BOOK I
THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES
FIREBORN FOUND
Available in original Trade Paperback & Author's Edition Ebook & Print
THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES
FIREBORN FOUND
Available in original Trade Paperback & Author's Edition Ebook & Print
This is book 1 of the series. It contains three short stories which introduce the main characters as they are recruited to the Nemesis Team. Then in a novella-length mission, they meet another and their real adventure begins.
PART FOUR: CHAPTER 1
pages 76-85
PART FOUR: CHAPTER 1
pages 76-85
The Nemesis sat silent and still within the cool confines of Station 15's docking bay. Commander Kree, for the fifth time, studied its black hull on the view screen as if that would make something happen--it didn't. His antennae twitched, and his pod-shaped body shifted in a futile attempt to get comfortable behind this unfamiliar desk. He stood up and allowed his back plates to realign naturally before looking around the barren little room again. It was only meant to provide an antechamber for the interrogation room across from where he now stood. Kree was getting annoyed. He dropped down into the awful chair again and tried to brace himself against the desk.
This Dark Ops Team had docked over an hour ago, graced him with a brief notification to expect their operative and then nothing. He glanced at the view screen again. Still nothing. They're doing this on purpose, he finally decided, that's what happens when you allow specialists to team up and write their own rules; no respect for decorum. He shifted again and considered sending for his own office chair. At least then he could be comfortable.
The intercom buzzed. "Someone's coming, Commander."
Kree looked again at the monitor and gasped. He fumbled with the screen's controls; zooming in to examine the tall, lean figure finally emerging from the dark ship. A flowing, full-length robe and hood concealed most of his features. Kree leaned toward the screen and squinted. He activated the zoom; the sleek black gauntlets of a Government Wall Master filled his screen. Kree shivered and returned the picture to its normal size. When did Dark Ops start accepting Psionic operatives into their elite corps? he wondered, and how could anyone trust a Wall Master away from Wall security?
Kree watched the station's nervous escort try to maintain a safe distance from his charge. Busy corridors emptied at the Wall Master's approach. Kree sighed. It had been such a relief to everyone when the Universal Government had finally rounded up all the Psions and confined them to controlled service agencies like The Wall. Kree leaned back and switched off the view screen. At least the waiting is over now, he thought. The office door chimed. Flexing his mandibles in a last attempt to compose himself, Kree tapped his claw on the desk to allow entrance.
The door whooshed open, revealing only the dark figure. Apparently, his guide had opted not to stay for niceties and had made his escape. The Agent paused at the entryway, his multifaceted eyes glittering ominously from deep within the dark hood. He briefly scanned the small room before allowing his gaze to rest on the commander. With a slight bow the stranger placed his right hand over where most humanoid hearts were supposed to be. Kree recognized the ancient and time-honored salute of service as well as the crimson flash of the agent's Dark Ops ID insignia activating across the back of his glove. All Psionics wore gloves but only special operatives were implanted with this form of ID.
Rising, Kree motioned the Agent to enter, but kept the desk between them, unwilling to take the chance of physical contact. He had grown used to humanoids long ago but telempaths--as rare as they were--scared him. "Greetings Agent," he began, "I am Station Commander Kree." He tapped nervously on the desktop again and motioned toward the door across the room. The viewing portal hissed to life, revealing its lone occupant within.
The Agent allowed his hood to slide to his shoulders as he started toward the chamber door. He seemed barely in his prime, with raven black hair long enough to be tied back in corporate style, but Kree was mostly taken aback by his cold, slate blue eyes. They were crystal-like. One in ten trillion were the odds of such eyes in any species, and they always marked a rogue talent.
Kree had never seen a Wall Master in person so he watched in silence as the young man passed; finding it mildly unnerving that, though this Dark Ops Agent was easily six feet tall, his movements were, somehow, fluid and unnatural, almost surreal.
The Agent halted before the antechamber's viewing portal and scrutinized its occupant: a humanoid, middle aged and slightly balding. The man in the tiny room lay tightly secured to a medical gurney, staring aimlessly at the ceiling and occasionally emitting a low and sorrowful moan.
"This man is important to peace in three solar systems," Kree finally stated from the safety of his desk. "Edward Dash, a Universal Government Ambassador First Class on an Ops assignment. Tanivol's local law found him like this in a red-light district. His ship's log claimed he was stopping for supplies, but he had just come from the Salidaco Station on Renata for repairs. That's only a couple of planets away."
The Agent spoke softly, never looking away from the door's view screen, "I know." He reached out and released the lock. "We received the reports with the assignment." As the door clicked open, he paused before it. "Allow no one to enter this room until I have left. If anything goes wrong, contact the commander of the Nemesis immediately." He stepped into the room and allowed the door to close behind him.
Kree dropped back into his seat. He could absolutely guarantee that if anything went wrong no one would enter that room. In fact, there was not enough bonus pay in the galaxy to get him in there with a Dark Ops Wall Master. He tapped the computer readout screen to replay the Agent's ID information. "Ira Haze," he spoke the name aloud, and activating the small room's surveillance cameras, he settled back to watch.
* * * *
Agent Ira Haze stood with his back to the door until the room's lighting dimmed to a soft glow. Slipping off his gloves, he set them on a tabletop and calmly moved toward the man on the gurney.
Kree cringed from his vantage point, knowing full well that flesh-to-flesh contact would complete a psychic circuit between the two of them and allow an unnatural union of their minds. It was said that a Wall Master could rewrite, control and supplant a man's will to his own ends, among other things. That was why PSI operatives always wore gloves.
The ambassador whimpered and strained against his restraints, completely unaware of the Wall Master looming over him. Ira paused. His body bracing for the inevitable assault that contact would bring, he reached out and touched the ambassador's hand.
Reeling forward, the Wall Master almost collapsed upon contact. Kree shuddered again at the sight of the two locked together. It was...unnatural. The ambassador's wailing ceased. The room grew deathly silent as both men froze, suspended in mid-motion.
Kree watched them like this for a very long time.
Then, unexpectedly, the room's lighting flared, and the young agent, trembling and gasping, pulled away from the ambassador. He stumbled halfway toward the door before his legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees.
Kree reached for the com-link and called the Nemesis.
* * * *
Ira startled awake to find himself staring at an all too familiar ceiling. He was in the Nemesis sickbay, again. He reached up and rubbed his forehead lightly as if that would quiet the thunderous roaring in his head. It had been difficult to explain this degree of sensory overload to either of his teammates. Even the healer was unable to relate, but at least Laynald had left the lights dimmed this time.
As his reeling senses gave way to a dull ache, he closed his eyes and focused on just breathing, easing the physical trauma enough to allow his memories to coalesce and become defined. The captain would be anxious to hear what he had learned.
Eventually, Ira struggled to sit up, rolling his legs over the examination table's edge, pausing long enough to suppress a wave of nausea. Gingerly, his mind reached out. Isolating the tiny wisps of energy that led to the room's lighting control, he joined with them and ever so lightly pushed. The room brightened to a normal level.
Laynald Lockheim sat across the room from him with his feet propped up on a med kit box. "I love that trick, Ira. Are you sure you can't teach me how to do that?"
Ira sighed and grinned back at him before sliding off the table. "I'm afraid you just don't seem to have what it takes, Doc." He tested his legs to make sure they would hold him.
Laynald sat quietly, gauging his progress. "How about you?" he asked. "Are you ready for debriefing yet? The captain really wants to hear what happened."
"I'm sure he does," Ira answered softly. He slipped off the long black robe, revealing the equally black shirt and pants that this team wore as a uniform. He draped it across the table. "How long was I unconscious this time?"
