An Egyptian "What If?" - New 5-star review of Secret of the Sands!!
I wanted to share our latest & totally fantastic 5-star review. It's been posted right here on Amazon & in the Apr-09 edition of Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror Ezine, a very cool publication. In their own words:
"We are a Free Science Fiction and Horror Monthly Ezine that accepts submissions all year long of Short Stories, Flashes, Micros. We also do reviews and author interviews."
Here is the link to their website, be sure to check out all of their cool content!
Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror Ezine
At the end of the review, I have included an author's comment, which I thought important to share.
We are also being checked out by Hollywood for a future movie version of the book, so we hope to see you on the big screen in the not-too-distant future! (in IMAX & 3D!!)
Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands
Reposted from Amazon & Sonar4 (note: some spoiler alerts):
An Egyptian "What If?"
Every story is a "what if?" Writers are continually writing alternate histories of the world even if they seem identical to the world we inhabit. Ancient Egypt wavers in our minds between knowledge and imagination, fact and fiction, like waves of heat coming off the desert, is what we see real or mirage?
Secret of the Sands by Rai Aren and Tavius E has two stories running concurrently and that mirror each other. The first story is the of ancient Egypt before the Pyramids but not before the Sphinx. The "what if" in Secret of the Sands embraces the theory that the Sphinx is older than accepted dating based on the evidence that parts of the Sphinx show that at one time rain flowed over its body indicating that the Sphinx must have been built at a time when the Egyptian weather was much milder and wetter approximately 12,000 years ago. We're introduced to the kingdom of King Traeus and Queen Axiana and the extended royal family that lives in the palace. Traeus and Axiana are beloved rulers and the country is at peace. Traeus has plans to build what will become the Sphinx in honor of a legendary lion that saved an ancient king, it is to be a gift from the royal family to his people. Traeus is taken aback when at the Spring Ceremony, which honors the harvest, some of his subjects stage a protest and demand that Traeus reveal all of his plans to the people. There is also strife within Traeus' own household, Traeus' brother Prince Alaj and his wife Zazmaria are dissatisfied with the status quo of the lack of power Alaj has within the family, and the slights and deceit they perceive from Traeus. Zazmaria is easily seduced by the powerful enemy of Traeus, Lord Draxen. But the intriguers aren't wrong, Traeus himself does have a secret that he is hiding from everybody. He is building a secret chamber under the Sphinx (also rumored in our day and age to exist) to house some kind of machine called the Pharom. Traeus wants to harness the power of this machine to the benefit of his people.
The concurrent story is set in our world, the world of Mitch and Alexandra, they're lifelong friends and colleagues who are doing their field work on a dig near the Sphinx to earn their doctorates. They work for Professor Dustimaine a vainglorious man more interested in taking credit for the work and discoveries of others than doing any actual field work, except to berate the doctoral students into working harder and longer. One afternoon under the Egyptian sun Alex(andra) falls asleep and has a dream of an ancient chest with strange markings. The dream upsets her so much that she jumps up and runs until she trips over something in the sand, they dig it up to discover it's the chest Alex was dreaming about. Inside the chest they find two scrolls made of metal from a time that predated the iron age. They take the chest to their friends in the lab Jack and Bob, who provide the comic relief but they're skilled lab technicians and if they don't have the equipment they know other doctorial students who do have the right equipment. Together they discover a Rosetta Stone for the two scrolls found which are written in an ancient language and parts of it written in an archaic but more modern form of ancient Egyptian. Together they decide to keep the artifacts and their discoveries away from Professor Dustimaine until they can verify their findings, but each time they make a new discovery it pushes them on to a new discovery until they find the Pharom and activate the powerful machine.
I really enjoyed this book, the authors have a very natural style, that lets the reader feel as if they're witnessing the events as they unfold, it takes a certain amount of confidence and skill that usually takes a lifetime of writing to develop. The writers have the confidence to trust in their story to let the tension build, drawing the reader farther into the story and investing themselves into the outcome, and lets the reader discover things on their own. The writing fully involves the reader and you'll find yourself cheering the heroes, and wanting the villain(s) to get their comeuppance. The characters are vivid and palpable, especially Mitch and Alex, the camaraderie displayed by the two characters feels as if you're getting to know two real people. The same can be said for the descriptions, at times you can almost hear sand scrapping against rock.
