans, while the people living on the moons and rings are called Orbiter’s. The world is divided even more than it is now, states are now their own territories with their own laws and rules, countries have their own sets of standards and laws, everyone is acting under their own guidance unless they are part of the GT. One of the focuses of Bink’s story is tagging. He is a talented graffiti artist. Tagging in this time is regulated art form and taggers are well respected. Each artist has a special ID cap that is registered and somehow when it is used, they can scan the paint on a piece of work and determine who painted it. There are rival gangs among the taggers, but most rivals are in good sport and everyone is out to keep the art form alive and well respected.
The other focus is on Bink’s love life. He goes through several relationships throughout the novel, but they all follow a theme. Bink’s relationships with the other characters, Derrick (Lux), Kris, and Milly are also a focus. It is not secret Bink hates the rings and the orbiters, but when his life lands him on a remote ring colony he is reunited with his lost love Milly. On the rings, life is confusing. They speak in riddles; they call their language Summertime. Everyone dresses in a steampunk style and paint their faces like animals. It is a complex society with it’s own rules drastically different from Earth. Somehow Bink winds up mixed in with the Mob, a group called the Koeghuza. He learns how to navigate this world as well and become successful.
Charles Sims-Charles’s world is creative and unique. His descriptions of the clothing, music, and environment draw the reader in and give them a feel for being there and experiencing everything Bink does. It is the perfect novel for the person that likes to watch others and analyze the psychology of people. The society structure is interesting and complex, the relationships diverse and just as complex as the characters that have been created. A great novel to take you out of the modern stress and see a glimpse into a future where art and science thrive.
Pages: 235 | ASIN: B01NAGKSJJ
Paracelsus
War is never pretty. It’s a gruesome, deadly instrument used by those seeking something. Whether they seek power, reassurance or a misguided view of peace depends on those orchestrating the show. In Paracelsus by James Powton we see the horrors of an ongoing war of subterfuge and nuclear consequences as it spans nearly fifty-years and the entire world. When does one war end and another begin? These are questions that cannot be answered concretely. Powton uses this as he spins his tale of destruction with the backdrop of the world’s worst atrocities post World War Two. This story begins like several different threads spread out until you delve deeper and see that they are all entwined together into the perfect knot.
It is important to note that the story tells a slightly alternate history to the one that we have been taught in schools. It begins in 1969 and continues on until a time in our very near future. While it seems logical to assume that none of the characters in this tale truly existed, a reader can’t deny that reality is often stranger than fiction. If these characters did or do exist, let us all hope it is not in the same capacity as Powton has had us read.
Think of a world where nuclear weapons have been compartmentalized on a smaller scale to fit inside a briefcase. This unlocks a multitude of possibilities: none of them good. Powton uses this concept to his advantage as he paints a picture of a bloody war that the average person would know nothing about. This is not a war for the television or the media until things go too far. It’s definitely a thrilling ride as you read on, wondering how the characters will be connected in pages to come. Powton wraps all his threads up quite nicely.
There are a few stylistic errors and spelling mistakes that crop up in Powton’s work. The issues are not so substantial that they detract from the story itself. Because the story can be quite complicated it is impressive to see such organization and careful storytelling, which is where the real challenge is.
It is always interesting to read a piece of fiction that uses a real event as a back drop. By looking at past events with new eyes and a different idea of what potentially happened brings such an interesting twist to the history we have all been taught. Paracelsus does just that and takes the events further by covering a time frame in the not-so-distant future. With the world being slightly unstable at the time of writing, it is almost terrifying to think that James Powton’s idea may become a reality. If you are in the mood for intrigue and the blurring of historical lines, this is definitely a tale for you.
Pages: 316 | ASIN: B01MU6S0P5
The Sightseers Agency
The Sightseers Agency picks up with Richard Pencil leaving the government position he took up at the end of the previous book. With the new world order well underway, the big three-letter agencies are breaking up, and Richard is going back to work with Joe Fraser and the man known as the Inlooker. Richard also has an impressive upgrade to his extra-sensory detective powers. He’s joined by a new remote-viewer, Miss Plum Duff, whose talents were honed by alien intervention. Fraser hires them to launch the the Sightseers Agency, reporting to him and their mysterious benefactor. Their mission is to oversee the behavior of elected officials, and another secret goal is revealed later. Seb Cage, who is now a talented computer security specialist (along with the skills he gained from the Sombrella Syndicate), joins the agency as well.
