Author Name: J. Scott Coatsworth
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: Tuesday, February 13th, 2018
Format: paperback, ebook
Price: tba
Word Count: 90700
Cover Artist: Anne Cain
Genres: Sci Fi, MM Romance
Pairings: MM, also includes FF
Tropes: second chances, ex lovers
Keywords/Categories: Wingfic, Gay, LGBT fiction,
Queer Sci Fi
Series Title: Oberon Cycle
Position (Number) in Series: 2
Necessary to Read Previous Books: Yes
Book Blurb:
In the sequel to the Rainbow-Award-winning Skythane,
Xander and Jameson thought they’d fulfilled their destiny when they brought the
worlds of Oberon and Titania back together, but their short-lived moment of
triumph is over.
Reunification has thrown the world into chaos. A great storm ravaged
Xander's kingdom of Gaelan, leaving the winged skythane people struggling to
survive. Their old enemy, Obercorp, is biding its time, waiting to strike. And
to the north, a dangerous new adversary gathers strength, while an unexpected
ally awaits them.
In the midst of it all, Xander’s ex Alix returns, and Xander and
Jameson discover that their love for each other may have been drug-induced.
Are they truly destined for each other, or is what they feel
concocted? And can they face an even greater challenge when their world needs
them most?
The Oberon Cycle: Book
Two
Series Blurb:
Xander is a skythane man whose wings have always been a
liability on the lander-dominated half world of Oberon.
Jameson is a lander who has been sent to Oberon to find out
why the supply of the psycho-amoratic drug pith has dropped off.
What neither knows is that they have a shared destiny that
will change the two of them - and all of Oberon - forever.
Buy Links:
Publisher (ebook):
Publisher (paper):
Barnes & Noble:
QueerRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/book/lander/
Goodreads Link:
Excerpt:
Jameson kissed
Xander again, his passion fading, but his ardor for the man still in full
bloom. It was good to find time for the two of them in the middle of madness.
Xander was at
rest, peaceful as he floated on the surface of the water, his eyes closed and
his muscles slack. His black wings trailed off below into the glow of the pond.
He looked more like an angel to Jameson than he had since the first time they’d
met.
Images flashed in
his head—this place, other people, other times. He squeezed his eyes shut,
willing them to go away.
Reluctantly they
subsided. Jameson stood to get out of the water, shaking his head as if to dry
his hair.
Xander pulled him
back down for one more kiss. “What’s the hurry? I can still hear the storm
roaring outside.”
Jameson growled.
“I’m hungry. Don’t you ever get your fill?” He should have told Xander about
the memories. He knew Xander saw them too, sometimes, but Jameson didn’t want
to ruin the moment.
“Apparently not.”
Xander let him go. “But I like to watch your backside, so I guess this is some
kind of compensation.”
“Pervert.” Jameson
smiled to himself. He was still sore from their exertions, but it was a good
kind of sore.
He climbed up to
the rock floor next to the pool, using one of the columns to steady himself.
Something skittered across the edge of his vision. A bat? Or something like it?
He looked after it, but it had vanished.
He went to pull
his pants back on and wrinkled his nose. His clothes were filthy.
He opened his pack
and grabbed a fresh set. He pulled on his underwear first, then laced up his
shirt while Xander watched appreciatively. Getting dressed had been a hell of a
lot easier before he’d gotten his wings. To compensate for his lack of skythane
clothing, they’d raided the king’s closet, and it had been a challenge to find
anything without a fur lining or silver buttons. King Theron had been a big man
too—thick in the middle, if his clothes were any indication. Frowning, Jameson
cinched his belt tight to hold up his pants.
“It suits you.”
Xander smirked, getting out of the water and giving Jameson a full-on view of
his beautiful body. He was muscled, but not overly so, his stomach firm and his
body sleek. He was perfect.
Jameson felt a
surge of love for Xander. He took full advantage of the unguarded moment,
enjoying the show. Xander’s well-defined abs and his lopsided grin were almost
enough to entice Jameson to give it another go, but the memories were messing
with his head, and he really was hungry.
“Let’s eat.” Xander
pulled out his own change of clothes and sniffed them.
