In order to be accepted as a guardian of his people, young Renegade must undergo vigrous training to become a hunter in the tautschen world. At the end of that training lies the fearsome Master Hunt,in which a novice must survive and triumph, or fail and die. And someone doesn't want him to succeed.
Excerpt
RENEGADE’S hunting ground was a world both familiar and strange. Familiar, because it was a world of rolling forested hills, of snow-topped stony mountains with deep valleys creviced in between…
Strange, because its trees bore blue-lavender and green-purple leaves. Some smaller twining plants were deep magenta, close to black.
Unlike his friends, Renegade had made his journey to planetide in almost complete silence. The Elder dropping him off had introduced himself briefly as K’vash, Director of the Nine Systems’ Hunt Council. He’d accepted Renegade’s awed and respectful self-introduction in a curt silence.
So the young hunter mirrored his aloofness. He sensed the titled director did not like him and did not want him to succeed. Renegade was puzzled by that: he didn’t know the man and certainly had never done him wrong. But he had enough self-dignity not to show his anger, and instead practiced his tch’won breathing to achieve the heightened state.
Now he stood on this new world, knowing only that it orbited a hot blue-white sun; it was called P’taal 5; and it had a few small freehold colonies of the People., and ancient forests with unknown trophy animals in them – his textbooks had been rather vague on descriptions.
His mentor Broken Spear had been able to speak to him alone for only a few moments before leaving Arvien 4. And he’d looked hard into the young man’s face, his gaze so intense that Renegade was impressed to silence.
“Son, listen: The assignments have been determined…. Your trophy test will look deceptively simple, but do not trust in appearances. There is a danger there greater than you know. You will need all of your intelligence, Renegade, to overcome this test. I -- wish you good hunting, son.” And he turned away, his eyes filled with love and pain.
Professional Reviews
Rave Reviews for "Renegade"
“…a wonderful novel that is a good read for anyone who likes science fiction / fantasy. The texture of the society reaches back (to) when good hunters were revered for their skills…Then it merges the primal forces with the high-tech wizardry of interstellar travel. The combination provides exceptional combinations of twists and experiences as three young hunters learn from the old master.”
--R. Dennis Baird, author of “The Brazen Serpent Chronicles” CA
“…the plot is cohesive and fast moving, the characters fly off the page…a story I’ll remember for many months to come.”
--Phyllis Taylor Pianka, for “Writer’s Digest”
**** (four stars) “It kept me guessing as to what would happen next. The author ended the novel in a way that it could be stand-alone OR some day have a sequel. I was left with a wonderful feeling of victory for Renegade and hopeful for another adventure with him in the future.”
--Detra Fitch, for amazon.com & Barnes & Noble. http://wwwhuntressreviews.com
“I tried to delay (reading) the story but it’s just too good! …I couldn’t put it down. You have developed the characters so well that I had to know the rest. Now where’s the next installment?”
--Stewart Powell, author of “Jewels from My Pocket” (Lansing, MI)
***** (five stars)”I am a very finicky reader. If I cannot get hooked on a book by the end of the first page, I will not read it. This was a great book. I held my breath until the very end.”
--“Steve”, a reader commenting on Amazon.com (Mesa, AZ)
“C. L. Rossman has done something wondrous with this read. I highly recommend this book—whole-heartedly so.”—David Walks-as-Bear, author, “The LP,” “The Murmurings,” & others. (Michigan)
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