"About an hour," Laynald answered, "I thought this was supposed to be a touch and go."
"Yeah, so did I." Ira paused to straighten and fasten back his long dark hair. "That damned robe always messes up my hair," he complained.
Laynald grinned at the young man's obvious change of subject but played along anyway. "Rael says if we hurry we can eat dinner with him, but he'll not be waiting much longer for us."
Ira looked over at the old man. "Why do you always look sinister when you smile?" He glanced around the room, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"Just another byproduct of my misspent youth, I guess. Oh, you might want these," Laynald tossed a pair of dark gloves to him.
Ira caught them in midair and slid them on. "Thanks," he said. "I was wondering where they were."
"You really need to stop leaving them lying around, you know." The healer got up and headed for the door. "Well, since it looks like you got both your legs and your appetite back, let's go."
Ira joined him. A short walk down the corridor brought them to the common room. Team commander, Rael Pointe, greeted them from the table across the room. "Ah, at last." He motioned Ira to join him. "I've already set you up with something to eat, kid." He smiled warmly and pointed out three still steaming plates of food sitting across from his own. "Figured you'd be ravenous, judging from the way you looked earlier."
Ira pulled up a chair across from his captain. "Don't call me kid," he answered, allowing his soft voice to trail off as he succumbed to an overwhelming need to eat. He hadn't realized he was so hungry.
Rael looked over a steaming cup of coffee and smiled again. "I'll do that, kid, soon as I stop having to pick you up off the floor."
Ira grimaced, returning his full attention to his food.
Laynald ignored them and headed straight toward the meal processing units that lined the wall behind them. Since his first day aboard Nemesis, he had insisted on making his own meals. Though Rael had complained and harassed him about his paranoia, eventually he had managed to convince the small team that old habits died harder than new partners.
Choosing a hearty meal for himself, Laynald rejoined the others in time to see Ira's appetite finally sated. He placed a steaming mug in front of him. "Made this for you. Drink it while it's hot, and it won't taste bad, but you will drink it--all of it--Doctor's orders."
Ira, finishing his plate, reached for the hot mug and drank deep. This particular concoction actually tasted good for a change, and it was supposed to help replenish...whatever Doc said it replenished. Ira smiled. They didn't call him a healer for nothing, but even if it didn't work, he would have drunk it any way. Laynald was not one to be trifled with. Ira leaned back to sip on the hot draught at his leisure. As always the food and rest had finally soothed his senses from the ordeal.
Laynald assessed Ira's condition from his seat at the table's end. "So," he finally asked, "what happened over there? That station commander sure was worried that we'd blame him for your condition. It took Rael fifteen minutes to calm him down. I had to damn near drag your young carcass all the way back to the ship. You know nobody volunteered to help either."
Rael smiled from across the table but did not intervene. The old healer had just, officially, declared Ira fit to proceed with the debriefing.
Ira sighed. He never relished having to relive one of these episodes, and this time there would not be enough for the commander to plug into. He set the cup down and began, "I linked with the ambassador without any problem, but as I reached out to calm him, I sensed...another presence. Someone else was already in union with him in a way that I've never seen before. It's hard to describe. Their resonances were slightly out of sync, like feeling two heartbeats instead of one. I assumed that the ambassador's was the strongest one so I allowed myself to sink deeper into that one. I followed it to its core, hoping to purge the intruder by adding my strength to his. But as I phased into the other's mind and senses, I realized that I was not joined with the ambassador at all. Instead of seeing myself standing over him in that room, I saw darkness. And there was a searing pain, cycling over and over and over again. I heard, no, felt a woman's cries, but nothing more."
Ira paused, trying to banish his own childhood memories of PSI training sessions. "It was a...a disruptor...a neural disruptor. She is being tortured, Captain, and the ambassador is completely in sync with her. I couldn't do a damned thing to help either of them. In fact, it was all I could do to rip myself away from her."
Rael leaned forward, trying to ignore the young man's haunted eyes. Even their jewel-like glimmering in the ship's lighting could not detract from his torment. "But you were able to find her, right?" Rael asked, "Was there anything that I could latch onto with the compu-link?"
Ira shook his head, "There were no visuals, none at all, only the disrupter." He winced again at the memory of it. "Neural disruptors are the accepted tool-of-choice used to manage Psionic services, you know. It pretty much scalds the senses," he continued. "I heard her scream and felt her pain. That's all."
Rael pushed his chair away from the table and frowned. "I think we've stumbled onto a PSI ring here. Is there anything you can do for the ambassador, Ira?"
Ira shook his head, "Not a thing," he said. "They're both being held hostage. So maybe, if we can find her, she might be able to help us--maybe. But we don't have enough to go on now, do we?"
Laynald looked up from the thick steak on his plate, "We have the planet, the city and the location where the ambassador was found. He is an important Gov agent being held hostage, and he was not killed or detained. Sounds like a specially engraved invitation to me." He returned his attention to the meal.
Rael considered this. "Nemesis: Commander Kree, please--audio only."
From across the room a large, blank wall screen activated. Kree's voice answered, "This is Kree."
"Pointe here. Commander, secure your patient and await our return."
"Understood," Kree replied.
"We embark immediately. Nemesis out." The com disconnected. Rael paused; from beneath shaggy silver hair his temple implants glimmered for a moment longer as he silently set the ship's course.
Rael gathered empty plates and utensils from the table and reloaded them into their compartments. The sterilizer hummed. "I'll link up to The Hive and compu-scan the destination." Laynald looked at him expectantly. "Yes, yes, yes, I'll forward you the biology and botany info, Laynald."
Ira slumped back in his chair and finished off his drink. "It's a pleasure planet Laynald, so the biology's going to be pretty diverse."
"Hmm, guess I'll have to stick to neural tranquilizer type ammo then, just in case." Laynald had that sinister look on his face again. He loved a good hunt--the more dangerous the better. Ira wondered again at how any one person could be both healer and assassin so easily, but Laynald had told him long ago that the only difference between the two was perspective.
Rael turned his attention to Ira again. "Don't worry, kid," he said. "We've got more to work with than you'd think. Tanivol is where she's at, and we should be able to backtrack the ambassador's trail easily enough with local crowd scan records. Neural disrupter systems have traceable signatures too, and they cause recognizable power drains, not to mention that they require special facilities for that kind of use. We'll find whoever she is, but if she's as strong as you say, give some thought to how we're going to control her once we get her."
Laynald rose and cleared his dishes away too. "Well, we know she's susceptible to disruption--"
Ira scowled. "I'd hope we could do better than the scum controlling her now."
Rael started for the door. "It's nice to have options, kid. Planet-fall is in six hours. Use it well." He left the room.
* * * *
END OF CHAPTER
This Dark Ops Team had docked over an hour ago, graced him with a brief notification to expect their operative and then nothing. He glanced at the view screen again. Still nothing. They're doing this on purpose, he finally decided, that's what happens when you allow specialists to team up and write their own rules; no respect for decorum. He shifted again and considered sending for his own office chair. At least then he could be comfortable.
The intercom buzzed. "Someone's coming, Commander."
Kree looked again at the monitor and gasped. He fumbled with the screen's controls; zooming in to examine the tall, lean figure finally emerging from the dark ship. A flowing, full-length robe and hood concealed most of his features. Kree leaned toward the screen and squinted. He activated the zoom; the sleek black gauntlets of a Government Wall Master filled his screen. Kree shivered and returned the picture to its normal size. When did Dark Ops start accepting Psionic operatives into their elite corps? he wondered, and how could anyone trust a Wall Master away from Wall security?
