Dragon Sun is out

[michael_ely]

Hi everyone

Dragon Sun, the second SMAC book, is now out. I saw it in my local Barnes and Noble (sometimes they put it in the main sci-fi section adn sometimes they put it with the serialized Star Trek and Star Wars book, so it can be a little tricky to find).

I'll be sending a sample chapter to Apolyton to post so you can try before you buy. Let me also give my deepest apologies for the very lame typo that appears in the opening section of the book.

Here's the description of the book from the back cover:

"Years after the war that threatened the last remnants of humanity, the divided colonists of the planet Chiron became immersed in new crises as the secrets of their world begin to emerge...

"Beneath the surface of the planet, a growing rebellion threatens Sheng-ji Yang's dreams of immortality, as the former executive officer of the Unity finds his carefully controlled world unraveling. Across the ocean, Lady Deirdre Skye's very life is in jeopardy as the Planetary Council withholds vital supplies, demanding that she turn over her research concerning the mysterious life force that is awakening on Chiron.

"Though an ocean apart, Yang and Skye seek an alliance to overcome the forces arrayed against them. The stakes are high: power, survival, and the future of human life on Chiron. And in the end, only one of them will survive Yang's Dragon Sun."

let me know what you think,

michael ely

[MarkG]

here it is guys!

http://apolyton.net/smac/frame.shtml?Tales/6-DragonSunexcerpt.shtml

thanks Mike!

[MarkG]

and in rtf format....

http://apolyton.net/smac/Tales/DragonSunexcerpt.rtf

[Jonny]

I've got the book and I've read the first 100 pages or so. It's a great book so far.

Good job Mike!

[SerapisIV]

Thanks Mike, I'm waiting for the USPS to finally drop off my copy.

By the way...woo hoo...Deirdre's a lush !!

[MarkG]

this is wonderfull!

from the 1st chapter

Finally the rover reached a low ring of hills, and three citizens in simple gray-green uniforms appeared and pulled red camo netting off two long metal doors. They moved quickly, jerking the doors open, and Yang took one last look at the cold vault of the sky before the rover passed into the throat of the base known as the Hive.

Inside, his hiveguard opened the rover hatch, and Yang dismounted. Two more guards stood in the large, low-ceilinged rover bay, along with a stocky man in a red and gray uniform. The man stood at a respectful distance, but Yang could feel his impatience.

"What is it, General Markos?"

The man approached, scowling. "I think we should talk about your plans, Chairman. We're fighting a battle on two fronts, if what I read in your last decree is true."

"Is this base secure?"

General Markos hesitated, adjusting to Yang's unexpected question. "Of course."

"Is the loyalty of the hiveguard at each key entry point unquestioned?"

He nodded. "In this base, yes."

"Then we're safe, General, and whatever battles we fight will be by our own choosing. Assemble the advisors and we'll discuss your concerns."

General Markos bowed, still frowning. "Very well, Chairman." He turned away and started barking orders into his quicklink.

[SerapisIV]

Great, I'm posting to a forum run by a general from a brutal communist dictatorship. Where's the great purge of military leadership when we need one

[SerapisIV]

Hey Mike, is it possible to get a SMAC map (or even drawn) that shows where events are occurring? Maybe even some save games showing where the armies are? Great book so far, I'm only a quarter of the way through it though as I got dragged away from it for a football game (Go Blue!)

[michael_ely]

Yo Serapis

Glad you like the book so far. Here is a very crude map that lays out the rough positions of the faction leaders in book 2. Does this help at all? Naturally Morgan's armies come in from the east, and Yang's cross the ocean from the west.



(Did I mention the map was very crude? )

michael

[MarkG]

"crude"?
that will sell on our news

[SerapisIV]

Thanks for the map. How dense is the map? As each faction have 4-5 bases, how much wilderness is left on the main continent?

Finished the book a few days ago. I like the ending. I especially like the way that the tech tree has been divided up amongst players, not the way the game has it. It makes more sense that each leader would have different techs that other leaders wouldn't have even if the game requires them, i.e. skyfarms but no airpower.

I'm really looking forward to the next book. I hope there isn't too much emphasis on transcendence and the leaders all duke it out in the end for superiority. Are you going to explain how Miriam suddenly dropped out of sight after the first book? How she stayed hidden on the main continent?

[SerapisIV]

Oh yeah, Michael are there any plans for a future series of Alpha books including the SMAX factions or being longer then the current 3 part series?

[michael_ely]

Hi Serapis

Thanks. Glad you liked it! There are no plans right now for a SMACX series, although that could certainly be interesting.

Book 3 will not deal with transcendence. I feel that's been done before, in the game story. Book 3 will definitely lean more to the duking it out path, and with a special twist at the end. Miriam and Zakharov are the stars, but the Hive plays a role again, and some other factions as well.

thanks again,
michael

[Leonidas]

Thanks for the heads up

[Alynzia]

Book Comments.

We (that is me & my brother) bought your book as soon as it came out in the States because we were on holiday there late August. It wasn't hard to find in Barnes & Noble, actually, but I'm used to skulking around the sci-fi books anyway!

He read it first, on the plane and then at home, then I got it. It was really good, I would say better than the first one, but only because of the concepts it dealt with. Deirdre was lovely and suprisingly human, despite her high minded ideals. (I'm a little worried we had descriptions of both Santiago's & Deirdre's breasts so far, PLEASE not Miriam's next!!)

We are really looking forward to the final instalment, and that is very cruel of you to tell us it has a special twist at the end so bloody long before it comes out!

Alynzia.