Title: Alien Heat
Author: Susanne Marie Knight
Published in December 2003 by Wings
e-Press
Genre: Futuristic
ISBN: 1-59088-695-X
She was afraid, terribly afraid on that day. She knew the Outsiders were coming, but no one seemed to care. Life after the great Destruction was a mélange of different peoples, and unusual circumstances. To Glyneth, life was just a trial. She lost her mother to a raid. Ten years before, the barbarians had carried her away, leaving Glyneth alone at the mercy of the villagers. She would soon be forced to marry as all females did by their twentieth year. The future was not something that she looked forward to, because the “husband” who had chosen her was a man she despised. That did not matter now, the Outsiders had come just as she had predicted, and instead of running, and trying to hide all the women in the village, they had gathered in the center, and the barbarians had just come and taken them away. The only trouble with that was that one had returned, bringing back the young mother of twins, and grabbing Glyneth in her place. The escape, the injury, the indignity, and the uncertainty all fuel her temper. She does not take to being captive lightly.
What Glyneth doesn’t know, and what she cannot foresee is the impact that she will have on the future. She is definitely not in the position that she would wish. In the village she would have been forced to marry David. Now she will be forced to marry a total stranger, to be used as nothing more than a brood mare, and she resents that as well. Now, Glyneth has yet another decision to make. Will her special differences make a difference in her position? She is truly special. The Earth itself talks to her, she is intimate with the language of the wind, the knowledge of who and what travels the land. She is unusual, quick, intelligent, and with her uncanny abilities, she could be even more of a prize for the right man. The Prince who has carried her away to an uncertain future could be the key. The key to exactly what she is not sure, and Glyneth doesn’t know if she really wants to find out. Dogged by a prophecy, and hatred for the barbarian who stole her mother, she fears on an elemental level. She is deeply afraid, for her mother met her own fate at the hand of these barbarians, and she is not sure she will survive. At this point, she is not sure that she wants to go back to the village either. Something is calling, and reluctantly, Glyneth is driven to answer the summons.
Lucas is a man driven by duty, honor, and above all, a strong sense of right and wrong, and what he feels around himself now is definitely wrong. The woman, Glyneth, is like no woman he has known before, and that is puzzling. His alliance with another powerful house, the Adams house, has been disrupted by the death of his father under mysterious circumstances, ones that are even now under investigation. The real problems actually stem now from his distraction, his worry, and his knowledge and suspicions about the woman and her origins. To Lucas, Glyneth is an enigma, but it is her obvious hatred for him and his society that have shaken him to the core. Never before did he question the whys and wherefores of the barrenness of the women of his State, never questioned the validity of the Canusa’s claims, and never before did he feel as threatened as he has felt in the recent past, and yes, even now.
If the truth were to be told, Lucas Jefferson had a lot of thinking to do. The fact that he was considered a contender for the throne aside, he felt the danger around him, but could not pinpoint the source. The sense that time was running out, and the strange claims, and even stranger actions of the barbarian woman only added to the unrest he continues to feel. Glyneth is different, she does have an aura of mystery about her, and if his suspicions are true, she could be the key to the problems that his beloved homeland has been experiencing. The only problem now appears to be keeping them together, and alive. Something is dogging him, his house, and Glyneth as well, and until that is answered, he will have no recourse than to fight for her. His joining with the Adams house, the marriage to Althea must all be put on hold. This is a danger that could well have an effect on more than just his personal future, his own survival, but can the feelings, the warnings, and the astrologer’s ancient prophecy be true? Can what Glyneth says be believed?
Susanne Marie Knight has woven a story of a troubled Earth, invasion by an alien species, and the mysteries of some ancient lore to produce a captivating tale of romance and danger in a post-apocalyptic world. The devastating impact of a comet has left the world divided, and its people scattered. Small pockets of civilization remain in differing levels of civilization, and through them, the diversification of the populations survive. The Key to the Earths survival lies in the hands of a pair of unlikely lovers. As fate intervenes, problems come to the fore, and treachery tests the best of ties. When Lucas abducts Glyneth, while on a bride hunt, a string of seemingly unrelated events suddenly point to more than just mere coincidence. Top it off by the strange flowers that seem to be growing in ever greater profusion, and the oddity of their existence in new and before unknown places, and you have the basics for a pretty good futuristic thriller, as well as an unusual romance.
Alien Heat is just that…it is alien, and it is heated. It takes you form the bride markets of Columont, to the vast stretches of desert that is slowly devouring the newly recovering earth. Treachery, and death stalk the lovers, and the destruction of civilization, and even the world as they know it now hangs in the balance. The premise in Susanne Marie Knight’s story is no different than told in many a sci-fi thriller, but in the telling, we see the difference. Alien Heat focuses on the powers of magic, love, and the intentions of honorable men and women to not only save their society, but the very world on which they live. After a bit of a slow start, the reader gets quickly wrapped up in the intrigue of the court, the plans on both sides of the battle, and can feel the thrill of the impending conclusion. The ultimate question is answered in the long run…with the December 2003 release of Alien Heat, the reader is a winner. Look for it at Wings e-Press today. http://www.wingsepress.com/
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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