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WORK TITLE: Awakening
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.raymondbolton.com/
CITY: Portland
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RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; wife’s name Toni.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
AWARDS:Hugo Awards; Nebula Awards.
WRITINGS
Awakening has been translated into Spanish.
SIDELIGHTS
Raymond Bolton is a writer based in Oregon. He is the author of the “Ydron Saga” series, which contains the books Awakening, Thought Gazer, Foretellers, and Triad. Bolton is the recipient of Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards.
Awakening and Thought Gazer
Awakening, the first book in the “Ydron Saga,” features the protagonist Prince Regelius “Reg” Tonopath. The setting is an alternative version of the medieval era. In battle, people use catapults and bows and arrows rather than modern-day guns and bombs. They sail on ships and ride horses. Steam power is now being developed, which will change their modes of transportation and manufacturing. In a supernatural twist, telepaths are common in this world, and Reg is beginning to understand his own telepathic abilities. Reg has been training to resist an alien race called the Dalthin that is threatening to take down humanity. His teacher is called Ai’Lore. Ai’Lore explains that the Dalthin have plans to make humans their slaves and to breed humans as food. Meanwhile, a separate alien race has been trying to protect the humans by manipulating their evolution. The kingdom over which Reg’s family rules falls into chaos when the queen, Reg’s mother, kills the king, Reg’s father. Reg feels pressured to avenge his father’s death by killing his mother, but he chooses not to accept this plan. With the help of his friends Ered, Leorar, and Danth, Reg determines to save his land from both the external threats and the internal turmoil.
A reviewer in Publishers Weekly described Bolton’s writing style as “somewhat stiff” but concluded: “There’s enough promise here to suggest that Bolton may be worth checking on again.” Simay Yildiz, a contributor to the Community Bookstop website, called the book “unique, original, and somewhat bizarre.” Yildiz added: “We, as the reader, are in for a story full of adventure and action.” Yildiz also predicted that the volume would appeal to “those who want to escape into a completely different world for a while.” On the Book Viral website, a reviewer enthusiastically praised Awakening as “pure escapism” and “a grand debut.”
Thought Gazer, which is set earlier in time than Awakening, focuses on a character called Peniff. Peniff has the gift of telepathy. Though it can give him many advantages, it has also caused him pain. It is because of his telepathy that Peniff’s wife and children have been kidnapped. The kidnappers are connected with warlords, who are trying to pressure Peniff into serving them by threatening his family. Peniff agrees to help the warlords, but he betrays them by not doing what he is told. Meanwhile, he races against time to find a way to set his family free from the kidnappers.
Foretellers and Triad
Warlords and telepaths return in Foretellers, another prequel to Awakening. In this volume, outside forces are threatening the human race, and those with supernatural mental abilities have become increasingly desirable for their skills in predicting the future. A mother and her daughter are part of a group called the foretellers, who can predict the future. Their abilities allow them to see some, but not all, of what lies ahead. They anger a warlord, who chases them away from their home. The mother and daughter lose one another soon after, and they long to be reunited. One of them has a vision showing that helping one of the warring factions in the land will lead to a better outcome. She attempts to go to where the fighting is happening to do just that, in spite of the danger she faces.
Triad is the third prequel to Awakening. Its protagonist is a paraplegic young man named Bardik, who has the gift of telekinesis. Bardik collaborates with two psychics to attempt to influence the outcome of the battles in their land. In particular, they hope to end the reign of a dangerous warlord.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, April 10, 2017, review of Awakening, p. 58.
ONLINE
Book Viral, http://www.bookviral.com/ (January 8, 2018), review of Awakening.
Community Bookstop, http://communitybookstop.blogspot.com/ (January 1, 2014), Simay Yildiz, review of Awakening.
Raymond Bolton Website, http://www.raymondbolton.com/ (January 8, 2018).
Bio
raymond
Raymond Bolton lives near Portland, Oregon with his wife, Toni, and their three cats, Georgie, Sophia & Courtney. Reviewers have been generous with praise, offering such comments as, “Eschewing the more commonly overt manifestations of alien technology and the well toted elements of fanciful magic, Bolton breathes originality into the genre with his singular focus on telepathy.” http://www.bookviral.com/awakenings/4…
His goal is to craft gripping stories about the human condition, whether they are set here or another world. He has written award-winning poetry and four novels. Two are explorations in fantasy: Awakening, an epic, released in January, 2014, and Thought Gazer, an adventure and first volume of a prequel trilogy, which was released on January 1, 2015. Awakening has just been translated into Spanish and was released as El despertar – La saga de Ydron on July 1, 2015. Amazon has already listed El despertar as the Number One New Release in Ciencia Ficción.
Raymond Bolton lives near Portland, Oregon with his wife, Toni.
Regarding his debut novel, Awakening, multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author, Mike Resnick says, “In Awakening, Raymond Bolton presents us with an intricate and interesting problem, characters you care for, aliens who are alien, and a carefully-thought-out future.”
Matthew J. Pallamary, author of Land Without Evil and Spirit Matters said, “Raymond Bolton’s genre shattering Awakening is a skillfully woven hybrid of science fiction and fantasy that brings cultural conflict to a whole new, thoroughly believable level that goes straight to the heart of what really matters.”
