Friday, June 12, 2015

Corr Syl the Terrible by Garry Rogers (Spotlight, Excerpt, Review and GIVEAWAY) GFT










Corr Syl the Terrible
by Garry Rogers



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BLURB:



When Corr Syl's friend and fellow warrior Rhya Bright is betrayed by the lynx descendent Able Remington, Corr tracks Rhya to the heart of the enemy Taoso nation ruled by the ruthless Minister Ya Zhōu, a Human who commands a secret network of Tsaeb spies and assassins. Reactivating an ancient warcraft known as Z99, Corr sets out to save Rhya, who has her own plans for escape. As he scours the planet and sees the destruction caused by carelessness and selfishness, Corr realizes that he wants to be more than a fighter. Corr Syl the Terrible is the story of a brave young warrior who must decide if he is more than the swords he carries.





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EXCERPT

During the ten-million years of war following the dinosaur extinction, Tsaeb warriors had built flying warcraft. One of them sat in the catacombs beneath the Continental Center Museum. Corr’s teacher, Halbert Sims, assumed the plane used antimatter power. Antimatter engines exhausted super-hot air that would add a problem to the complex concerns of the Tsaeb gleaners who cared for the land. No Tsaeb wanted that.



However, Rhya was an important person. Her need justified the plane’s use—if it still worked. Corr called the museum, introduced himself to the curator, and asked if he could use the old aircraft.



“Of course you can use the craft. Anyone can, but you are the first to ask while I have been here. I remember seeing a warrior symbol on the side, so I guess it belonged to the warrior guild. Let me look it up.”



While he searched for the craft’s records, the curator said, “Corr, the old warcraft is mysterious. Warriors must have built it near the end of the Age of War. It’s the oldest relic in the museum. I saw it when I started working here—it looked shiny and new. Ah, here’s the access number. I have to go to the vault.”



A few minutes later, the curator said, “I found a folder, but there’s nothing in it except a sheet of blue material inscribed with two lines. The first line says ‘Key’ followed by a series of letters and numbers. The second line says ‘Designation: IOZ-1899.’




Amazon



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AUTHOR Bio and Links:


Garry Rogers is an advocate for wildlife and nature conservation. A former professor at Columbia University in New York City and author of the award-winning Arizona Wildlife Notebook, Dr. Garry Rogers has appeared on NPR and PBS, and he is often invited to meet with library and school reading groups to discuss his work. His first novel, Corr Syl the Warrior received the Kirkus Star, and won Arizona Librarians’ OneBookAZ contest (2014—teen category).



Corr Syl the Terrible (paperback: $9.95, 120 pages, 6 x 9, ISBN: . EBook: $2.99, ISBN: ) will be available at neighborhood and online bookstores on May 2, 2015. Excerpts and an advance reading copy are available at garryrogers.com (http://garryrogers.com/corr-syl-the-terrible).




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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION



Garry Rogers will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.





a Rafflecopter giveaway


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REVIEW

 
3.5 out of 5 stars

“Corr Syl the Terrible” by Garry Rogers is a young adult science fiction and fantasy novel that is set on a version of Earth that includes animals who are intelligent and known as Tsaeb. Two of these beings are Corr Syl and Rhya Bright, warriors descended from rabbits, who are human-shaped yet retain many of the characteristics of their species.  Unfortunately, Corr is not so sure he can overcome the conflict between his instincts and his training as a warrior but when Rhya  is threatened because of her work in Human psychochemistry to help humans achieve multiple thoughtstreams, he finds a way to rescue her, with the help of a remarkable ship, and they strive to make the OFTA (Organization for Fair Treatment for All) a reality, not a sham. 

This fun, imaginative story blends creative elements based on elements of nature with familiar themes from science fiction tales.  There are quite a few different threads mixed together in a somewhat chaotic action stream and it seems like there is just a bit too much crammed into too short of a story, but the underlying messages make this a thought-provoking tale.  I am not fond of constantly shifting points of view as I find it a little disconcerting, and I wished that some of the events had a little more background or exposition.  There is a brief appendix at the end that gives a quick recap of some of the names and places from the story, which may help somewhat to remind the reader of a few of the details.  I have not read the first story in the series, so perhaps that would have made this one flow a little smoother for me but this is still an entertaining light read.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review

17 comments:

  1. Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

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    1. I use a combination of outline and process. I like to have a general outline containing the science arguments, conflict, characters, and setting. After that, the story goes where it will. The details and resolution have to be comfortable (logical and reasonable), but in the beginning they are unpredictable.

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    2. Nice question, Mai. Thanks for visiting! Interesting method, Garry, thank you for sharing, I bet your story surprises you with its twists and turns sometimes, then!

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  2. What an excerpt~I can’t wait to read it! Thank you for sharing and for the contest!

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    1. Thank you!
      BTW, a revision is underway. The corrected book will be available in a few days.

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    2. Glad you enjoyed it, Betty! Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

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  3. This sounds like a really exciting sci fi adventure. Loved the excerpt.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Jane. Thank you for visiting!

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  4. Enjoyed the excerpt and the review, sounds like a good book, thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you. I think the plot's okay, but the action scenes are getting a little editing. Should be complete in a few days.

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    2. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Eva! (and it sounds like you are very busy, Garry!)

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