Diane Rapp's Blog: She's a Mystery and Science Fiction Writer! - Posts Tagged "adventure"

Dragon Defense
The dragon, Blaze tries to rescue prisoners from a mountain stronghold:

The sunrise illuminated a peculiar object that dangled below a large dragon. As the boat flew across the sky, superstitious villagers dashed into their mountain huts to escape the dreadful sight. The flock of dragons disappeared behind a mountain before people in Asbohar took notice.

Blaze carried the small red boat proudly in his talons as Felesia rode on his back. Swirls of red, gold, and blue moved across his billowing wings as the dragon squadron formed a large V across the sky. When Blaze reached the balcony filled with humans, his eyes swirled with concern, but Felesia sent him mental messages.

From inside the boat Brandon shouted and people retreated behind the door. The balcony barely seemed large enough, but Blaze lowered his burden and opened his talons. A gust of wind lifted his body away from jagged sandstone rocks overhead and children peeking out from behind the door gasped. The dragon crowed to his flock and circled overhead.

When Brandon stepped from the boat onto the balcony, he felt immense relief to be away from those talons. He turned as children rushed through the door and caught his breath. A stunning vision of lithe beauty stood before him with bronze rays of sunrise shimmering across jet-black hair and ivory skin. Her ebony eyes threatened to capture his soul as they held his gaze.

“You must be Shariel,” he said in a breathless gush.

She nodded and coaxed children toward the boat. “Shouldn’t we hurry?”

Brandon pushed windblown hair away from his forehead and flashed a beguiling smile, the one guaranteed to make a girl’s heart flutter. “I’m here to serve, milady.” He hefted small bodies into the boat.

“Take a seat on the benches or the floor and tie a rope around your waist. Ten go on each trip.”

Wide-eyed children followed orders while they stared at dragons overhead. “Don’t be afraid. Send the dragons mental pictures of bright colors and they’ll be friendly. How many of you can see color in the dragons’ minds?”

Several hands shot up, including older children who stood waiting inside the door.

“Felesia sends pictures and the dragons respond. That small dragon is Flash. She’s Felesia’s special friend and loves children.”

Shariel smiled as Brandon helped the children relax. He caught a glimpse of her smile and nearly choked. “Will you go in the boat?” he asked.

“No. Jordan wants me to ride on the back of a dragon. I communicate with wolves, so I might be able to speak with dragons. Besides, I need to keep the guards under control until the last minute.”

“I’ll wait and help you climb onto the dragon.” Brandon glanced at a vacant-eyed guard, who stood inside the door. “Is he all right?”

“He thinks it’s still dark outside and feels sleepy. I inherited the power of mind control from my father and I’m using it today.”

Brandon blinked. “Your father’s Jarrack?” he asked. He saw a frown tremble across her lips and decided he must make her smile again.

Children and adults filled the boat. Blaze folded his wings and dropped in a breathtaking dive toward the balcony, triggering screams from frightened humans. At the last moment the dragon unfurled his great wings, opened his talons, and grabbed the spar. He swiftly carried his prize away from the rugged cliff.

The boat rocked. Voices squealed but Blaze carried the burden with a steely grip and soared high above the foothills.

Felesia sent pictures to the wild mind. Blaze recognized the landscape he’d seen as a fledgling and stretched his neck into the wind. He banked to find a new thermal and let the warm air lift his body.

When the giant dragon swooped down to grab the bar, Brandon ducked. He stood open mouthed when Blaze angled away from the rocky cliff face and a smaller dragon landed on the balcony.

Brandon helped a tall boy climb onto Flash. He looped a long red rope around the dragon’s neck and tied it around the boy’s waist. “What’s your name?” Brandon asked with a grin.

“Duncan.” The boy’s lips curled into a timid smile.

“This dragon is Flash. Send her pictures of the spaceport with your mind and hold on tight!” Brandon shouted and gave the boy a “thumbs up” salute. The dragon launched from the balcony and Brandon heard a peal of laughter from Duncan. There was no time to waste as another dragon landed.

Dragons knew how to conserve strength and seldom pumped their wings. Dazzle flanked Blaze with Jordan riding on her back. He greeted her with swirls of gold and orange and saw Flash fly nearby with a small human on her back. The boy waved at people riding in the boat. Blaze heard shouts of encouragement and felt Dazzle’s pride as he carried the burden.

The dragons enjoyed this new game.


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Bluewater Voodoo by C.L.R. Dougherty

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Zombies? Voodoo? It’s just a fantastic adventure!

I admit that I enjoy reading Dougherty’s books, and I was not disappointed by the third book in the Bluewater mystery series. He brings back interesting characters like Dani and Liz, who operate a charter business on their fancy sailboat. Dani is still a little spit-fire, ready to punch out their current customer when he leers at her, much to our reading pleasure.

