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WORK TITLE: Redemption Song
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: San Francisco
STATE: CA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Male.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
AVOCATIONS:Martial arts, playing percussion in Latin bands.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Henry A. Burns is a writer living in San Francisco, California. His works are in the science fiction genre. In addition to writing, Burns practices martial arts and has done so since he was a teenager. He has also performed as a percussionist in multiple Latin bands.
In 2018, Burns released his first novel, Redemption Song; The Beginning of the Rynn-Human Alliance. The volume is the first in a series. In it, Burns introduces the protagonists, an elderly human named Jeremy Blunt and a member of the Rynn alien race called Small Snow Flower. Jeremy, a widower with heart problems, happens upon Small Snow Flower, who has been cast out of the Rynn’s society. Small Snow Flower has been bound and dumped out of a space ship. When Jeremy sees her, he releases her from her restraints and tends to her wounds. She introduces herself to him in the Rynn language. Because Jeremy is unable to replicate the strange sounds she makes, he decides to call her Kasumi. Kasumi uses a device called a Torque to communicate with Jeremy in English. She tells him that she was the captain of a space ship, but her crew mutinied, which led to her being abandoned on Earth. Jeremy, a kung fu grand master, and Mel, his granddaughter, offer to teach her martial arts techniques. Kasumi and Mel become partners, or core sisters, and Mel travels with her back to the Rynn planet, called Nest. When they come back with other Rynn, many humans are wary of them. However, they ultimately recognize the benefit of aligning with the Rynn to collectively fight enemies. Meanwhile, American society begins to crumble.
Redemption Song received mixed reviews from critics. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews suggested: “The plot’s breakneck pace may be too fast; potentially-inciting bits are expedited … while others are bypassed altogether.” The same contributor added: “Regardless, readers will surely look forward to more interplanetary interactions in probable sequels.” In a more favorable assessment in Clarion Reviews, John M. Murray commented: “Ambitious in scope but centered on relationships, Redemption Song is a thoughtful work of science fiction. Henry A. Burns’s Redemption Song is a thoughtful, action-packed work of science fiction that ushers humanity into a new era of intergalactic politics.” “Redemption Song seems like a project that perhaps grew beyond the bounds the author had initially imagined,” remarked a writer on the Blue Ink Review website. However, the same writer continued: “Sci-fi junkies who are willing to suspend their disbelief will find this a fun ride.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Clarion Reviews, January 5, 2018, John M. Murray, review of Redemption Song: The Beginning of the Rynn-Human Alliance.
Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2018, review of Redemption Song.
ONLINE
Blue Ink Review, https://www.blueinkreview.com/ (July 2, 2018), review of Redemption Song.
PR.com, https://www.pr.com/ (February 20, 2018), press release for Redemption Song.
Author Henry A. Burns Promotes His Science Fiction Novel – "Redemption Song"
Author Henry A. Burns is pleased to announce the promotion of his novel, "Redemption Song: The Beginning of the Rynn-Human Alliance." Part hero’s journey, part military science fiction, and part space opera with just a touch of fantasy thrown in for good measure, "Redemption Song" is already received rave reviews from readers and reviewers.
San Francisco, CA, February 20, 2018 --(PR.com)-- A child of wealth and privilege, Small Snow Flower is a member of a highly intelligent spacefaring species called the Rynn. Although she is young and untested, she is given a trading ship to command by her father. But just months into her first voyage there is a mutiny, and Small Snow Flower finds herself marooned on a primitive planet, believing she will die alone.
Jeremy Blunt is a bitter old man. For fifty years, he’s mourned the death of his wife, cutting himself off from the world and living alone in a forest cabin, believing he will die alone.
But fate has other plans. It brings together these two lonely people in spite of their differences - age, experience, and species. Slowly but surely, the alien girl and the elderly human man find ways to work together. They must find the strength to change their destinies and those of their respective home worlds. This is the beginning of the Rynn-Human alliance.
In a story of fate, second chances, and redemption, an unlikely partnership forms between a young alien and an old human widower that will change the future of both their races.
