Friday, January 22, 2010

Rage Books LLC presents the Osguard Series

HOMECOMING
OSGUARDS: GUARDIANS OF THE UNIVERSE
($14.50)
6 x 9 (300 PAGES)
AVAILABLE NOW at


For centuries the planets of Kulusk and Chaktun have battled in the heavens above Earth. In 1860, twin Chaktun princesses, laurona and Nausona Osguard, fled to Earth and were beaten and raped as slaves in the United States' antebellum south. Unbeknownst to the people of the 21st century Earth, their descendants, the Osguards now govern a universal peacekeeping organization called the Universal Science, Security and Trad Association of Planets -- USSTAP. the First Osguard, Michae Genesis leads the Osguards in protecting the 60 known galaxies of the universe from Kulusk tyranny. Now Earth has become an unwitting pawn in the Kulusk Empire's thirst for revenge against the people of Chaktun, forcing Michael to prepare USSTAP, for the first time, to go on the offensive and wage an all out universal war. If he is successful, many people will die, and if he is not, Earth will be destroyed.

"Great story! This is one of the best science fiction novels I've read in a long time..."
-- Writer's Digest 10th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards

"Petteway is a veteran Air Force Officer and uses his knowledge to bring a very believable description of battle techniques and strategies. This is a very readable and enjoyable novel..."
-- Barry Hunter, Editor, Baryon Magazine

"Like a good play, it captivates its audience!"
-- Tom Johnson, Editor; Fading Shadows Magazine

"It is a fascinating story that can be enjoyed by everyone, including those who are not huge fans of science fiction. I highly recommend this book."
-- Alice Holman, Reviewer; RAWSISTAZ Book Review


REVELATIONS
OSGUARDS: GUARDIANS OF THE UNIVERSE
($14.50)
6 x 9 (302 Pages)
AVAILABLE NOW at

http://www.ragebooks.net/ AND WWW.AMAZON.COM

Descendants of a great king will rise from an uncivilized world and destroy the Kulusks. Whether prophecy or folklore, it compels Kie Ritchen, the Kulusk Maxum to release the deadly Terinolice Virus onto Millmum Capitol Station. The Osguards and all of Millmum Capitol Station are dying. Their only hope is Osguard 55, Juanita Genesis-Clark. She must leave her family on Earth and travel across the galaxy to get the one man who has the cure for the virus. Just one catch, he's on Kulusk. To further complicate matters, a deadly secret, born on Earth during the turn of the 20th Century, forces Juanita to take sides in a Kulusk civil war in order to save the legitimate heir to the Kulusk throne. Meanwhile on Earth, USSTAP's Stelana Rican and FBI Special Agent Anthony Musoto must track down the killer of Juanita's 5-year old cousin, unaware of the biological terror playing out in the heavens above them.



"Riveting, An enjoyable read from beginning to end..."
-- Tom Johnson, Editor; Fading Shadow, Inc

"Incredibly suspenseful!"
-- Writer's Digest 11th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards

"The story, while science fiction, feels so real, you must keep checking to make sure you remember it is only a story."
-- Alice Holman, Reviewer; RAWSISTAZ Book Reviews


ARMAGEDDON
OSGUARDS: GUARDIANS OF THE UNIVERSE
($15.50)
6 x 9 (328 Pages)
AVAILABLE SOON

There is a thin line between justice and vengeance. In a vast universe of advanced weaponry and superior technology, a century-old dispute causes two powerful armies to speed past that line in furor. With the defeat of the Kulusk Empire, the First Osguard, Michael Genesis, and the Universal Science, Security Trade Association of Planets -- USSTAP face their greatest military challenge ever -- the Tuit Consortium. In the name of justice, the Tuits introduce a new era of war fighting, employing a planet killing weapon, which obliterates entire solar systems within minutes. USSTAP is outnumbered and outgunned. With the association disintegrating; the continuing rise in the USSTAP body count; and Osguard 11, Jarod Stone missing and presumed killed in action, Michael forms a daring military plan and forges unlikely allies to combat the Tuits and end the Universal War once and for all.


"Malcolm Dylan Petteway has done it again. He has written a futuristic saga of revenge and redemption that boggles the mind and keeps you turning those pages."