“A little damp?”
“Yeah. Mildew from
all the rain. Still, it’s better than the alternative.”
He grinned. It was
a shame Xander needed to wear anything at all. “Um, food. Yeah. Sounds good.”
“We need to be
ready to leave as soon as the storm lets up.” Xander pulled on his pants. “That
means keeping up our strength. Getting fed, getting some sleep…. I want to look
for Quince and the others, and my people need me back home. Things will be confused
in Gaelan after the shift.”
My people. Jameson
had his own people too, somewhere across the continent. “Things will be crazy
in Oberon City too, I’d imagine.”
Xander nodded. As
he finished dressing, Jameson took a look around the cavern. It was maybe fifty
meters across, and half that deep, and there were dark shadows at several
places near the back, leading off to other caves or rooms.
He wondered how
far this cavern system went. His new gift—or curse?—wasn’t specific on details
like that, though sometimes memories sprang wholly formed in his head.
Back home on Beta
Tau, caverns could stretch on for hundreds of kilometers. The Great Rift system
went on for at least three hundred and fifty, meaning it was theoretically
possible to get from New Davos to Arctus without ever going aboveground.
He closed his
eyes, trying to remember this place. The ability seemed to come and go
randomly, but there had to be a way to summon it up at will. It had come to him
when he needed it, but not of his own volition.
Again, there was a
flickering, like something fluttering past in his peripheral vision. This time
it slipped past on both sides. He looked around wildly, but there was nothing
there. Not bats, then. He was losing his mind.
“What are you
thinking about?” Xander asked. “You seem a little… distracted.”
“You didn’t see
that?”
“What?”
“Never mind.” He
sighed. “It’s probably just this place. I… remember it, but I don’t.”
“I know. Since
that kiss, it’s been hit and miss for me too.”
Jameson nodded.
That kiss. The one at the House of the Moon, when memories had flooded through
him, through Xander, like a torrent. It had been the second time for him, but
for Xander….
“Do you ever… see
things that aren’t there?”
“Sometimes. Quick
images. Like brief overlays of the past on the present.”
“Do you see them
now?”
Xander looked
around. “No, nothing now. You?”
“No. I….” He
stopped. Something was moving at the edge of his vision. He looked around. The
cavern seemed to shift, becoming brighter. There was a weird fluttering, as if
a hundred dark wings were flapping just out of sight.
“Jameson, you
okay?”
Everything went
fuzzy for a moment, and his stomach clenched in protest. When he could see
again, golden light flickered from candles placed all around the room. Where
had they come from?
He turned back to
Xander, but Elyra stood there instead, grinning at him, leaning forward, her
breasts like two perfect moons under her vest. “You came. I’ve been waiting for
hours.” She pulled him close. He could smell her musky perfume, feel her long
raven-black hair brush against his cheeks as their lips met….
The world shifted
again.
The cavern was
dark, lit by only the smallest blue illumination from the pool, and he was all
alone. The deep, keening sadness of loss cut him with a sharp physical pain. In
his left hand was a bloody dagger, and his right cupped his torn intestines.
Shift.
A massive furry
creature with eight arms and long teeth like a saber-toothed tiger rose up with
a growl, and six eyes stared at him over its wrinkled snout. It swiped at him
with a hairy paw tipped with sharp claws and he danced away….
Shift.
He was out of
breath, gasping for air, and covered in sweat. He held on to one of the rock
columns for support, staring over his shoulder. Surely they hadn’t followed him
all the way back here.
There were shouts
behind him, in the main cavern, and he took a desperate gulp of air and pushed
himself onward, toward the darkness at the back of the cavern….
Shift.
He/They/We were
joined, feeling a sense of peace and harmony at their union. He/They/We fed on
the nutrients in the water, joined body and mind, and mused about the world
outside and the events of the last few days. Each part of He/They/We shared its
experiences out in the world, the others they had encountered before returning
with their knowledge to enrich the whole. The time of the Great Move was
coming….
Shift.