The girls were hired by a professor and his slinky assistant to sail them through the islands. Sounds like an easy job until two Venezuelan soldiers board the sailboat intent on kidnapping the professor. Dani and Liz learn that the professor is working for a reality TV show producer, trying to find real zombies. He discovered the location of a Voodoo Bokor who created a real-life zombie. They run afoul of a Venezuelan hit man. Martinez is under direct orders from Chavez to create zombies and launch a plan to disrupt the next American election.

In this story readers learn about the Voodoo religion and how Haitians are mistreated by island governments. The formula to make a real zombie is a closely-guarded secret and the mild-mannered Voodoo Bokor is reluctant to exploit the zombie in his care. Dani learns that one of her relatives is a high priestess of the religion, and enlists her help for the professor.

In between kidnappings, bombings, and high speed chases, the criminals prove that a plan is only as good as the lowest man involved in the scheme. Angry that the thugs tried to sink her ship, Dani calls upon her own experts to straighten out the mess. They have no problems with competence!

Dougherty once again leads his readers on a roller coaster ride through the Caribbean. During the adventure questions from the first two books are answered. If you haven’t read the whole series, there’s enough back story in this book to make it enjoyable on its own, but you might just get hooked on the series!




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BIGFOOT BOY: Lost on Earth by Kenna McKinnon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Proof that Bigfoots do exist!

Do Bigfoots really exist? Do Bigfoot spaceships regularly visit Earth to gather precious minerals needed by their planet? What if Bigfoot children study our planet? Did a few of them get lost and start their own tribes, hiding deep in the forest?

This delightful tale is designed to appeal to middle-grade children, but it captivated my adult imagination, too. Errl, a seven-foot tall Bigfoot youngster, wanders away from his MiddleSchool group while exploring Earth on a field trip. Now he’s lost in the woods, alone and afraid. He meets various crazy humans, some friendly and others out to capture him, but he must stay alive for ten days until the spaceship returns to take him home.

Errl left his tech compass on the ship, he’s really bad with directions, and his eyes are weak. He wishes he’d paid closer attention to Dr. Teach’s lessons, especially when visiting an alien planet. Those lessons might prove crucial for survival on Earth. He’s hungry. What plants are safe to eat? He’s lonely. When he meets a human, he realizes that a few Earth words might help him make friends.

When Errl meets a beautiful golden-haired female, he literally falls head-over-heels in love. Soon he’s convinced he doesn’t want to leave Earth without her, but can he convince this lovely creature to return to Planet X? He can’t stay behind on Earth with his lady love, because humans tracking him have dangerous guns. A few humans seem friendly, but can he really trust them to help?

Life is scary for a young Bigfoot on the run. Every school child gets bored and fails to pay proper attention to lessons. Errl wishes he’d studied in the safety of MiddleSchool, but now he must learn the hard way—while running for his life. Enjoy this fast-paced and entertaining story while you read it to your favorite child. After all, you might meet a real Bigfoot one day.




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Cassidy Jones and the Seventh Attendant by Elise Stokes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A great adventure filled with mummies and other monsters!

This week I yielded to a guilty pleasure by diving into another Cassidy Jones adventure. I admit that I'm a grandmother, but I still really enjoy the antics of this redheaded superhero. (Okay, so I'm also a redhead and understand why she blushes so easily.) Here is a series I can honestly recommend to my granddaughter and know we will actually have something to talk about besides her favorite pop stars.

Cassidy gets sucked into a situation where she must lie to her best friend while stalking his dubious father. If she tries to keep any more secrets, I think her brain will explode--metaphorically speaking. Cassidy must also deal with the ups and downs of teenage romance--a mean guy stalking her, a friend who might be romantically attracted to her, and the hunky guy she's head over heels about--yeah, I remember how difficult it was to navigate through teenage relationships. I feel relieved that I don't need to deal with teenage hormones any more, but I appreciate Cassidy's situation.

To make being a teenager even more difficult, Cassidy must "deal" with super villains and the scary monsters they create. Can she survive the venom of a deadly bite while dodging bullets? Reading the adventures of Cassidy Jones is definitely a guilty pleasure, even for a grandmother. Good thing I can recommend it to my granddaughter--girls should have super heroes to root for too. Read these books and you'll understand what I mean.




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Authors who delve into futuristic worlds to write Science-Fiction might start the process by considering “what if” questions.  They speculate about scientific ideas and then ask how people in the future might be affected by new events.  Of course action and adventure permeate the genre by writers who spin “space cowboy” stories.  I believe that there is more to speculative fiction than spaceships and scary aliens in gunfights.  I call my own type of work "science-fantasy" because futuristic skills might resemble magic even though the evolved talents are based in science.
 