"Redemption Song" is available for purchase in both print and ebook formats.
Book Details:
"Redemption Song - The Beginning of the Rynn-Human Alliance"
By Henry A. Burns
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Published: July 2017
ISBN: 978-1480847910 (pb)
ISBN: 978-1480847897 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1480847903 (ebook)
ASIN: B073ZCWBW6
Pages: 380
Genre: Science Fiction
About The Author:
Henry A. Burns has studied martial arts since he was 15, played in various Latin bands as a percussionist and just recently decided to retire and devote his energies toward writing. Redemption Song is his first novel in what is expected to be a multi book series.
Contact Information:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ForestCabinClan/
Promo Link: http://bookbuzz.net/blog/science-fiction-redemption-song/
Purchase Links:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/redemption-song-henry-a-burns/1126713694?ean=9781480847910
https://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Song-Beginning-Rynn-Human-Alliance-ebook/dp/B073ZCWBW6/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/redemption-song-22
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781480847910
Contact Information
BookBuzz
Henry A. Burns
706 509 8422
QUOTED: "The plot's breakneck pace may be too fast; potentially-inciting bits are expedited ... while others are bypassed altogether."
"Regardless, readers will surely look forward to more interplanetary interactions in probable sequels."
Burns, Henry A.: REDEMPTION SONG
Kirkus Reviews. (Feb. 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Burns, Henry A. REDEMPTION SONG Archway Publishing (Indie Fiction) $None 7, 7 ISBN: 978-1-4808-4789-7
In Burns' debut sci-fi tale, the bond between a human and an alien begets a shaky intergalactic alliance, precipitating acclimation for some and resistance from others.
Eighty-two-year-old widower Jeremy Blunt, with a failing heart, is awaiting his life's end in California. He helps a bound figure, whom someone dumped from an unfamiliar hovering craft. She's Small Snow Flower of the birdlike Rynn beings, but Jeremy, unable to pronounce her name in the chirping alien language, calls her Kasumi. She adopts the name, and the two converse thanks to Kasumi's Torque, a multipurpose device worn around the neck. She plans to regain her ship, lost to mutiny, and kung fu grand master Jeremy agrees to train her with help from granddaughter Mel. In exchange, Kasumi takes Mel, now her core sister (wife, essentially), back to her home planet, Nest. The two return to Earth later with others on a trade mission--the Rynn have technology and a miracle drug to offer. Some Americans fiercely reject the aliens, leading the U.S. to split into feuding coalitions. But there are worse extraterrestrials, like the Polig-Grug, which consider Rynn--and most likely humans, too--a food source. Burns jam-packs so much into this story that it's virtually a series. Provocative themes abound. A Rynn core, similar to relationships in Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy, comprises at least three lovers of varying male/female combinations. The newly formed Christian States of America reintroduces slavery. There's likewise an overt but welcome message of acceptance. For example, altruistic human Jeremy, through Kasumi's eyes, is strange at first and possibly dangerous, but characters throughout learn that not all unknown souls are enemies. The plot's breakneck pace may be too fast; potentially-inciting bits are expedited, like Kasumi and Mel's relationship, while others are bypassed altogether (disappointingly, there are no scenes on Nest). Regardless, readers will surely look forward to more interplanetary interactions in probable sequels.
Skimps on nuance in favor of plot density, but it's a perceptive, gratifying saga.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Burns, Henry A.: REDEMPTION SONG." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525461379/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cd150be7. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525461379
QUOTED: "Ambitious in scope but centered on relationships, Redemption Song is a thoughtful work of science fiction. Henry A. Burns's Redemption Song is a thoughtful, action-packed work of science fiction that ushers humanity into a new era of intergalactic politics."
Redemption Song; The Beginning of the Rynn-Human Alliance
John M. Murray
Clarion Reviews. (Jan. 5, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 ForeWord
https://www.forewordmagazine.net/clarion/reviews.aspx
Full Text:
Henry A. Burns; REDEMPTION SONG; Archway Publishing (Fiction: Science Fiction) 28.99 ISBN: 9781480847910
Byline: John M. Murray
Ambitious in scope but centered on relationships, Redemption Song is a thoughtful work of science fiction.