I know there's a tradition in science fiction stories of not telling too much about technologies or tools that would be used everyday by the inhabitants of the world described. But I think the Pharom should have a little background on how it came to be in Traeus' possession, what he thinks it will do to benefit his subjects, and how he knows how to use the power. We are told the Pharom is given to man by an alien race, but we never see how that contact was made and why the aliens would give such a machine to a King of a primitive society. The Pharom is alien to Traeus and his people and would naturally invite explanation, these questions need answering, some are alluded to but that's mostly left for the reader to fill in the blanks. I think it's a little obvious throughout the book that a lot of things are being set up for a sequel, and that may be a little unfair for the reader because we're being intrigued and beguiled by elements that we aren't going to see brought to fruition by the end of the book. There's a planned sequel to Secret of the Sands but even a book with a planned sequel should give some answers to the reader be satisfied some of their questions and really to whet their appetite for the next book. But these are minor quibbles compared to all the overall quality and strengths of the book.
This is a beautifully written book and I enjoyed reading it very much, and that I would readily recommend to anyone looking for a good story to read.
--Jym Cherry, staff reviewer for Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror Ezine
Author's note on this review (additional spoiler alerts): the comment on why aliens gave this technology to the King - this is not the case, the technology was developed by the King and the aliens are not a 'separate' part of this story... ;)
"Rai Aren and Tavius E. have crafted a fast-paced, exciting novel overflowing with mystery and intrigue. The tension is constant. The characters fully developed. And the plot gripping. Ancient history and present day relevance are so expertly intertwined, that you might forget you are reading a work of fiction." -- Thomas Phillips, author of The Molech Prophecy
"A deep probing mystery riddled with prophecy and danger, Secret of the Sands uses Egypt and her mythology as a backdrop to delve into the meanings of life and religion." -McNally Robinson
"We are a Free Science Fiction and Horror Monthly Ezine that accepts submissions all year long of Short Stories, Flashes, Micros. We also do reviews and author interviews."
Here is the link to their website, be sure to check out all of their cool content!
Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror Ezine
At the end of the review, I have included an author's comment, which I thought important to share.
We are also being checked out by Hollywood for a future movie version of the book, so we hope to see you on the big screen in the not-too-distant future! (in IMAX & 3D!!)
Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands
Reposted from Amazon & Sonar4 (note: some spoiler alerts):
An Egyptian "What If?"
Every story is a "what if?" Writers are continually writing alternate histories of the world even if they seem identical to the world we inhabit. Ancient Egypt wavers in our minds between knowledge and imagination, fact and fiction, like waves of heat coming off the desert, is what we see real or mirage?
Secret of the Sands by Rai Aren and Tavius E has two stories running concurrently and that mirror each other. The first story is the of ancient Egypt before the Pyramids but not before the Sphinx. The "what if" in Secret of the Sands embraces the theory that the Sphinx is older than accepted dating based on the evidence that parts of the Sphinx show that at one time rain flowed over its body indicating that the Sphinx must have been built at a time when the Egyptian weather was much milder and wetter approximately 12,000 years ago. We're introduced to the kingdom of King Traeus and Queen Axiana and the extended royal family that lives in the palace. Traeus and Axiana are beloved rulers and the country is at peace. Traeus has plans to build what will become the Sphinx in honor of a legendary lion that saved an ancient king, it is to be a gift from the royal family to his people. Traeus is taken aback when at the Spring Ceremony, which honors the harvest, some of his subjects stage a protest and demand that Traeus reveal all of his plans to the people. There is also strife within Traeus' own household, Traeus' brother Prince Alaj and his wife Zazmaria are dissatisfied with the status quo of the lack of power Alaj has within the family, and the slights and deceit they perceive from Traeus. Zazmaria is easily seduced by the powerful enemy of Traeus, Lord Draxen. But the intriguers aren't wrong, Traeus himself does have a secret that he is hiding from everybody. He is building a secret chamber under the Sphinx (also rumored in our day and age to exist) to house some kind of machine called the Pharom. Traeus wants to harness the power of this machine to the benefit of his people.
