As all best books are, it has a YA and mainstream crossover audience appeal. And if that doesn't whet your appetite enough already, below you'll find an excerpt and some additional info!
Excerpt
The
Valentine War, Earth 500 Years Ago
It
starts with the world how it used to be, with countries and billions of people
living everywhere. Back then there was no such thing as thelemity, and people
built houses and machines sort of like they have in settlements today, but all
of that changed when the Valentines came.
The
reason we call them the Valentines is that the day they first attacked,
February 14 on the old Western Calendar, was called “Valentine’s Day”. We still
don’t know what the Valentines call themselves, because we’ve never been able
to talk to them. We don’t even know what they look like. People had all sorts
of different names for them early in the war, but “Valentine” is the one that
ended up being the most popular. It used to mean something totally different,
but not many people remember that now.
We
never saw them coming. All at once cities just started disappearing. A city
would be there, everything totally normal, and then it would be gone, nothing
but rubble and a cloud of dust. By the time we figured out we were under
attack, half the cities in the world had already been destroyed. We tried to
fight back, but the Valentines had thelemity, and our strongest weapons were
next to useless. They probably would have killed every single person on the
planet, except for one thing: It turned out we could use thelemity too.
Cover Copy
Centuries
of war with aliens threaten the future of human civilization on earth in this
gripping, epic science fiction debut...
We never saw them coming.
Entire cities disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but dust and rubble. When an alien race came to make Earth theirs, they brought with them a weapon we had no way to fight, a universe-altering force known as thelemity. It seemed nothing could stop it—until we discovered we could wield the power too.
Five hundred years later, the Earth is locked in a grinding war of attrition. The talented few capable of bending thelemity to their will are trained in elite military academies, destined for the front lines. Those who refused to support the war have been exiled to the wilds of a ruined Earth.
But the enemy's tactics are changing, and Earth's defenders are about to discover this centuries-old war has only just begun. As a terrible new onslaught looms, heroes will rise from unlikely quarters, and fight back.
We never saw them coming.
Entire cities disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but dust and rubble. When an alien race came to make Earth theirs, they brought with them a weapon we had no way to fight, a universe-altering force known as thelemity. It seemed nothing could stop it—until we discovered we could wield the power too.
Five hundred years later, the Earth is locked in a grinding war of attrition. The talented few capable of bending thelemity to their will are trained in elite military academies, destined for the front lines. Those who refused to support the war have been exiled to the wilds of a ruined Earth.
But the enemy's tactics are changing, and Earth's defenders are about to discover this centuries-old war has only just begun. As a terrible new onslaught looms, heroes will rise from unlikely quarters, and fight back.
Cast of
Characters
JAX: A cadet at
the Academy and the youngest fontanus in Ninth City. With the ability to
harness thelemity, Jax must stand for all citizens during Valentine attacks and
act as the only defense between the city and complete destruction.
NAOMI: The
youngest sister in the Ochre family, and a member of the nomadic Walker tribe.
Naomi longs to be a scout like her older sister, Rae, but her undiscovered
gifts will take her down a different path, far away from the life she knows.
RAE: The
beautiful, impulsive leader of the Ochre family and a scout for the Walker
tribe. Rae’s penchant for bravery and lack of fear plunge her into a new world,
where her strength will be tested in ways she never imagined.
TORRO: A factory
worker in Settlement 225, which provides supplies and soldiers to the Legion’s
war effort. Torro’s uncomplicated life is suddenly disrupted when he finds
himself drafted as cannon fodder and shipped away to the horror of the front
lines.
VINNEAS: Procurator of the
Academy, responsible for every cadet at the school of Grammar and Rhetoric.
Part of being Procurator is being prepared for command in combat, but an
unwelcome promotion sends him to active duty sooner than he expects.
IMWAY: The top
ranked warrior in the Equites Aspirant, the most elite fighting unit in the
Academy. Highly skilled in combat, Imway’s power stems from a suit of armor called
‘equus’ and the ego that comes with it stands the chance of ruining any
relationship he has.
KIZABEL: The most
sought after Artifex—a creator of artifices—at the Academy. Her most recent
project violates many rules, and Kizabel faces expulsion or incarceration if
caught. But her project will revolutionize equus design, if she can only get it
running.
Together, this
unlikely group of allies will face a mysterious enemy and a war that has
brought their world to the brink of destruction.
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