Henry A. Burns's Redemption Song is a thoughtful, action-packed work of science fiction that ushers humanity into a new era of intergalactic politics.
A unique alliance between humans and the Rynn, a race of aliens, begins with a simple connection. An elderly widower, Jeremy Blunt, stumbles across the exiled Small Snow Flower; their relationship sets in motion a series of events that include the United States falling apart, multiple alien races landing on Earth, and an epic space battle.
Jeremy adopts the exiled alien and teaches the Rynn martial arts, as well as informing them on the importance of morality and ethics. What begins as a tale of redemption quickly spirals into much more as human beings and the Rynn together become a major galactic power, face a growing menace, and struggle to thrive. An alliance is born, tested, and strengthened.
The book's science fiction elements become a lens for examining human desires for connection and exploration, with previously closed-off Jeremy at the center. He learns to reconnect with others, even as he shares what it means to be human with aliens.
Characterization is uneven. Jeremy is the most well-rounded character in the large cast. His motivations are always suspect, though, and the truth behind his wife's death isn't made clear until late in the book. His backstory propels most of the story's progression. The plot moves in even bursts.
Other characters are developed only in service of the plot. Jeremy's granddaughter falls in love with an alien within hours of their meeting and becomes the Rynn's spokesperson on Earth; this rapid romance feels forced.
The story covers twenty years of happenings and has weak spots as a result. Major events are overly condensed, as with the United States splintering into four factions after hearing about the Rynn. The break occurs in less than a year and is not supported with believable details. At times, the book feels like a series that has been forced into one volume.
World building and interspecies dynamics shine. Each of the alien races are distinctly drawn, down to their unique cultures and eccentricities. Over the course of the novel, they nevertheless join forces and learn to cooperate seamlessly, as when the Rynn join human militaries and train and prepare new alien races to engage in combat.
Ambitious in scope but centered on relationships, Redemption Song is a thoughtful work of science fiction.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Murray, John M. "Redemption Song; The Beginning of the Rynn-Human Alliance." Clarion Reviews, 5 Jan. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A521908065/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d9c0372c. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A521908065
QUOTED: "Redemption Song seems like a project that perhaps grew beyond the bounds the author had initially imagined."
"Sci-fi junkies who are willing to suspend their disbelief will find this a fun ride."
Henry A. Burns’s Redemption Song is a science fiction adventure chronicling the intertwined destinies of humanity and an alien race called the Rynn.
Kasumi, a young Rynn woman, is stranded on Earth as a result of a mutiny on her ship, and Jeremy, an aging human widower (and notable martial arts expert) discovers her and nurses her back to health. Ultimately, he trains her to defeat her enemy and return to power. Then together they begin to form the first inter-species alliance, fighting to preserve a United States that has descended into civil war and preparing for the threat of even greater interstellar conflicts.
While the plot is promising, Redemption Song reads a little like multiple novels stuck together. The first act, featuring Jeremy and Kasumi learning to trust one another, culminates in an extended training montage and Kasumi’s victory over the forces that have stranded her. (This “first contact” story unfolds hastily, with Jeremy seeming a little too quick to adjust to his unprecedented discovery.) Immediately after that, we are thrust into an American civil war that seems to lead in a completely new direction. Once we’ve settled in for that ride, new alien threats are introduced.
Redemption Song is filled with fast-paced action sequences, political intrigues, and light romance, never taking itself too seriously. Sometimes, though, it borders on ridiculous. For example, Mel, Jeremy’s granddaughter, falls head over heels for Kasumi, and their relationship advances to the Rynn-equivalent of marriage—all in the course of a single, short chapter. And she’s not alone; most of the Rynn characters find their own enthusiastic human sex partners almost immediately, and improbably. Additionally, Burns writes compelling action and credible dialogue, but he’s less adept at developing character motivations.
Overall, Redemption Song seems like a project that perhaps grew beyond the bounds the author had initially imagined. That said, sci-fi junkies who are willing to suspend their disbelief will find this a fun ride.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.