5 out of 5 stars
Lander is the second book in the dystopian/science-fiction Oberon Cycle series. This is a connecting series, so you must read the books in order or you'll be completely lost. Lander takes up right were Skythane left off with little to no break in time lapse. So if you can I'd recommend doing a fast re-read of Skythane just to get right back into the action.
So this is my official first 5 star review of 2018 and what a phenomenal second book in this series. The action was non-stop from start to finish leaving this reader wanting the next book in the Cycle NOW! While this may be the second book in the series, it doesn't suffer from the massive info-dump that many science-fiction stories fall into. Yes, there's a decent amount of new information that adds a lot of backstory to the series, it's not a continuous pile that is hard to wade through.
The story moves at a good pace, with absolutely no slow moments, outside of those that are meant to be a focused thinking moment. There is a significant amount of new and continued conflict amongst the main characters and ancillary characters. Giving them moments in the story to both show their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths while continuing their growth and maturity. There is a marked difference in how both Xander and Jameson interact with those around them and even themselves as they begin to become the respective leaders for their people. The addition of Xander's ex, Alix, showing up alive and well and still with feelings for Xander, tosses extra conflict into their lives as well.
I absolutely am in love with this series for so many reasons. The main reason is that this series reads like the old sci-fi masters minus the misogyny and lack of diversity in the LGBT world. To see characters that I can relate to struggle with their sexuality as they deal with all that life can throw at them and of course save the world from evil while they do it. *g* I truly can not recommend this series any more than I've already fangirled all over this review.
I hope you give this series a try and enjoy it as much as I have and plan to enjoy the remaining book(s) in the series.
Where
The Ideas Come From
by J. Scott Coatsworth
by J. Scott Coatsworth
It’s
something I get asked all the time. Where do I get my ideas? What inspired the
half world in Oberon? Or the generation ship in “The Stark Divide?”
So I
thought I’d reveal a few secrets of the writing trade.
There are
three main places where writers get their ideas.
1)
The Idea Drawer: Every writer has an idea drawer.
We cut out newspaper articles, scribble thoughts on bits of paper and post-its,
and leftover bubblegum wrappers (some of them with chewed bubblegum inside).
When we need an idea, this is the first place we reach into, and the reason we
have to keep a bottle of hand sanitizer on our desks.
2)
The Great Idea Vortex: When you get your writing card,
you get access to a special place – the great writing vortex. It’s a spinning,
churning, nausea-inducing rip in the space-time continuum where all the unused
writing ideas end up. Let me take a look at what’s floating around in there
now. * stifles urge to upchuck * Let’s see. “vampire pandas.” “Downton Abbey
with snowmobiles.” “garbage truck bandits.” OK, to it’s not always a great
selection, which brings me to the third option:
3)
Mrs. Klempf’s Idea Emporium: If you want a good cover, you have
to pay a professional cover designer. If you want your book edited, you’ll hire
a good editor. Why should ideas be any different? When you’re stumped for a new
idea for that next story, check out Mrs. Klempf. The ideas are top shelf, and
if you get on her email list, you’ll get the occasional specials, including
“three ideas for a dollar” and the fun “mixed ideas bag”, where you get a bunch
of half ideas you can put together yourself to make new and exciting hybrid
ideas.
I hope
that clears it up for you. I gotta run over to the emporium – I spilled a can
of cherry coke in my idea drawer, and my vortex access is on the glitch.
About the Author:
Scott lives between the here and now and the
what could be. Indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the
tender age of nine, he devoured her library. But as he grew up, he wondered
where the people like him were.
He decided it was time to create the kinds of stories he couldn’t
find at Waldenbooks. If there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he
would remake them to his own ends.
His friends say Scott’s brain works a little differently – he sees
relationships between things that others miss, and gets more done in a day than
most folks manage in a week. He seeks to transform traditional sci fi, fantasy,
and contemporary worlds into something unexpected.
He runs Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites
that bring queer people together to promote and celebrate fiction that reflects
their own reality.
Author Website: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com
Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth
Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworthauthor/
Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jscoatsworth
Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/
Author Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.-Scott-Coatsworth/e/B011AFO4OQ
Giveaway
Scott is giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate and three
copies of his queer sci fi eBook “The Stark Divide.” Use the rafflecopter code:
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