The Sightseers soon discover that the greatest threat to earth isn’t just from rogue officials and politicians, but also hostile aliens who have been planning an attack for some time. Complications arise because some of the aliens on Earth are friendly, while some are more like tourists who take on human form just to experience something different. Ms. Plum Duff comes into her own here, since she, like Seb, has a long history with regard to aliens.
Like the previous agency novel, there is an overarching plot that is played out in several different investigations. While the book is described as a series of whodunits set in the future, each case is a link in a chain that ultimately brings conflict on both a personal and global scale. I was glad to see more about the use of psychic mind-reading to ferret out lies and criminal activity, and the manipulation of auras and even the soul itself. There’s also the fascinating angle of this “new world” society, run on a democracy-on-demand system with a goal toward a true meritocracy. While some of this society’s social practices seem dystopian, others, like the use of Tesla’s wireless transmission of energy, offer a utopia of readily-available power.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed throughout the Dreadnaught series is the author’s vivid imagination. His notes at the beginning of the books give real-world tales of psychics and UFO phenomenon that act as the launch pad for his stories. His humor and wordplay are also in full force, with inventive non-cuss words, ribald comedy—especially when it comes to Richard and his Lothario tendencies—and the continued jokes about “potties,” which are ubiquitous self-driving transport pods, giving “on the throne” a whole different meaning.
Overall, this series has been fun to read. The major recurring characters are so unique, each with their own set of skills, flaws, and quirks, that it’s a delight to follow them from one adventure to another. The Sightseers Agency ties up a lot of loose ends, answers questions, and ends on a hopeful note and fans of the series will be satisfied by the ending.
Pages: 307 | ASIN: B01KBAKX1E
LITERARY TITAN 
Across The Realm: Life Always Finds A Way
Jun 7
Posted by Literary Titan
More than six centuries in the future, the northern and southern hemispheres have divided. Between them rages a bitter feud that has lasted for centuries and left them in a constant state of war. Both believe their technology superior, but one of them is very wrong.
Southern Askari Naledi and northen Commander Gregory Douglas encounter one another, and their fates entwine, leaving confused feelings and split loyalties. A tale of war, bravery, love, trust and betrayal comes together to bring about more violence between the hemispheres than ever before. As both sides play a game attempting to learn more about the other, they do a very dangerous dance.
The first thing I want to say about this book is that it blew away all my expectations. I don’t read a lot of science fiction, and though this one sounded interesting, I still had my reservations. My reservations were not well founded, and the book was an absolute pleasure to read. The story Ms. Mitton has weaved together is an intense, can’t-put-it-down ride through an advanced civilization 600 years in the future.
The writing was excellent, something I really treasure in a book. It can make all the difference between an okay book and a great book, and this one was definitely a great book. There was a balanced mixture of well written, easy to follow prose, accented with the terminologies that qualify the book as science fiction. In the first few pages, I felt a little overwhelmed with the unexplained terms, but once I got into the meat of the book, all the confusion was cleared up.
The characters were very well developed, each one having their own personalities and quirks. Because of the unfamiliar names, it was a bit difficult to keep up with who was “mated” with who in the southern hemisphere, but I didn’t find that to be terribly distracting. There were also a lot of characters, but I didn’t feel as though that was a drawback, as it can be in some books.
There were themes of homosexuality in the book as well, which I commend the author for. I thought the potentially touchy subject was approached confidently and handled deftly. Also, boldly written in was stereotypes many people in today’s world still continue to believe in, particularly in regards to race and ethnicity. I felt the book had social commentary on racist views that still exist in some people, immersed in a page turning science fiction novel set in the distant future.
From what I can discern, this is Isbobel Mitton’s first novel, and it showcases her talent wonderfully. The story was compelling, in places heart pumping, and always beautifully written. This book is the first in a series, and the second book is in publication as well. I’m certainly going to be buying it and reading it immediately, I must know what happens next!
I cannot recommend Across The Realm highly enough, for both lovers of science fiction and people who do not typically read it.
Pages: 343 | ASIN: B017FGWR2A
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