Shiva X1V
Lyra Shanti
SciFi/Space Opera
Prophecy rules, science rebels, and the fate of all depends on a boy named Ayn.
Predestined to become the great messiah of his people, Ayn must save his galaxy from disease and war. But when an unknown enemy threatens everyone he loves, the destiny he thought was his spins out of control.
A coming of age story amidst galactic turmoil, Shiva XIV has action, romance, mysticism, and magical creatures. Join Ayn and his friends as his journey to become a heroic legend unfolds!
*Adult themes, intended for mature teens and up.
Excerpt
“That’s The Chord!” Zin shouted as it went by.
“The Chord?“ Ayn yelled back. “What is it exactly?”
“It’s the main way everyone here commutes. We should take it into the heart of the city!” Zin happily exclaimed.
Following close behind his new friend and guide, Ayn clumsily carried his suitcase, trying his best to keep the pace. They soon went upstairs, which spiraled and seemed to go on for miles. Finally, when they reached the top, they had to wait a few minutes for the next train to slide through the opened silver dome that covered them from the smog-filled sky.
When the oval doors to the train opened automatically, Zin smiled at Ayn with a wink. It was as if this was the happiest day of Zin’s young life, and Ayn had absolutely no idea why. However, as they sat down upon the long horizontal benches, Ayn began feeling a sense of wonder and calm. It was the first time since the horror of his birthday that he didn’t feel a deep emptiness and sorrow. He even felt a small amount of Zin’s excitement as he peered through the window in order to watch the traffic of floating vehicles hovering below them.
“Look!” cried Zin. “It’s the Hithra Temple!” Ayn followed Zin’s pointed finger and looked to his right. Ayn could just make out a massive structure that had a marble surface with sharp triangular edges. He wondered what a temple was doing in a city that was known to be free of religion, but he didn’t ask his excitable friend. Zin was in such a happy state, and Ayn didn’t want to disturb him.
As the train raced through the city, it made several stops before Zin got up and motioned to Ayn that it was time to leave. The two halves of the oval door slid open and they exited the train quickly with luggage in tow.
“Where exactly are we going?” Ayn asked, already tuckered out.
“Well,” said Zin as he paused for a moment, scratching above his right eyebrow, “I think we should just head into the artist’s section of the city and see where fate takes us.”
“Fate?” scoffed Ayn. After everything that had happened, he seriously wondered if fate existed. “Aren’t your people scientists?” Ayn said with a hint of sarcasm. “Do you even believe in the concept of fate?”
“My people may not,” Zin casually replied, “but I do.”
Uncaged Review
The first book in this SciFi is a great beginning – and if you’ve never read Space Opera or you’ve wanted to and didn’t know where to start, this is a good place to begin. A very nicely thought out world, with quite a cast of characters. The main characters are Ayn and Zin, with Ayn the next savior of his people, like the next Buddah if you will. He’s also intersex, meaning he has both female and male genitalia, and I was wondering where this was going, but in this first book it is more of a coming of age story and coming to terms with his future and this aspect of his character may be left to later editions. The book was slow going the first third of the way through, but the world building and character development is superb.
The plot gets moving when Zin helps Ayn escape danger – and at this point, the reader has slogged through the slow part of the first book in a series often suffers from – the background building and getting the reader up to speed.
Just one negative is the overuse of exclamation points. I don’t feel they gave the emphasis that was intended, more of an irritant. Being the first novel from this author, I can easily shrug it off.
Reviewed by Cyrene
4 Stars