-- Alice Holman, Reviewer; RAWSISTAZ Book Reviews


REVENGE
OSGUARDS: GUARDIANS OF THE UNIVERSE
($14.00)
6 x 9 (262 Pages)
AVAILABLE SOON


Everyone has a defining gift. For Michael Genesis, the First Osguard of the Universal Science, Security and Trade Association of Planets -- USSTAP, that gift is vision. Similarly, Billy Red, the street thug, murderer, pimp and drug dealer, that gift is ingenuity. When their paths cross as teenagers, Michael and Belly become embroiled in a rivalry that leads Michael to becoming the First Osguard. and Billy dying by his hands. However, eight years after the Tuit War and on the eve of the birth of a new USSTAP, where Michael planned to design a new universe and lay out a path for humanity to begin its journey to another level, he is attacked. During the attack, Michael is accidentally transported to another reality where USSTAP and the Osguards don't exist. Now Michael has to fight his way back to his reality or be trapped in a reality of living in an economically poor, crime and drug infested neighborhood, while beign chased by his old enemy -- Billy Red.

"...entertaining and begs for more stories of the magnificent Genesis family and their desire to unite the universe and tame Earth."

-- Alice Holman, Reviewer; RAWSISTAZ Book Reviews

Osguards: Homecoming! The very essence of adventure science fiction!Posted by Ronald T. Jones on January 21, 2010 at 9:02pm in Books

I just finished reading Osguards: Homecoming, written by distinguished BSFS member Malcolm Dylan Petteway. Osguards has all the elements that has always attracted me to science fiction, specifically, that subcategory of the genre called Space Opera. Enormous space ships equipped with planet-smashing arsenols, far flung interstellar civilizations, evil empires, super advanced technology, and weapons of such lethality Earth's most powerful weapons systems would come across as slingshots in comparison.

Malcolm takes these elements and creates an epic story that spans across space and time. Nausona and Laurona are princesses who flee their planet, Chakun, after it is overrun by the expansionist Kulusks. The sisters discover what they think is refuge on an obsure, barbaric world called Earth. But the part of Earth they find themselves in is no safe haven for the African-appearing girls. Nausona and Laurona have the misfortune of being in the southern region of a pre Civil War United States. Though they are afforded a measure of protection in the company of a kindly widow, the girls are still brutalized and threatened by a neighboring slaveowning family.

Nausona's and Laurona's hardbitten determination to survive and return to their home lays the groundwork for the role their descendants will play as leaders of a mulitgalaxy alliance.

Osguards: Homecoming is a compelling drama in addition to being a fast paced adventure. The characters are written with depth and feeling. There is a lot of internal perspective along with a healthy dose of political intrigue. I have one word to sum up the climatic space battle: spectacular! With Osguards: Homecoming, Malcolm has created a winner. Thankfully this book is the first in a series.

Keep 'em coming, Malcolm!!!!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Book Review: Great Sky Woman

Great Sky Woman By Steven Barnes
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Del Rey; Reprint edition (March 24, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345459024
ISBN-13: 978-0345459022
Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches


Steven Barnes is one of my favorite science fiction authors. His mastery of story telling is phenomenal. Mr. Barnes has the noteworthy skill and the poise to write about a myriad of subject matters and plots, creating in them specific and believable worlds in which readers can throw themselves into. He has done this with his Aubrey Knight series, his Bilalistan Series, as well as with Blood Brothers, Iron Shadow and Charisma, just to name a few. And though I’m late to read, what he has done with Great Sky Woman (first published in 2006), raises the bar once again.

Great Sky Woman is set in the heart of the African continent, at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, before recorded history. There, the Ibandi live as hunters and gatherers unaware of the manmade and natural disasters approaching their way.

Great Sky Woman follows the story of two Ibandi members, T’Cori (the nameless one), an abandoned girl who was raised by the chief dream dancer; and Frog Hopping, a boy raised by his uncle to be a hunter and warrior. T’Cori, gifted with superior abilities than the other dream dancers, searches desperately for acceptance from the one who raises her as well as her sister dream dancers. Conversely, Frog, who isn’t the strongest or fastest amongst his age, competes with his brothers to be a man amongst the Ibandi. Their search for their own identity and place amongst the Ibandi ultimately brings them together in life and death struggles that eventually decide the fate of all the Ibandi.

Mr. Barnes builds a world full of African folklore, legend and mysticism in such vivid realistic detail that the reader is sucked in wanting more. The characters are so strong and brilliant that they resonate in the readers mind long after completing the book. The power of this story opens the door for a growing new type of fiction that beckons for more.

I recommend Great Sky Woman as a must read. I can not wait to read the follow on story Shadow Valley.

Malcolm “RAGE” Petteway
Rage Books LLC