Kree watched the station's nervous escort try to maintain a safe distance from his charge. Busy corridors emptied at the Wall Master's approach. Kree sighed. It had been such a relief to everyone when the Universal Government had finally rounded up all the Psions and confined them to controlled service agencies like The Wall. Kree leaned back and switched off the view screen. At least the waiting is over now, he thought. The office door chimed. Flexing his mandibles in a last attempt to compose himself, Kree tapped his claw on the desk to allow entrance.
The door whooshed open, revealing only the dark figure. Apparently, his guide had opted not to stay for niceties and had made his escape. The Agent paused at the entryway, his multifaceted eyes glittering ominously from deep within the dark hood. He briefly scanned the small room before allowing his gaze to rest on the commander. With a slight bow the stranger placed his right hand over where most humanoid hearts were supposed to be. Kree recognized the ancient and time-honored salute of service as well as the crimson flash of the agent's Dark Ops ID insignia activating across the back of his glove. All Psionics wore gloves but only special operatives were implanted with this form of ID.
Rising, Kree motioned the Agent to enter, but kept the desk between them, unwilling to take the chance of physical contact. He had grown used to humanoids long ago but telempaths--as rare as they were--scared him. "Greetings Agent," he began, "I am Station Commander Kree." He tapped nervously on the desktop again and motioned toward the door across the room. The viewing portal hissed to life, revealing its lone occupant within.
The Agent allowed his hood to slide to his shoulders as he started toward the chamber door. He seemed barely in his prime, with raven black hair long enough to be tied back in corporate style, but Kree was mostly taken aback by his cold, slate blue eyes. They were crystal-like. One in ten trillion were the odds of such eyes in any species, and they always marked a rogue talent.
Kree had never seen a Wall Master in person so he watched in silence as the young man passed; finding it mildly unnerving that, though this Dark Ops Agent was easily six feet tall, his movements were, somehow, fluid and unnatural, almost surreal.
The Agent halted before the antechamber's viewing portal and scrutinized its occupant: a humanoid, middle aged and slightly balding. The man in the tiny room lay tightly secured to a medical gurney, staring aimlessly at the ceiling and occasionally emitting a low and sorrowful moan.
"This man is important to peace in three solar systems," Kree finally stated from the safety of his desk. "Edward Dash, a Universal Government Ambassador First Class on an Ops assignment. Tanivol's local law found him like this in a red-light district. His ship's log claimed he was stopping for supplies, but he had just come from the Salidaco Station on Renata for repairs. That's only a couple of planets away."
The Agent spoke softly, never looking away from the door's view screen, "I know." He reached out and released the lock. "We received the reports with the assignment." As the door clicked open, he paused before it. "Allow no one to enter this room until I have left. If anything goes wrong, contact the commander of the Nemesis immediately." He stepped into the room and allowed the door to close behind him.
Kree dropped back into his seat. He could absolutely guarantee that if anything went wrong no one would enter that room. In fact, there was not enough bonus pay in the galaxy to get him in there with a Dark Ops Wall Master. He tapped the computer readout screen to replay the Agent's ID information. "Ira Haze," he spoke the name aloud, and activating the small room's surveillance cameras, he settled back to watch.
* * * *
Agent Ira Haze stood with his back to the door until the room's lighting dimmed to a soft glow. Slipping off his gloves, he set them on a tabletop and calmly moved toward the man on the gurney.
Kree cringed from his vantage point, knowing full well that flesh-to-flesh contact would complete a psychic circuit between the two of them and allow an unnatural union of their minds. It was said that a Wall Master could rewrite, control and supplant a man's will to his own ends, among other things. That was why PSI operatives always wore gloves.
The ambassador whimpered and strained against his restraints, completely unaware of the Wall Master looming over him. Ira paused. His body bracing for the inevitable assault that contact would bring, he reached out and touched the ambassador's hand.
Reeling forward, the Wall Master almost collapsed upon contact. Kree shuddered again at the sight of the two locked together. It was...unnatural. The ambassador's wailing ceased. The room grew deathly silent as both men froze, suspended in mid-motion.
Kree watched them like this for a very long time.
Then, unexpectedly, the room's lighting flared, and the young agent, trembling and gasping, pulled away from the ambassador. He stumbled halfway toward the door before his legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees.
Kree reached for the com-link and called the Nemesis.
* * * *
Ira startled awake to find himself staring at an all too familiar ceiling. He was in the Nemesis sickbay, again. He reached up and rubbed his forehead lightly as if that would quiet the thunderous roaring in his head. It had been difficult to explain this degree of sensory overload to either of his teammates. Even the healer was unable to relate, but at least Laynald had left the lights dimmed this time.
As his reeling senses gave way to a dull ache, he closed his eyes and focused on just breathing, easing the physical trauma enough to allow his memories to coalesce and become defined. The captain would be anxious to hear what he had learned.
Eventually, Ira struggled to sit up, rolling his legs over the examination table's edge, pausing long enough to suppress a wave of nausea. Gingerly, his mind reached out. Isolating the tiny wisps of energy that led to the room's lighting control, he joined with them and ever so lightly pushed. The room brightened to a normal level.
Laynald Lockheim sat across the room from him with his feet propped up on a med kit box. "I love that trick, Ira. Are you sure you can't teach me how to do that?"
Ira sighed and grinned back at him before sliding off the table. "I'm afraid you just don't seem to have what it takes, Doc." He tested his legs to make sure they would hold him.
Laynald sat quietly, gauging his progress. "How about you?" he asked. "Are you ready for debriefing yet? The captain really wants to hear what happened."
"I'm sure he does," Ira answered softly. He slipped off the long black robe, revealing the equally black shirt and pants that this team wore as a uniform. He draped it across the table. "How long was I unconscious this time?"
"About an hour," Laynald answered, "I thought this was supposed to be a touch and go."
"Yeah, so did I." Ira paused to straighten and fasten back his long dark hair. "That damned robe always messes up my hair," he complained.
Laynald grinned at the young man's obvious change of subject but played along anyway. "Rael says if we hurry we can eat dinner with him, but he'll not be waiting much longer for us."
Ira looked over at the old man. "Why do you always look sinister when you smile?" He glanced around the room, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"Just another byproduct of my misspent youth, I guess. Oh, you might want these," Laynald tossed a pair of dark gloves to him.
Ira caught them in midair and slid them on. "Thanks," he said. "I was wondering where they were."
"You really need to stop leaving them lying around, you know." The healer got up and headed for the door. "Well, since it looks like you got both your legs and your appetite back, let's go."
Ira joined him. A short walk down the corridor brought them to the common room. Team commander, Rael Pointe, greeted them from the table across the room. "Ah, at last." He motioned Ira to join him. "I've already set you up with something to eat, kid." He smiled warmly and pointed out three still steaming plates of food sitting across from his own. "Figured you'd be ravenous, judging from the way you looked earlier."
Ira pulled up a chair across from his captain. "Don't call me kid," he answered, allowing his soft voice to trail off as he succumbed to an overwhelming need to eat. He hadn't realized he was so hungry.
Rael looked over a steaming cup of coffee and smiled again. "I'll do that, kid, soon as I stop having to pick you up off the floor."
Ira grimaced, returning his full attention to his food.
Laynald ignored them and headed straight toward the meal processing units that lined the wall behind them. Since his first day aboard Nemesis, he had insisted on making his own meals. Though Rael had complained and harassed him about his paranoia, eventually he had managed to convince the small team that old habits died harder than new partners.