International award-winning author of the Daimones Trilogy, Massimo Marino, endorsed Awakening, saying, “Bolton navigates through the plot lines and the mixed genres (Science Fiction but not exactly, Fantasy but not entirely, Paranormal but not completely) with the clear gesture of the conductor of a large orchestra. A new voice and author who is bound to grow a faithful readership.”
Finally, Britain’s BookViral.com states, “it’s a grand debut. An ambitious and well considered SF crossover [that] breathes originality into the genre.”
Raymond's goal is to craft gripping stories about the human condition, whether they are set here or another world. He has written award-winning poetry and four novels. Awakening, an epic, was released in January, 2014, and Thought Gazer, an adventure and first volume of a prequel trilogy, was released on January 1, 2015. The third in the series, Foretellers, came out on March 1 , 2016. The trilogy’s conclusion, entitled Triad, aired January 1, 2017. Awakening was recently translated into Spanish and was released as El despertar – La saga de Ydron on July 1, 2015. Amazon has already listed El despertar as the Number One New Release in Ciencia Ficción.
QUOTED: "somewhat stiff."
"There's enough promise here to suggest that Bolton may be worth checking on again."
Awakening
Publishers Weekly. 264.15 (Apr. 10, 2017): p58.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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Full Text:
Awakening
Raymond Bolton. WordFire, $17.99 trade paper (349p) ISBN 978-1-61475-531-9
An intriguing premise--what if people living in a quasi-medieval society had to fight telepathic aliens?--is largely ignored in this debut novel, formerly self-published as part of a series. Prince Regelius Tonopath becomes aware of the alien threat when a disguised alien tries to kill him just as his own telepathic powers come to life. Fortunately, his teacher, Ai'Lore, is on hand to explain how humans on this world have had their evolution manipulated for their own good by benevolent humanoid aliens, while the evil Dalthin have been trying to breed humans as livestock for food. From there, the book forgets about the technological incongruity as the action races through a series of predictable but well-described chases and intrigues. Unfortunately, the writing is somewhat stiff and all the characters sound alike, a particular drawback in conversations. There's enough promise here to suggest that Bolton may be worth checking on again a few novels from now. (May)
QUOTED: "unique, original, and somewhat bizarre."
"We, as the reader, are in for a story full of adventure and action."
"those who want to escape into a completely different world for a while."
Review - Awakening by: Raymond Bolton
Posted by Simay Yildiz with No comments
Title: Awakening
Author: Raymond Bolton
Publisher: Raymond Bolton Author
Series: The Ydron Saga #1
Pages: 368
Format: Kindle
Source: Received from author for review
Description:
How does a world equipped with bows, arrows and catapults, where steam power is just beginning to replace horses and sailing ships, avert a conquest from beyond the stars?
Prince Regilius has been engineered to combat the Dalthin, a predatory alien species that enslaves worlds telepathically, and to do so he must unite his people. But when his mother murders his father, the land descends into chaos and his task may prove impossible. Faced with slaying the one who gave him life in order to protect his world, he seeks a better way. Set in a vast and varied land where telepaths and those with unusual mental abilities tip the course of events, Awakening goes to the heart of family, friendship and betrayal.
My thoughts:
First things first: the world Bolton creates in Awakening, the first book in the Ydron Saga is unique, original and somewhat bizarre. There is a planet under fuedal rule in the steam engine era, and although the humans seem to have the power, there is a different race out to take them down. These "creatures" who mostly walk around in human form, but they have different abilities i.e. being able to talk right into people's brains.
Prince Regillus, who goes by Reg, is warned by his mentor Ai'Lorc that he and those close to him are in danger and that the only way they can stay away from it is to hide. We follow the story of him, his elders, and his friends Danth, Leorar and Ered as they try to figure out how to keep themselves and their kingdom safe. In Awakening, there are creatures who visit other worlds, an army of people that have become rapists and robbers under the current circumstances, the evil Dalthin that want to harness humans for labor and breed them for food.
As Reg tries to build a wall between himself and the evil, we, as the reader, are in for a story full of adventure and action. I especially recommend this to those who want to escape into a completely different world for a while.
QUOTED: "pure escapism" and "a grand debut"
How does a world equipped with bows, arrows and catapults, where steam power is just beginning to replace horses and sailing ships, avert a conquest from beyond the stars? Prince Regilius has been engineered to combat the Dalthin, a predatory alien species that enslaves worlds telepathically, and to do so he must unite his people. But when his mother murders his father, the land descends into chaos and his task may prove impossible. Faced with slaying the one who gave him life in order to protect his world, he seeks a better way. Set in a vast and varied land where telepaths and those with unusual metal abilities tip the course of events, Awakening goes to the heart of family, friendship and betrayal.
Pure escapism and a rip roaring tale is the order of play in Awakening, the first book in the Ydron Saga by author Raymond Bolton and it’s a grand debut. An ambitious and well considered SF crossover, it begins at a blistering pace and continues throughout as Bolton builds his beguiling world of contrasts. His characters imbued with an inherent sense of purpose that provides for insightful perspectives on an evolving plot with intrigue and suspense woven through its core, the prevailing conflict providing for an abundance of action. Eschewing the more commonly overt manifestations of alien technology and the well toted elements of fanciful magic, Bolton breathes originality into the genre with his singular focus on telepathy.
A highly recommended addition to your bookshelf, Awakening is a top notch read that will have fans of fantasy fiction eagerly awaiting the next release from author Raymond Bolton.