Today I'm showcasing the latest release from Perseid Press - it's The IX, by Andrew P. Weston. Below you will find information about Andrew, and also a piece he wrote about how he came up with the idea for The IX. Below that, you will find my review of his novel, which I really enjoyed and can thoroughly recommend. Please try it yourself, and share with your friends!
Happy Reading!
Andrew's Author Bio:
Andrew P Weston is a military and police veteran from the UK who now lives on the beautiful Greek island of Kos with his wife, Annette, and their growing family of rescue cats.
A criminal law and astronomy graduate, he is a member of the British Science Fiction Association and British Fantasy Society, and is a contracted writer of both fiction and poetry for several publishing houses and a growing number of well established magazines. In his spare time, Andrew assists NASA on one of their research projects, and amazingly, still finds the time to submit regular educational articles for Amazing Stories and Astronaut.com.
When not writing, Andrew enjoys holding his breath, being told what to do by his wife, and drinking Earl Grey Tea whilst dressed as Captain Jean Luc Picard.
Make it so...
If you would like to find out more, visit his blog or website at:
Blog:
Website:
Now it's over to Andrew:
How I Came Up With The IX:
I undertook the
writing of The IX following an animated discussion during a Royal Marines veterans
reunion dinner in the early part of 2013. Military history has always been a
hobby of mine, and several ex-colleagues started a debate as to the true fate
of the legendary lost 9th
Legion of Rome. Five thousand men marched into the mists of Northern Caledonia
(Scotland) around AD100 – 120 and were never seen again.
That
conversation stayed with me for several months until I happened to catch an old
movie on TV, Millennium. In that
film, time travelers visit the present day and steal passengers from doomed
aircraft with the intention of repopulating a barren world of the future.
I am an avid
science fiction buff, and the conversation from the reunion dinner immediately
sprang to mind. Obviously, I began to imagine what if?
What if they
were taken? Not into our future...but somewhere and somewhen else entirely. And what might it be like if their antagonists
were also snatched away with them?
I started to let
that though roll, and came up with a nice twist. Would it be a good idea to
include other groups of refugees from varying time periods, and throw them
together into a nightmare scenario where they had to face death all over again?
It took a great
deal of research and preparation, but I was very pleased with the resulting
outline, as it provided a fresh approach to an exciting genre.
And the rest–as
they say–is history. :-)
Many thanks, Andrew, for giving us that insight into your work. Now here's my review of The IX:
There has been much debate about the fate of the Ninth Roman Legion (the IX) which disappeared from historical records around the year 108. In his excellent new novel, author Andrew Weston gives us his take on what befell the legionnaires and what use they made of their specialized knowledge in the time following their mysterious disappearance.
An entire civilized world faces destruction at the hands of a seemingly unstoppable enemy. An enemy that spends the lives of its forces so extravagantly there seems to be no intelligence behind it. To combat this ravening force the Ninth, along with Native Americans, ancient Caledonians, American civil war fighters and 21st century armaments experts are snatched from Earth and transported to this beleaguered world to help find the key to understanding and destroying the enemy.
As a premise it’s exciting enough, and the writing certainly doesn’t disappoint. There’s tension, confusion, action and suspense aplenty. Yet the strength of this novel, in my view, rests in the characters Weston has created. It’s impossible not to get involved with them; from the events prior to their being snatched from the familiar and dumped into chaos, to their struggles to understand, through to their determination to use what skills they possess to aid the strange civilization that “saved” them. The IX is a tour de force and Weston’s skills as a writer and plotter are plain for all to see. I’d definitely recommend this book for all lovers of great and exciting fiction, regardless of genre.
So what are you waiting for? Click on the links and go grab your copy of The IX!
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