Choosing a hearty meal for himself, Laynald rejoined the others in time to see Ira's appetite finally sated. He placed a steaming mug in front of him. "Made this for you. Drink it while it's hot, and it won't taste bad, but you will drink it--all of it--Doctor's orders."
Ira, finishing his plate, reached for the hot mug and drank deep. This particular concoction actually tasted good for a change, and it was supposed to help replenish...whatever Doc said it replenished. Ira smiled. They didn't call him a healer for nothing, but even if it didn't work, he would have drunk it any way. Laynald was not one to be trifled with. Ira leaned back to sip on the hot draught at his leisure. As always the food and rest had finally soothed his senses from the ordeal.
Laynald assessed Ira's condition from his seat at the table's end. "So," he finally asked, "what happened over there? That station commander sure was worried that we'd blame him for your condition. It took Rael fifteen minutes to calm him down. I had to damn near drag your young carcass all the way back to the ship. You know nobody volunteered to help either."
Rael smiled from across the table but did not intervene. The old healer had just, officially, declared Ira fit to proceed with the debriefing.
Ira sighed. He never relished having to relive one of these episodes, and this time there would not be enough for the commander to plug into. He set the cup down and began, "I linked with the ambassador without any problem, but as I reached out to calm him, I sensed...another presence. Someone else was already in union with him in a way that I've never seen before. It's hard to describe. Their resonances were slightly out of sync, like feeling two heartbeats instead of one. I assumed that the ambassador's was the strongest one so I allowed myself to sink deeper into that one. I followed it to its core, hoping to purge the intruder by adding my strength to his. But as I phased into the other's mind and senses, I realized that I was not joined with the ambassador at all. Instead of seeing myself standing over him in that room, I saw darkness. And there was a searing pain, cycling over and over and over again. I heard, no, felt a woman's cries, but nothing more."
Ira paused, trying to banish his own childhood memories of PSI training sessions. "It was a...a disruptor...a neural disruptor. She is being tortured, Captain, and the ambassador is completely in sync with her. I couldn't do a damned thing to help either of them. In fact, it was all I could do to rip myself away from her."
Rael leaned forward, trying to ignore the young man's haunted eyes. Even their jewel-like glimmering in the ship's lighting could not detract from his torment. "But you were able to find her, right?" Rael asked, "Was there anything that I could latch onto with the compu-link?"
Ira shook his head, "There were no visuals, none at all, only the disrupter." He winced again at the memory of it. "Neural disruptors are the accepted tool-of-choice used to manage Psionic services, you know. It pretty much scalds the senses," he continued. "I heard her scream and felt her pain. That's all."
Rael pushed his chair away from the table and frowned. "I think we've stumbled onto a PSI ring here. Is there anything you can do for the ambassador, Ira?"
Ira shook his head, "Not a thing," he said. "They're both being held hostage. So maybe, if we can find her, she might be able to help us--maybe. But we don't have enough to go on now, do we?"
Laynald looked up from the thick steak on his plate, "We have the planet, the city and the location where the ambassador was found. He is an important Gov agent being held hostage, and he was not killed or detained. Sounds like a specially engraved invitation to me." He returned his attention to the meal.
Rael considered this. "Nemesis: Commander Kree, please--audio only."
From across the room a large, blank wall screen activated. Kree's voice answered, "This is Kree."
"Pointe here. Commander, secure your patient and await our return."
"Understood," Kree replied.
"We embark immediately. Nemesis out." The com disconnected. Rael paused; from beneath shaggy silver hair his temple implants glimmered for a moment longer as he silently set the ship's course.
Rael gathered empty plates and utensils from the table and reloaded them into their compartments. The sterilizer hummed. "I'll link up to The Hive and compu-scan the destination." Laynald looked at him expectantly. "Yes, yes, yes, I'll forward you the biology and botany info, Laynald."
Ira slumped back in his chair and finished off his drink. "It's a pleasure planet Laynald, so the biology's going to be pretty diverse."
"Hmm, guess I'll have to stick to neural tranquilizer type ammo then, just in case." Laynald had that sinister look on his face again. He loved a good hunt--the more dangerous the better. Ira wondered again at how any one person could be both healer and assassin so easily, but Laynald had told him long ago that the only difference between the two was perspective.
Rael turned his attention to Ira again. "Don't worry, kid," he said. "We've got more to work with than you'd think. Tanivol is where she's at, and we should be able to backtrack the ambassador's trail easily enough with local crowd scan records. Neural disrupter systems have traceable signatures too, and they cause recognizable power drains, not to mention that they require special facilities for that kind of use. We'll find whoever she is, but if she's as strong as you say, give some thought to how we're going to control her once we get her."
Laynald rose and cleared his dishes away too. "Well, we know she's susceptible to disruption--"
Ira scowled. "I'd hope we could do better than the scum controlling her now."
Rael started for the door. "It's nice to have options, kid. Planet-fall is in six hours. Use it well." He left the room.
* * * *
END OF CHAPTER
Original cover art by Laura Diehl
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New cover and interior art by Kathleen Cavazos
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http://www.ldiehl.com/
New cover and interior art by Kathleen Cavazos
http://rynjenji.deviantart.com/gallery/
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Cover & internal artwork by Kathleen Cavazos: http://rynjenji.deviantart.com/gallery/ Author's edition of book I includes some writing tweaks, author notes, and a new cover. Currently, this version is the only available in eBook.
The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found
==Author’s Edition==
ISBN: 978-1-934041-49-9
cover art by Kathleen Cavazos
(click on links)
SMASHWORDS : PDF, LRF, E PUB, PDB, KINDLE-MOBI, HTML, JAVASCRIPT
AMAZON KINDLE NOOK
Cover & internal artwork by Kathleen Cavazos: http://rynjenji.deviantart.com/gallery/ Author's edition of book I includes some writing tweaks, author notes, and a new cover. Currently, this version is the only available in eBook.
PURCHASE SITES
The Fireborn Chronicles
ISBN: 978-1-934041-50-5
cover art by Laura Diehl http://www.ldiehl.com/
(click on links):
AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE KOBO BOOKS
Also available during personal appearances by author.
All major stores such as Barnes & Noble can order the book with the ISBN number.
It is a POD book distributed by Ingram,
The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found
==Author’s Edition==
ISBN: 978-1-514187-20-3
cover art by Kathleen Cavazos
(click on links):
AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE EBOOK ONLY-- SMASHWORDS
Also available during personal appearances by author.
All major stores such as Barnes & Noble can order the book with the ISBN number.
It is a POD book distributed by Ingram.
BOOK REVIEWS
LONG AND SHORT REVIEWS
The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found by Mary Andrews
Publisher: Self-Published
Rael is the only person ever to escape from the Hive planet, a planet inhabited by all the criminals and dissidents from the rest of the Universal Government’s system of planets. The workers of the Hive are treated with an addictive drug which makes them feel wonderful, but only if they work as part of the ultimate interplanetary temp service across a universal web. Rael was rescued as an infant and adopted by Marion Mahata, the head of Dark Ops Central Command for the Universal Government. He had already been implanted with the compu-link which all Hive workers have, but he had not been given any of the addictive drug.
Mary Andrews has included three short stories in this edition of her novel so that we get to meet Rael as an eighteen-year-old when he begins his training with his own ship, Nemesis, and then fifteen years later as he begins to assemble his own special team. By the time the novel begins, the reader already knows not only Rael, but also Laynald, a healer as well as an assassin, and Ira, a telepathic teenager. Fireborn Found takes place five years after the last short story, by which time the Nemesis Dark Ops team has become fully functional, a bonding of man, machine, and the paranormal.
