Arcanis is in civil war. The
margravine has been deposed. A plague rages.
Sent by TerraFormation with
vaccine to help the war-torn planet survive, Miles Sheffield is
reunited with his best friend and his niece, offering them refuge on
Terra.
When Pallas and the other women
on the FSS Clara
Barton are abducted,
Aric, Miles, and the crew begin a search taking them beyond the
Emeraunt Galaxy to the law-forsaken depths of the Fringes.
There, Aric faces an old enemy
he never again expected to see, and a fight to the death for
possession of his own wife. Old hatreds are revived and old memories
return to life as he makes a decision affecting not only the Throne
of Arcanis but the eventual fate of his own family.
An Excerpt
From Retribution:
“Dr.
Thorpe? Wayne Thorpe?”
“Yes,
I'm Dr. Thorpe,” he acknowledged. Setting down the grid, he walked
over to Miles, studying his face carefully. “Do I know you?”
“It’s
Miles...Sheffield. I guess you probably don’t remember—”
“Little
Miles?” The doctor laughed. He took a step backward, giving him a
quick once-over with bright hazel eyes. “To use an old cliché…my,
how you’ve grown.” He called over his shoulder, “Maeve, you and
Carol finish without me.”
As
one of the nurses nodded, he threw an arm across Miles’ shoulders.
“How
could I ever forget my almost brother-in-law? Come on, we’ve got
some catching up to do. So, you’re the M. Sheffield in charge of
this little mercy mission? I didn’t make the connection.”
Miles
admitted he was, adding, “I wasn’t sure you’d want to remember
me.”
“Listen,
Miles, just because your sister jilted me and nearly ruined my life
doesn’t mean I want to forget everything about that time. For
example, I still remember what a little pest you were.”
“Out
of all the memories, you had to pick that one?” Miles laughed.
They
settled in the mess hall, drinking the grain-beverage concoction long
ago replacing coffee as the National Drink, poured from one of the
portable synthesizers assigned to each table.
Thorpe
explained he’d been doing research at a TF hospital in
Pennsylvania.
“After
I got my act back together when Elizabeth dumped me, I decided to
tackle the most difficult field I could find. Something to keep me so
damned busy I wouldn’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I’m a
qualified expert in viruses, though I certified as a general
practitioner after I graduated.”
He
picked up his cup, swirling the contents slightly.
“I
think that was the worse period of my life, being dropped like that
and pulling that idiotic stunt of trying to drink a bottle of
Nirvana-laced whiskey.
If my cousin hadn’t found me, and my father hadn’t been
influential enough to have my treatment records destroyed... My
budding medical career would’ve ended then and there. I had a lot
of time to think while I was recuperating and realizing what a fool
I’d been.” He laughed slightly. “Ironic how it worked out,
isn’t it?”
“You
mean your being on this ship?”
“All of it. If I hadn’t
missed that year of school getting all that psychiatric treatment
for…well, the official diagnosis was depression,
I wouldn’t have
come back just as the viral lab position came open. Dad suggested I
apply.” He studied the dark brown liquid in his cup. “Which
would, a long way down the road, put me on this ship, going to help a
woman who, if things had been different, would be my daughter. Tell
me, Miles, does she look like Elizabeth?”
Miles
paused a moment before answering.
How
many times have I heard that same tone when anyone speaks of
Elizabeth? Or seen that expression?
Elizabeth Sheffield might have been dead for nearly twenty years, but
to any man who knew her, she was still very much alive
“She
has my sister’s blue eyes, but she’s more beautiful then
Elizabeth ever was.”
“Does
she have her mother’s disposition?”
As
far as Thorpe was concerned, Elizabeth Sheffield had been the most
selfish, manipulative female in existence, a bitch who twisted men
around her little finger until they howled in pain though they
enjoyed it while it was happening. He’d always been aware she
agreed to marry him only because her parents wished it. Because of
that, he let her have her way in the hopes she’d at least tolerate
him. He didn’t say any of that, of course, merely looked over at
Miles and smiled, a little ironically, to show he hadn’t really
meant that last question…though he really did.
“Wait’ll
you meet her.” Miles let his own fondness for Pallas color his
words. “You’ll love her. You won’t be able to help yourself.”
Somehow,
Thorpe doubted that. Once
bitten, twice careful,
especially where the daughter of the woman jilting him was concerned.
BUY
LINKS:
Paperback
exclusively from the publisher’s website:
http://www.classactbooks.com/component/virtuemart/science-fiction/retribution-9042018-06-14-16-57-28-detail?Itemid=0
About Our Focus Author:
Toni
V. Sweeney has lived 30 years in the South, a score in the Middle
West, and a decade on the Pacific Coast and now she’s trying for
her second 30 on the Great Plains.
Since
the publication of her first novel in 1989, Toni divides her time
between writing SF/Fantasy under her own name and romances under her
pseudonym Icy Snow Blackstone. In March, 2013, she became publicity
manager for Class Act Books (US). She is also on the review staff of
the New York Journal of Books. In 2016, she was named a Professional
Reader by netgalley.com.
In
2015 and 2016 Toni was voted one of the Top 10 authors of those years
by Preditors & Editors Readers Poll. In
2013, the Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewer’s Choice voted The
kan Ingan Archives
(Part Two of the Arcanian Chronicles) a Special Mention, and the
following year, named the individual novels The
Man from Cymene,
and Space
Studs,
from the same series two of the Top 8 SF/fantasy novels of 2014.
As
of 2018, Toni currently has 55 novels in print, including 3 series,
and 3 trilogies.
Find
out more about Toni:
Amazon
Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLQBB8
Twitter:
@ToniVSweeney
Sounds really good! Best of luck with the book!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer!
DeleteThanks, Jennifer. The series has won a couple of awards, so I guess readers like it.
DeleteInteresting! Good luck!
ReplyDeletethanks, Claire. So glad you figured out how to make a comment on the blog!
DeleteI worked hard on the world-building, so glad you found it interesting.
DeleteSounds like a great book! I enjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it. It was difficult to select an excerpt and I hoped I chose one that would pique a prospective reader's interest.
DeleteI've read Ms Sweeney's books in this series and believe you'll find it well worh your time to pick up the first and go thru.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. I appreciate that!
DeleteI enjoyed the excerpt and wish you continued success!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the goodo sentimenta, Susan.
Delete