The concurrent story is set in our world, the world of Mitch and Alexandra, they're lifelong friends and colleagues who are doing their field work on a dig near the Sphinx to earn their doctorates. They work for Professor Dustimaine a vainglorious man more interested in taking credit for the work and discoveries of others than doing any actual field work, except to berate the doctoral students into working harder and longer. One afternoon under the Egyptian sun Alex(andra) falls asleep and has a dream of an ancient chest with strange markings. The dream upsets her so much that she jumps up and runs until she trips over something in the sand, they dig it up to discover it's the chest Alex was dreaming about. Inside the chest they find two scrolls made of metal from a time that predated the iron age. They take the chest to their friends in the lab Jack and Bob, who provide the comic relief but they're skilled lab technicians and if they don't have the equipment they know other doctorial students who do have the right equipment. Together they discover a Rosetta Stone for the two scrolls found which are written in an ancient language and parts of it written in an archaic but more modern form of ancient Egyptian. Together they decide to keep the artifacts and their discoveries away from Professor Dustimaine until they can verify their findings, but each time they make a new discovery it pushes them on to a new discovery until they find the Pharom and activate the powerful machine.
I really enjoyed this book, the authors have a very natural style, that lets the reader feel as if they're witnessing the events as they unfold, it takes a certain amount of confidence and skill that usually takes a lifetime of writing to develop. The writers have the confidence to trust in their story to let the tension build, drawing the reader farther into the story and investing themselves into the outcome, and lets the reader discover things on their own. The writing fully involves the reader and you'll find yourself cheering the heroes, and wanting the villain(s) to get their comeuppance. The characters are vivid and palpable, especially Mitch and Alex, the camaraderie displayed by the two characters feels as if you're getting to know two real people. The same can be said for the descriptions, at times you can almost hear sand scrapping against rock.
I know there's a tradition in science fiction stories of not telling too much about technologies or tools that would be used everyday by the inhabitants of the world described. But I think the Pharom should have a little background on how it came to be in Traeus' possession, what he thinks it will do to benefit his subjects, and how he knows how to use the power. We are told the Pharom is given to man by an alien race, but we never see how that contact was made and why the aliens would give such a machine to a King of a primitive society. The Pharom is alien to Traeus and his people and would naturally invite explanation, these questions need answering, some are alluded to but that's mostly left for the reader to fill in the blanks. I think it's a little obvious throughout the book that a lot of things are being set up for a sequel, and that may be a little unfair for the reader because we're being intrigued and beguiled by elements that we aren't going to see brought to fruition by the end of the book. There's a planned sequel to Secret of the Sands but even a book with a planned sequel should give some answers to the reader be satisfied some of their questions and really to whet their appetite for the next book. But these are minor quibbles compared to all the overall quality and strengths of the book.
This is a beautifully written book and I enjoyed reading it very much, and that I would readily recommend to anyone looking for a good story to read.
--Jym Cherry, staff reviewer for Sonar4 Science Fiction & Horror Ezine
Author's note on this review (additional spoiler alerts): the comment on why aliens gave this technology to the King - this is not the case, the technology was developed by the King and the aliens are not a 'separate' part of this story... ;)
"Rai Aren and Tavius E. have crafted a fast-paced, exciting novel overflowing with mystery and intrigue. The tension is constant. The characters fully developed. And the plot gripping. Ancient history and present day relevance are so expertly intertwined, that you might forget you are reading a work of fiction." -- Thomas Phillips, author of The Molech Prophecy
"A deep probing mystery riddled with prophecy and danger, Secret of the Sands uses Egypt and her mythology as a backdrop to delve into the meanings of life and religion." -McNally Robinson
No comments have been added yet.