The story line is well-crafted and the pace is fast-moving and exciting. There are mysteries to be solved, and the plot has a lot of twists and turns. I found the descriptions of the various planets in the stories to be fascinating. But what I enjoyed the most was the characters and how Rael with his compu-link works with the telepathic Ira and Laynald, who has no supernatural powers at all. Even though these three men are very different, they work extremely well together. It is true that Ira gets a headache if he is too close to Rael when Rael is using his compu-link, and Laynald and Rael both find it difficult to be in situations where telepathic communication is going on, but in spite of their differences, they have bonded together into a complete team capable of carrying out a wide variety of assignments.
This is the first novel in a trilogy and I am definitely hooked and ready for the next two (which thankfully are already published). Readers of all ages who enjoy fantasy with a paranormal twist will be captivated by Fireborn Found.
Publisher: Self-Published
Rael is the only person ever to escape from the Hive planet, a planet inhabited by all the criminals and dissidents from the rest of the Universal Government’s system of planets. The workers of the Hive are treated with an addictive drug which makes them feel wonderful, but only if they work as part of the ultimate interplanetary temp service across a universal web. Rael was rescued as an infant and adopted by Marion Mahata, the head of Dark Ops Central Command for the Universal Government. He had already been implanted with the compu-link which all Hive workers have, but he had not been given any of the addictive drug.
Mary Andrews has included three short stories in this edition of her novel so that we get to meet Rael as an eighteen-year-old when he begins his training with his own ship, Nemesis, and then fifteen years later as he begins to assemble his own special team. By the time the novel begins, the reader already knows not only Rael, but also Laynald, a healer as well as an assassin, and Ira, a telepathic teenager. Fireborn Found takes place five years after the last short story, by which time the Nemesis Dark Ops team has become fully functional, a bonding of man, machine, and the paranormal.
The story line is well-crafted and the pace is fast-moving and exciting. There are mysteries to be solved, and the plot has a lot of twists and turns. I found the descriptions of the various planets in the stories to be fascinating. But what I enjoyed the most was the characters and how Rael with his compu-link works with the telepathic Ira and Laynald, who has no supernatural powers at all. Even though these three men are very different, they work extremely well together. It is true that Ira gets a headache if he is too close to Rael when Rael is using his compu-link, and Laynald and Rael both find it difficult to be in situations where telepathic communication is going on, but in spite of their differences, they have bonded together into a complete team capable of carrying out a wide variety of assignments.
This is the first novel in a trilogy and I am definitely hooked and ready for the next two (which thankfully are already published). Readers of all ages who enjoy fantasy with a paranormal twist will be captivated by Fireborn Found.
LONG AND SHORT REVIEWS http://www.longandshortreviews.com/?s=the+fireborn+chronicles
Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's
Tagged With: 16+, Five Stars, Full Length, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Self Published, YA
Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's
Tagged With: 16+, Five Stars, Full Length, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Self Published, YA
Amazon.com My first Customer review
written by Faucon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1BM5NSK4S99RL/ref=cm_pdp_about_see_review?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview
Fun Sci Fi, December 16, 2007
Fireborn Chronicles is this author's first book, but for a first book it is a highly interesting and entertaining work of Sci Fi. Rael Pointe is the leader of a small special ops team that works for the Universal Government (an intergalactic United Nations). Pointe is called to investigate an assault on a prominent ambassador, and he and his team soon find themselves targeted by the mysterious assailant.
The reader is treated to a clever mystery with lots of fun characters. Pointe is a cyborg with the ability to access any computer system. His teammates are Ira, a telepath, and Laynald an assassin/master physician. The book starts a little slow, but by the third chapter you will find yourself enthralled by Andrews's well crafted characters and intricate universe of worlds. The only other problem with the book is that sometimes the reader wishes Andrews would indulge in greater descriptive detail for the setting; however, readers will be glued to the book as they approach the ending which is surprising yet fitting. Great book for fans of Star Trek, Star Craft, Firefly, etc.
AMAZON REVIEWS:
5.0 out of 5 stars Psionic science fiction with great characters,
August 31, 2014 By Max McNabb - See all my reviews This review is from: The Fireborn Chronicles (Paperback)
Mary Andrews is the director of the writer’s group that I attend. Her comments in the group are always helpful and display a clear understanding of the storytelling craft. In The Fireborn Chronicles, her first novel, she offers the reader a thrill-ride of telepaths, Dark Ops assassins, and space travel.
This novel is psionic science fiction, but regardless of whether you’re an SF fan, Andrews will keep you flipping the pages. Those who don’t generally read science fiction will enjoy The Fireborn Chronicles for its character-driven action and strong delivery. Long-time SF fans will recognize Mary Andrews as a master of the genre, well-versed in the writers that came before her.
Mary Andrews has created a fascinating universe with this first book in the series, the title of which comes from a line in a Carl Sandburg poem. She continues to explore her universe in two more novels, Resonances, and Revelations, with more to come soon.
ARMCHAIR INTERVIEWS:
http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/reviews/the-fireborn-chronicles
Armchair Interviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Super young adult sci-fi
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2008
No one has ever escaped the Hive. No one, that is, except for Rael, whose mother hid him away with a note begging for him to be taken and protected from the euphoria-inducing drugs that entrap the slaves on his home planet. Fully implanted with compu-link temple plates, but not yet addicted to the drug, newborn Rael is rescued by Marion Mahata, head of the Central Command for the Universal Government. In this tiny child who never cries, Marion recognizes an amazing potential and raises her adopted son to become the most successful Dark Ops leader in the Universe.
Rael and his teammates, Ira (a Wall Master and telempath) and Laynald (combination healer and assassin), find themselves involved in the most dangerous rescue mission of their young careers when they are asked to find the villain who has captured the mind of a Universal Government Ambassador. Creating a rogue team with friends he discovers in unlikely circumstances, Rael and his colleagues unravel mysteries from planet to planet, only to discover that finding his true identity is the greatest mystery of all.
A collection of three short stories which introduces each of the main characters, The Fireborn Chronicles is the first in a series of young adult novels. Author Mary Andrews brings each character to life independently, and then seamlessly blends them into a team of characters that continue to build off of each other. As an avid Sci Fi reader, I eagerly await her next book in the series, Book II of the Fireborn Chronicles, which is due to be released in late 2008.
Mary Andrews was born in Salina, Kansas. Raised in a military family, she has lived in England, Hawaii, and now makes her home in Texas where she continues to write.
Armchair Interviews says: Super start to a young adult sci-fi series.
CK2 Kwips and Kritiques:
http://www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com/firebornfound_debbie.html
Deborah Wiley
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading....
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2008
What if everyone feared you?
Rael Pointe has powers that others fear, powers that even cause others pain. He has implants in his head that allow him to access computers. He was rescued from the Hive and raised by Marion Mahata, a woman with powerful political connections. Rael will soon have a purpose as he trains and eventually begins commanding his own team. But what will Rael learn as his team of rogues takes on this latest mission?
The early sections of THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES: FIREBORN FOUND read almost like separate short stories, which was initially a bit disconcerting. All of the sections eventually begin tying together as the story progresses. However, the first bit seemed somewhat disjointed as a little more character development and descriptions of the setting would have helped the early parts of the book. But once I got settled into this world, wow, what a journey!
Rael is one of the more intriguing characters I've ever read about. His ability to manipulate and access computers in this high tech world makes him a force to be reckoned with! The other characters add that needed touch of humanity to a man that otherwise might seem more machine than anything else.
Mary Andrews has quite a few surprises in store for the reader as this is one sci fi book chock full of twists and turns. Give THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES: FIREBORN FOUND time to develop as the story is certainly worth it once you see how all of the pieces fit together! This is definitely a pure science fiction book and I suspect that fans of shows such as Star Trek will enjoy this one.
