Sunday, October 19, 2014

Moons of Solsticia by K.A. Madison



Release Date: October 24, 2014
Subgenre: Science fiction

ABOUT Moons of Solsticia:

K.A. Madison’s The Nether Chronicles began with The Awakening.  The eagerly anticipated Moons of Solisticia continues the epic saga.

Ten years ago, humans created machines so powerful that they became aware of the world around them. The bots improved themselves until their intelligence far surpassed all of humanity’s. They used this intellect to take over everything. Their awakening ushered in a time of darkness for all mankind.

Now, Aiden is determined to find a way to help the resistance infiltrate the bots’ network. Working with his soul mate, Kyra, he must find a way to harness the unimaginable power of the Nether for his fight against the machines.

The fate of two worlds hangs on their shoulders. They must not only face an unbeatable foe on Earth, but race to find a traitor on Solisticia that will stop at nothing to do the unthinkable.


Excerpt:

Aiden watched in horror as the explosion expanded in a circular ball of destruction that consumed everything in its path. He watched as Kyra’s eyes of steely determination instantly turned into a look of terror before they closed, understanding her imminent demise.

He forced his concentration away from Kyra and back onto the terrain in front of him. Two choices presented themselves. The roaring and spinning black tower or the nebulous white light on the horizon. Again the black one called out to him, stronger than before. It was the right choice, he knew, and it was a siren song that he could not turn away from. He had to touch it, consume it, become one with that boiling, raging, torrent of power.

Aiden stepped out onto the desolate ground. Distance was irrelevant here, but the physical act of movement made sense to him. He took that understanding and moved his sense of self to the raging inferno. But something blocked his way. He tried again, but an invisible force prevented him from getting any closer to the black tempest of power. He tried harder and pressed his body against the shield, but it held. Despite his efforts, it even repulsed him back. The feeling was no different from a fish that swam into the hard glass of a fishbowl. The harder he pushed, the farther it retreated away from him. He staggered and flailed at the shield, but it didn’t budge.

The line of fire approached Kyra. The explosion seared everything in its path and was now only inches from her body. Aiden had to do something. She meant so much to him. He could not watch her die. Not again, damn it. Not again.

Aiden closed his eyes and reached deep within himself. He was not going to fail. He would not let it happen, not this time. He placed his hands in front of him on the invisible barrier and felt for a weakness. But he found none. He refocused on the darkness and willed the pulsating blackness to come to him while, at the same time, he moved his mind into its midst. He picked a random spot within the darkness and saw himself there. There was no shield, nor was there a barrier. Nothing was there except his essence, and it existed at the spot where he willed it to be.


About the Author:



K.A. Madison lives in Brambleton, VA with his wife and two children.  Although he has told stories to his children for years, The Awakening was the first published novel that he’s written.  Moons of Solisticia, Book #2 in the Nether Chronicles series, is the second.  Much of the inspiration he got for the series came to to him after he read The Singularity Is Near, by Ray Kurzweil.  He was fascinated by Mr. Kurzweil’s scientific explanations of why he thinks humanity will eventually reach an inflection point that allows machine intelligence to surpass ours and become self-aware.  He read that book quickly and found himself thinking, What if?  What would happen if machines became self-aware and began to realize how much smarter and more powerful they were than their human creators?  He decided it would make a great sci-fi story.  When he isn't writing, he's working as an IT Manager at a large financial services company in McLean, VA.

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