Humanity struggles in 2283 AD, seven years after a devastating alien attack.
170 years from now, aliens decimate Earth. A relative handful of humans survive, hidden in deep subterranean enclaves that offer some protection from surface radiation. Although the main attack is now seven years in the past, one alien ship remains in orbit, and the conquerors are not content merely to let humanity lick its wounds.
Humanity is greatly diminished, but a few tens of thousands survive, sheltering in huge compounds deep beneath the ground, prepared many years ago against the possibility of nuclear attack by some rogue country.
Five heroic individuals in Compound A-3 take it upon themselves to find a way to save humanity, for in a matter of a few more years, attrition due to radiation will finish the job that the aliens began with their initial attack.
Sethra, a computer programmer and electronics expert, joins forces with Byron, a roboticist with a talent for acquisition and reallocation of others' belongings, as well as with the compound's chief medical doctor, Eddie, and two brave women, one of which is more than she seems.
How do you defeat aliens while hiding in your last refuge hundreds of meters beneath the irradiated crust of the Earth, especially when the aliens are far more sophisticated?
Excerpt
170 years from now, aliens decimate Earth. A relative handful of humans survive, hidden in deep subterranean enclaves that offer some protection from surface radiation. Although the main attack is now seven years in the past, one alien ship remains in orbit, and the conquerors are not content merely to let humanity lick its wounds...
I don't know if this will be a one-off from a new author, or if we've only seen the first of even better things to come. Kyrathaba Rising is taut. I couldn't stop turning pages. It's just one of those books where there really isn't a good stopping-place so you can bookmark it and pick up again the next day.
So, it caused me to be late to work a couple mornings (shhh... I don't think the boss noticed)
The author writes in a gritty tone, though not so gritty that there aren't instances of laugh-out-loud humor (for me, at least: anyone else find that to be the case?) Very well-written.
I love the way most of the chapters end with a little quip from one character or another, or some little twist or another that's almost as if the author is winking to you, the reader.
I also love the cover, and if I ever try my hand at self-publishing, I hope that Mr. Miller will put me in touch with his cover designer.
Top notch book. Buy it!
5 Stars! by Lucian Gladart
It's been quite some time since I indulged myself in science-fiction. After reading Kyrathaba Rising, I'm glad to say that I did so! This was an enjoyable romp through a post-apocalyptic landscape. The author keeps a crisp pace, for which I am grateful (I hate getting 1/3 of the way through a book only to lose interest due to a slogging pace).
The characters are entertaining. I'm sure they'll be more fully developed in succeeding novels in the series -- of which I hope there are several (hint, hint, Mr. Miller).
There are several favorite parts/passages, but I won't detail them here so as to avoid any spoilers.
I love the way the author weaves humor and grittiness into the same narrative braid.
Utterly Fantastic Occurrences is a collection of 20 science fiction short story novellas existing in hardcover, in paperback and in Kindle and Nook e-book formats.
Nine New Novellas, Part III is a collection of nine sci-fi/paranormal stories to complement the nine in Nine New Novellas, Nine New Novellas Part II and Nine New Novellas, Part IV.
In the second book in the Ember Reign series, Megan and her friends decide to investigate a haunted mansion to discover it was once a secret government laboratory dealing with extraterrestrial biological entities.