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
THE BOOK CONNECTION by Cheryl Malandrinos:
http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2008/04/fireborn-chronicles-fireborn-found-by.html
Cheryl c Malandrinos
5.0 out of 5 stars A science fiction book that will take you out of this world
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2008
Science fiction fans, if you're looking for a book to take you into another world, then you must read "The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found" by Mary Andrews.
The Universal Government seems to have all the answers. It allows each planet to decide who its undesirables are and these people are transferred and employed on the Hive Planet. To keep these workers in line, they are provided with an addictive drug that can only be earned by working, thus making these undesirables into the ultimate interplanetary temp service.
Rael Pointe--a newborn implanted with compu-link interface temple plates--had escaped the Hive Planet and was never introduced to the drug. Now, he leads a Dark Ops unit for The Gov and is on a mission to uncover a psionic ring of criminals who have taken control of an important Government Ambassador.
As time goes on, Rael finds out that nothing is as it seems and he and his friends are drawn into a circle of lies and revenge that leads all the way back to Rael's escape from the Hive Planet.
I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of science fiction novels. I enjoy many of the Star Trek series and movies, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers in the 25th century, but to sit down and read a book about this stuff doesn't often cross my mind. So, I had a few reservations when the author asked me to review this novel, especially when she told me it was Psionic Sci-Fi. I was like psionic what? But I like to expand my horizons as a writer and a reader, so I agreed.
Now, I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.
Mary Andrews is a master storyteller who weaves science fiction elements, well drawn characters, and an outstanding plot into an exciting and suspense-filled story that will completely draw the reader into Rael's world. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, the plot thickened, and new twists and turns led me to new conclusions. And the ending...an unexpected and amazing way to conclude the first book in this series and set up Book II, which is due to be released by Swimming Kangaroo Books in September 2008.
I did something I don't usually do and went to Andrews' website and checked out some of the other reviews posted there. Many reviewers discussed the introduction of the main characters in this novel--which we get in the first three parts--as short stories that helped to develop the characters. The opinions were mixed as if that was a good way to start off the novel. This format actually reminded a bit of "The Stand" by Stephen King, where the reader is introduced to several different characters and their lives before they all become acquainted with each other.
Overall, I felt this was an excellent way for the reader to get to know each character individually before they became part of the team. "The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found" has a tremendous amount happening within its 270 pages, so for someone like me who doesn't read a great deal of science fiction, this format served as a way for me to get a handle on who these people were and what attributes and skills they brought to the team. And for a regular science fiction reader, this format helps to set up the plot that really takes off in Part 4.
I also extend huge kudos to the cover artist. This is one of the most beautiful book covers I have ever seen. I couldn't believe how stunning the cover was when I received the book.
Mystery, suspense, and action fill the pages of "The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found". If Andrews' debut novel is this amazing, I can't wait to see what she delivers next!
Joe D. Trent
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2008
Where else could you love a character who excels in dual careers of physician and assassin--and sees no contradiction? Or when could a fate-bound, mind-controlling, blind slave girl who sees the world only through the eyes of others be the key to solving a mystery? How about a psychic psychologist who needs a little mind-soothing of his own, or a ship's-captain-on-a-mission who likes to mess with people by dimming the lights with his mind?
When a key ambassador is attacked by psychic man hunters, Captain Rael Pointe must track them down while confronting his own demons.
Andrews gives us a fast, fun, thought-provoking ride through an interesting universe populated with full-bodied characters. There are a couple of bumps along the way, but you'll be glad you hung on for the twist at the end. The Fireborn Chronicles will leave you hungry for more.
Danielle
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Sci-Fi!
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2011
I liked the different characters in the book. I am a big fan of sci-fi and was really excited to get this book. The characters are what really held it together for me. I would recommend this book who enjoys sci-fi. It's a great quick read.
LADYBUG LIN REVIEWS 5 stars
Lady Bug Lin
5.0 out of 5 stars When does Sci-Fi possibly create answer to earth's nebulous past? Is it here? Maybe.
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013
This is Book One in Mary Andrews' The Fireborn Chronicles, and my introduction to characters I knew I recognized but wasn't sure why.
Ms. Andrews introduces us to the crew who will one day form the central "family" manning the ship known as "Nemesis."
Each is brought in to join Rael, the Captain, a man with incredible skills for an event that will make or break them somewhere in the nebulous "yet to come."
Ira, a man with skills that allow him to intertwine with your basic, I guess DNA, emotional and physical, comes on board next...otherwise known as a dreaded Wall Master.
Laynald, The King's Healer follows...a healer, who also happens to be an assassin...what a UNIQUE combination.
Is the future READY for these three and their ship?
And what of Tristen, the mind seducing slave who claims to be one of the CHOSEN? What's a Chosen?
I found myself happily lost in the fast moving world of Ms. Andrews' future. Rael's differences set him apart, and yet, his heart makes you love him all the more.
I do not do spoilers, so I won't give any of the events away, but I will tell you, I am looking forward to Book Two: The Fireborn Chronicles: Resonances and it's calling to me from my waiting Kindle as I complete this review.
Therefore, I Ladybug Lin, take great pleasure in awarding The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found FIVE BLAZING STARS and say KEEP "EM coming Ms. Andrews.
MyShelf.COM:
http://www.myshelf.com/scifi_fantasy/08/firebornchronicles.htm
The Fireborn Chronicles by Mary Andrews
Mary Andrews' first novel, The Fireborn Chronicles, is an adventurous romp through another galaxy. The story follows Rael, an orphan with incredible powers and the ability to mentally interface with technology of all kinds. Rael finds himself through his role as the leader of a Dark Ops unit of the Universal Government (something like the Federation of Star Trek lore).
The first three sections of this short book deal with Rael's early training and his subsequent enlistment of two other members of his team: Laynald, a royal healer / assassin and Ira, a Wall Master who can interrogate anyone, using his unique mental abilities.
The rest of the book introduces the last member of the team, Tristen, a blind adept who is able to seduce anyone to her will. The rest of the story details how she assists the team in a plan to bring down a galactic corporate overlord.
Through their adventures, Rael learns much about his own origins and his place in the scheme of things, and his team learns much about themselves. The characters, the story, and the science fiction are plausible and I found the ending both unexpected and believable.
Readers will heartily root for Rael and his team and will boo loudly for the villains. Andrews has created a cast of characters with abilities that haven't been found together in science fiction. That was most refreshing and set The Fireborn Chronicles apart from much of the science fiction I have read lately.
There are endless possibilities for what this team can accomplish and the adventures they can be a part of. The Fireborn Chronicles has the feel of being the beginning of a series, and, frankly, I'm glad because I want to see more of this team. However, the ending puts a big question mark as to what purpose that team will have in the future. Perhaps in the next installment, we'll all find out. I don't think we've seen the last of Rael and his Dark Ops team.
So, Ms. Andrews, when is the next book coming out?
The D2K Paranormal Junkies-2008 Book Challenge Blog:
http://community.eharlequin.com/content/fireborn-chronicles-mary-andrews
Fallen Angels Review:
http://fallenangelreviews.com/2008/February/StephanieB-TheFirebornChronicles_FirebornFound.htm
Paper Dragon Ink feb08..(p12):
http://www.paperdragonink.com/feb08.pdf
THE CHRISCHAT REVIEWS
http://www.freewebs.com/chrischatreviews/augsept2008.htm
AMAZON:http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1BM5NSK4S99RL/ref=cm_pdp_about_see_review?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview
written by Faucon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1BM5NSK4S99RL/ref=cm_pdp_about_see_review?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview
Fun Sci Fi, December 16, 2007
Fireborn Chronicles is this author's first book, but for a first book it is a highly interesting and entertaining work of Sci Fi. Rael Pointe is the leader of a small special ops team that works for the Universal Government (an intergalactic United Nations). Pointe is called to investigate an assault on a prominent ambassador, and he and his team soon find themselves targeted by the mysterious assailant.