Recently television and movie producers flock to the “X-Men” idea of genetic mutations that create people with fantastic abilities without explaining the science behind the particular changes.  This is understandable, ideas that sell are exploited.  Previously Trekkies explored the universe with Captain Kirk and his crew, meeting humanoids on exotic planets and facing alien threats.  Regardless of the current trend, wild settings and situations spring from the creative minds of futuristic writers.
 
My own science-fantasy series began when I contemplated a series of “what-ifs” relating to the pursuit of immortality.  What if an intelligent species could “host” the minds of elders to retain knowledge and wisdom?  What if human scientists invented equipment to “transfer” a mind into its clone and achieve unending life?  What kind of future would these conditions generate?  What kind of unintended consequences might develop?  How do people react to the problems?  How do they fight for control over their own lives?



Situation #1.  A canine species on Earth develops intelligence and a complex social network through communication by telepathy.  
 
Ancestors of modern wolves and dogs formed into packs that worked together using expressions, body postures, and vocal signals to hunt prey and warn the group of danger.  Mental abilities eventually progressed to enhance this communication, and formed an intelligent community of telepaths.  They hosted dying members of the pack to preserve knowledge.  What if human scientists discovered this ability and decided to exploit the animals to achieve human immortality?  Survival of the species made it necessary for the pack to establish a new colony on another planet with the help of sympathetic human friends.  Their story is told in “The Alphas, Prequel to “Howl of the Wolf”.

 
















Situation #2.  Scientists develop “Transfer” of minds into clones.
 
Organ transplant surgery developed into an ordinary method of saving lives, including the idea of cloning a human to obtain needed vital organs without rejection.  An accident during a typical surgery promulgated a new invention that eliminated surgery.  What if the human mind could be electronically transferred into its own clone?  Four scientists on Earth developed Transfer and changed the trajectory of society.  Their invention led to virtual slavery.  Individuals were forced to work off debt to the Institute that handled the mundane work associated with the scientists’ technology.  When the men running the Institute deemed the inventors dangerous to their monopoly of Transfer, the scientists needed to save their own lives by escaping. 
 
Dr. Alexander was a telepath with strong empathy for his patients.  By helping to develop Transfer, he eradicated disease and saved patients who suffered painful deaths.  After learning of an assassination plot against him, Alexander fled from the Institute on the medical spaceship Zebulon with a crew led by Captain Donovan.  Dr. Alexander soon discovered that each successful Transfer enhanced the talents of his patients, evolving into fantastic abilities.  Their story of survival on the feudalistic planet Drako, aided by a society of telepathic wolves is told in the “Heirs to the Throne” trilogy.
 


The next series is coming:

Three other scientists were involved in the invention of Transfer.  Dr. Jerome, Dr. Stewart, and Dr. Hartman each fled in different directions, seeking interesting societies that offered sanctuary.  What if these men learn about a new threat to the human race?  It becomes necessary for the four brightest minds in civilized space to band together once again to protect life.  They cannot involve the Institute, a corrupt organization that controls government,  for their own safety. 
 
Who are these men?  Where did they hide for the past three decades?
 
An expert in genetics, Dr. Jerome helped correct fatal birth defects in the clones of Transfer patients.  Upon escaping from the Institute he took refuge on Lydia, a water-world developed by oceanographers to study aquatic species.  Ninety percent of the world is covered by oceans and floating cities support the human population.  The genetic talents of Dr. Jerome are employed to develop an aquatic humanoid species to dwell in underwater cities.  He learns about the cataclysm that made it necessary to flood Lydia and stave off the Swarm, alien creatures who almost killed the beautiful planet.
 
A psychiatrist specializing in astral projection, Dr. Stewart settled on the desert planet called Klaatu.  Robotics became the prime industry on the planet, using materials mined nearby to produce plasteele.  Humans on Klaatu survive under a plasteele dome living in ultra-modern skyscrapers. With astral projection techniques Dr. Stewart’s teaches people to project their minds into the brains of robots.  The method used is similar to  Transfer. His work combines psychiatry and technology in a fashion that suits his meticulous temperament.  He discovers that robots might be critical in saving humanity from the devastation caused by the Swarm.
 
An expert in artificial life-support systems, Dr. Hartman fled into the Dark Zone where he built a successful business servicing spaceships and trades in contraband.  He is one part pirate and three parts mechanic, able to brawl with rowdy customers and flaunt technical skills needed to design ground-breaking equipment in a heartbeat.  He operates Space Station Kubrick protected by a team of feline warriors with ninja skills that surprise unwise attackers.  His life-support systems might tip the balance as they fight the Swarm.
 
More developments will be published in this blog.  Click Science-Fantasy to look at the previous books.    Take a journey with us into the stars.