Extinction And Making Viewers Uneasy

KU, Libraries, Smashwords And Sales Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – July 5th

Extinction And Making Viewers Uneasy

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I recently watched the Netflix SciFi movie Extinction.

I almost didn’t stick with this movie. Yes, there were awesome explosions and great invasion scenes but when I watched the main characters, I was uncomfortable.

Everything was a bit…off. The timing of their responses was slightly delayed. The emotions weren’t quite right. The kids seemed determined to put themselves in the most vulnerable positions possible, having to be saved by the parents again and again.

What I believed was annoying ticks or surprisingly bad acting was, in reality, brilliant storytelling decisions. I was supposed to feel that way. I was meant to pick up on all of that.

Those small irritations were all, as I call them, breadcrumbs. The uneasiness I felt was gifted foreshadowing, something I aspire to in my own stories.

I love dropping clues about the big plot twist, giving reading buddies who pay close attention the opportunity to guess what comes next. I love when reading buddies re-read a story to pick up hints they might not have noticed during the first read. That makes me happy.

Does every reader ‘get’ what I am trying to do? No. Does every attempt I make to do this work? Again, no. And it didn’t work for all viewers of Extinction. That’s why there are so many bad reviews for this movie.

But when it works for a reader, for a viewer…stars, it is magical.

(Also, I LOVED that Lizzy Caplan was one of the stars in this movie. I loved her in Cloverfield and the subconscious coupling with that movie made Extinction even more enjoyable for me. It helped guide me in the absolute wrong direction. – grins)

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Other Chameles view him as the
enemy.

She sees the warrior hero he never
believed he could be.

* * *

Tolui is a Warlord in search of a planet
to rule. He has been leading his fellow clones in a stealth battle, fighting
for both control of the Chamele sector and the right to exist. The brave warriors
he commands warrant respect, and they deserve the best.

That best isn’t the barren,
dangerous terrain on Chamele 4. When Tolui crashes on that planet’s surface, he’s
determined to leave it as soon as possible. The tiny human female rescuing him
might be as beautiful and as wild as the land she inhabits, but her flowing
words, trusting gaze, and enthralling submission won’t stop him from rejoining
the war.

After many solar cycles of living
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Her savage stranger is strong and severe, and he makes her feel safe, an
emotion she hasn’t experienced in a long, long time.

He also insists they must part.
Before they do, she’ll show him the splendor of her home, and she’ll enjoy his
big form, collecting passionate moments she can revisit when she’s solitary once
more.

Every additional moment Lea and
Tolui spend together increases the chance they’ll both die. Lea is being chased
by female-hating fiends. Tolui is being hunted by the best bounty hunters in
the universe. War will soon arrive on their threshold, and the blood spilled
might be their own.

* * *

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Book 1: Warlord Sky

Book 2: Warlord’s Bounty

Book 3: Warlord Unarmed

Book 4: Warlord Reunited

Book 5: Warlord’s Mercy

Book 6: Warlord’s Return

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