The reader is treated to a clever mystery with lots of fun characters. Pointe is a cyborg with the ability to access any computer system. His teammates are Ira, a telepath, and Laynald an assassin/master physician. The book starts a little slow, but by the third chapter you will find yourself enthralled by Andrews's well crafted characters and intricate universe of worlds. The only other problem with the book is that sometimes the reader wishes Andrews would indulge in greater descriptive detail for the setting; however, readers will be glued to the book as they approach the ending which is surprising yet fitting. Great book for fans of Star Trek, Star Craft, Firefly, etc.
AMAZON REVIEWS:
5.0 out of 5 stars Psionic science fiction with great characters,
August 31, 2014 By Max McNabb - See all my reviews This review is from: The Fireborn Chronicles (Paperback)
Mary Andrews is the director of the writer’s group that I attend. Her comments in the group are always helpful and display a clear understanding of the storytelling craft. In The Fireborn Chronicles, her first novel, she offers the reader a thrill-ride of telepaths, Dark Ops assassins, and space travel.
This novel is psionic science fiction, but regardless of whether you’re an SF fan, Andrews will keep you flipping the pages. Those who don’t generally read science fiction will enjoy The Fireborn Chronicles for its character-driven action and strong delivery. Long-time SF fans will recognize Mary Andrews as a master of the genre, well-versed in the writers that came before her.
Mary Andrews has created a fascinating universe with this first book in the series, the title of which comes from a line in a Carl Sandburg poem. She continues to explore her universe in two more novels, Resonances, and Revelations, with more to come soon.
ARMCHAIR INTERVIEWS:
http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/reviews/the-fireborn-chronicles
Armchair Interviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Super young adult sci-fi
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2008
No one has ever escaped the Hive. No one, that is, except for Rael, whose mother hid him away with a note begging for him to be taken and protected from the euphoria-inducing drugs that entrap the slaves on his home planet. Fully implanted with compu-link temple plates, but not yet addicted to the drug, newborn Rael is rescued by Marion Mahata, head of the Central Command for the Universal Government. In this tiny child who never cries, Marion recognizes an amazing potential and raises her adopted son to become the most successful Dark Ops leader in the Universe.
Rael and his teammates, Ira (a Wall Master and telempath) and Laynald (combination healer and assassin), find themselves involved in the most dangerous rescue mission of their young careers when they are asked to find the villain who has captured the mind of a Universal Government Ambassador. Creating a rogue team with friends he discovers in unlikely circumstances, Rael and his colleagues unravel mysteries from planet to planet, only to discover that finding his true identity is the greatest mystery of all.
A collection of three short stories which introduces each of the main characters, The Fireborn Chronicles is the first in a series of young adult novels. Author Mary Andrews brings each character to life independently, and then seamlessly blends them into a team of characters that continue to build off of each other. As an avid Sci Fi reader, I eagerly await her next book in the series, Book II of the Fireborn Chronicles, which is due to be released in late 2008.
Mary Andrews was born in Salina, Kansas. Raised in a military family, she has lived in England, Hawaii, and now makes her home in Texas where she continues to write.
Armchair Interviews says: Super start to a young adult sci-fi series.
CK2 Kwips and Kritiques:
http://www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com/firebornfound_debbie.html
Deborah Wiley
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading....
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2008
What if everyone feared you?
Rael Pointe has powers that others fear, powers that even cause others pain. He has implants in his head that allow him to access computers. He was rescued from the Hive and raised by Marion Mahata, a woman with powerful political connections. Rael will soon have a purpose as he trains and eventually begins commanding his own team. But what will Rael learn as his team of rogues takes on this latest mission?
The early sections of THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES: FIREBORN FOUND read almost like separate short stories, which was initially a bit disconcerting. All of the sections eventually begin tying together as the story progresses. However, the first bit seemed somewhat disjointed as a little more character development and descriptions of the setting would have helped the early parts of the book. But once I got settled into this world, wow, what a journey!
Rael is one of the more intriguing characters I've ever read about. His ability to manipulate and access computers in this high tech world makes him a force to be reckoned with! The other characters add that needed touch of humanity to a man that otherwise might seem more machine than anything else.
Mary Andrews has quite a few surprises in store for the reader as this is one sci fi book chock full of twists and turns. Give THE FIREBORN CHRONICLES: FIREBORN FOUND time to develop as the story is certainly worth it once you see how all of the pieces fit together! This is definitely a pure science fiction book and I suspect that fans of shows such as Star Trek will enjoy this one.
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
THE BOOK CONNECTION by Cheryl Malandrinos:
http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2008/04/fireborn-chronicles-fireborn-found-by.html
Cheryl c Malandrinos
5.0 out of 5 stars A science fiction book that will take you out of this world
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2008
Science fiction fans, if you're looking for a book to take you into another world, then you must read "The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found" by Mary Andrews.
The Universal Government seems to have all the answers. It allows each planet to decide who its undesirables are and these people are transferred and employed on the Hive Planet. To keep these workers in line, they are provided with an addictive drug that can only be earned by working, thus making these undesirables into the ultimate interplanetary temp service.
Rael Pointe--a newborn implanted with compu-link interface temple plates--had escaped the Hive Planet and was never introduced to the drug. Now, he leads a Dark Ops unit for The Gov and is on a mission to uncover a psionic ring of criminals who have taken control of an important Government Ambassador.
As time goes on, Rael finds out that nothing is as it seems and he and his friends are drawn into a circle of lies and revenge that leads all the way back to Rael's escape from the Hive Planet.
I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of science fiction novels. I enjoy many of the Star Trek series and movies, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers in the 25th century, but to sit down and read a book about this stuff doesn't often cross my mind. So, I had a few reservations when the author asked me to review this novel, especially when she told me it was Psionic Sci-Fi. I was like psionic what? But I like to expand my horizons as a writer and a reader, so I agreed.
Now, I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.
Mary Andrews is a master storyteller who weaves science fiction elements, well drawn characters, and an outstanding plot into an exciting and suspense-filled story that will completely draw the reader into Rael's world. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, the plot thickened, and new twists and turns led me to new conclusions. And the ending...an unexpected and amazing way to conclude the first book in this series and set up Book II, which is due to be released by Swimming Kangaroo Books in September 2008.
I did something I don't usually do and went to Andrews' website and checked out some of the other reviews posted there. Many reviewers discussed the introduction of the main characters in this novel--which we get in the first three parts--as short stories that helped to develop the characters. The opinions were mixed as if that was a good way to start off the novel. This format actually reminded a bit of "The Stand" by Stephen King, where the reader is introduced to several different characters and their lives before they all become acquainted with each other.
Overall, I felt this was an excellent way for the reader to get to know each character individually before they became part of the team. "The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found" has a tremendous amount happening within its 270 pages, so for someone like me who doesn't read a great deal of science fiction, this format served as a way for me to get a handle on who these people were and what attributes and skills they brought to the team. And for a regular science fiction reader, this format helps to set up the plot that really takes off in Part 4.
I also extend huge kudos to the cover artist. This is one of the most beautiful book covers I have ever seen. I couldn't believe how stunning the cover was when I received the book.
Mystery, suspense, and action fill the pages of "The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found". If Andrews' debut novel is this amazing, I can't wait to see what she delivers next!
Joe D. Trent
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2008
Where else could you love a character who excels in dual careers of physician and assassin--and sees no contradiction? Or when could a fate-bound, mind-controlling, blind slave girl who sees the world only through the eyes of others be the key to solving a mystery? How about a psychic psychologist who needs a little mind-soothing of his own, or a ship's-captain-on-a-mission who likes to mess with people by dimming the lights with his mind?
When a key ambassador is attacked by psychic man hunters, Captain Rael Pointe must track them down while confronting his own demons.
Andrews gives us a fast, fun, thought-provoking ride through an interesting universe populated with full-bodied characters. There are a couple of bumps along the way, but you'll be glad you hung on for the twist at the end. The Fireborn Chronicles will leave you hungry for more.
Danielle
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Sci-Fi!
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2011
I liked the different characters in the book. I am a big fan of sci-fi and was really excited to get this book. The characters are what really held it together for me. I would recommend this book who enjoys sci-fi. It's a great quick read.
LADYBUG LIN REVIEWS 5 stars
Lady Bug Lin
5.0 out of 5 stars When does Sci-Fi possibly create answer to earth's nebulous past? Is it here? Maybe.
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013
This is Book One in Mary Andrews' The Fireborn Chronicles, and my introduction to characters I knew I recognized but wasn't sure why.
Ms. Andrews introduces us to the crew who will one day form the central "family" manning the ship known as "Nemesis."
Each is brought in to join Rael, the Captain, a man with incredible skills for an event that will make or break them somewhere in the nebulous "yet to come."
Ira, a man with skills that allow him to intertwine with your basic, I guess DNA, emotional and physical, comes on board next...otherwise known as a dreaded Wall Master.
Laynald, The King's Healer follows...a healer, who also happens to be an assassin...what a UNIQUE combination.
Is the future READY for these three and their ship?
And what of Tristen, the mind seducing slave who claims to be one of the CHOSEN? What's a Chosen?
I found myself happily lost in the fast moving world of Ms. Andrews' future. Rael's differences set him apart, and yet, his heart makes you love him all the more.
I do not do spoilers, so I won't give any of the events away, but I will tell you, I am looking forward to Book Two: The Fireborn Chronicles: Resonances and it's calling to me from my waiting Kindle as I complete this review.
Therefore, I Ladybug Lin, take great pleasure in awarding The Fireborn Chronicles: Fireborn Found FIVE BLAZING STARS and say KEEP "EM coming Ms. Andrews.
MyShelf.COM:
http://www.myshelf.com/scifi_fantasy/08/firebornchronicles.htm
The Fireborn Chronicles by Mary Andrews
Mary Andrews' first novel, The Fireborn Chronicles, is an adventurous romp through another galaxy. The story follows Rael, an orphan with incredible powers and the ability to mentally interface with technology of all kinds. Rael finds himself through his role as the leader of a Dark Ops unit of the Universal Government (something like the Federation of Star Trek lore).
The first three sections of this short book deal with Rael's early training and his subsequent enlistment of two other members of his team: Laynald, a royal healer / assassin and Ira, a Wall Master who can interrogate anyone, using his unique mental abilities.
The rest of the book introduces the last member of the team, Tristen, a blind adept who is able to seduce anyone to her will. The rest of the story details how she assists the team in a plan to bring down a galactic corporate overlord.
Through their adventures, Rael learns much about his own origins and his place in the scheme of things, and his team learns much about themselves. The characters, the story, and the science fiction are plausible and I found the ending both unexpected and believable.
Readers will heartily root for Rael and his team and will boo loudly for the villains. Andrews has created a cast of characters with abilities that haven't been found together in science fiction. That was most refreshing and set The Fireborn Chronicles apart from much of the science fiction I have read lately.
There are endless possibilities for what this team can accomplish and the adventures they can be a part of. The Fireborn Chronicles has the feel of being the beginning of a series, and, frankly, I'm glad because I want to see more of this team. However, the ending puts a big question mark as to what purpose that team will have in the future. Perhaps in the next installment, we'll all find out. I don't think we've seen the last of Rael and his Dark Ops team.
So, Ms. Andrews, when is the next book coming out?
The D2K Paranormal Junkies-2008 Book Challenge Blog:
http://community.eharlequin.com/content/fireborn-chronicles-mary-andrews
Fallen Angels Review:
http://fallenangelreviews.com/2008/February/StephanieB-TheFirebornChronicles_FirebornFound.htm
Paper Dragon Ink feb08..(p12):
http://www.paperdragonink.com/feb08.pdf
THE CHRISCHAT REVIEWS
http://www.freewebs.com/chrischatreviews/augsept2008.htm
AMAZON:http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1BM5NSK4S99RL/ref=cm_pdp_about_see_review?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview
OLD NEWS...FROM PLACES LONG GONE...BUT STILL COOL
Fictionwise Best Selling eBook Lists:
Tue Jan 12, 2008 based on data gathered in the last 20 days
The Fireborn Chronicles by Mary Andrews is #4 best seller in the Science Fiction list. http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/ScienceFictioneBooks.htm?cache
The Fireborn Chronicles by Mary Andrews is #21 on the overall best seller list!
http://www.fictionwise.com/topstories.htm
NOTE: Fictionwise no longer exists. Amazon bought it out and closed it.
Fictionwise Best Selling eBook Lists:
Tue Jan 12, 2008 based on data gathered in the last 20 days
The Fireborn Chronicles by Mary Andrews is #4 best seller in the Science Fiction list. http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/ScienceFictioneBooks.htm?cache
The Fireborn Chronicles by Mary Andrews is #21 on the overall best seller list!
http://www.fictionwise.com/topstories.htm
NOTE: Fictionwise no longer exists. Amazon bought it out and closed it.
Every house needs books - even dollhouses.
Whoo Hoo! The Fireborn Chronicles is taking the world by storm, so if your miniature mansion is setting up a Sci Fi section, check out Christie Verstraete's website:
Feel free to "check out" a book cover "printie" for your dollhouse or miniature project. Don't forget to check out the websites of the authors, who graciously donated their book covers to the Miniature Bookshelf for your pleasure. I am presenting the miniature book covers slightly larger so they are still somewhat readable. Feel free to resize them as needed. Enjoy!
Covers are © publishers/artists/authors and cannot be resold. Personal use only. More will be added as I get them. AUTHORS - To submit: email full cover (front, back, spine or clear front, jpeg or gif) and website address. Please link page on your site as the Miniature Bookshelf or Miniature Bookshelf - book cover printies.
http://cverstraete.com/mb/miniature_book_printies.html
Sponsored by: Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery by Christine Verstraete
Whoo Hoo! The Fireborn Chronicles is taking the world by storm, so if your miniature mansion is setting up a Sci Fi section, check out Christie Verstraete's website:
Feel free to "check out" a book cover "printie" for your dollhouse or miniature project. Don't forget to check out the websites of the authors, who graciously donated their book covers to the Miniature Bookshelf for your pleasure. I am presenting the miniature book covers slightly larger so they are still somewhat readable. Feel free to resize them as needed. Enjoy!
Covers are © publishers/artists/authors and cannot be resold. Personal use only. More will be added as I get them. AUTHORS - To submit: email full cover (front, back, spine or clear front, jpeg or gif) and website address. Please link page on your site as the Miniature Bookshelf or Miniature Bookshelf - book cover printies.
http://cverstraete.com/mb/miniature_book_printies.html
Sponsored by: Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery by Christine Verstraete