SFFS: Snippet #1 from Atomic Zion
DESCRIPTION:
This is the beginning of my SF Thriller, Atomic Zion, which is in its final revisions. It was influenced by my time as the Educational Marketing Director at Frank Lloyd Wright's House on Kentuck Knob and by reading stories from Michael Crichton, Robert Ludlum, James Rollins, and Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
Back Cover Blurb...
On the night of his 90th birthday, a former Wright Apprentice is thrown from the fifth floor of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The only clue to clear his grandson of the murder is a note written in Navajo code which warns "The Bear has awakened."
These four words throw Nick Vanko into the middle of a decades old international cover-up where Wright Apprentices encoded WWII-era secrets about genetic experimentation into their blueprints. In order to stop a being who isn't quite human from unleashing a biological weapon upon the U.S., Nick must find Broadacre City, the fabled utopia designed by Wright, but supposedly never built. Searching by his side are an old Navajo CodeTalker, a woman who sees emotions as colors, and a Mossad agent who is really working for the Russian mafia. But can Vanko trust any of them?
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SNIPPET:
June, 1948
Kletno, Poland
The laughter from the small group of soldiers with Jakub Skovajsa was lifeless, meant to mimic joviality in order to conceal shifty gazes and shaky hands—Skovajsa's being among the shakiest. What had Dostoyevsky said about laughing? There can be no laughter without fear. Or was it pain? Maybe it wasn't even Dostoyevsky.
In Skovajsa's case, it was definitely pain. His right boot had worn through to the shank fifteen minutes into their three-hour trek through the Polish woodlands from Miedzygorze to Kletno. Each step skinned his ankle a little more. Tripping over roots and climbing over logs only aggravated his situation. No one else seemed to be quite as miserable.
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Find other wonderful snippets at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday!
Intriguing! I can't wait to read it. Especially as you have a synesthete character. :)
ReplyDeleteI was totally transfixed by the all the synesthesia research, Katje. Evie is one of my more complex characters.
DeleteThank you for dropping by and commenting!
Ouch! Get that boot looked at!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see more scifi set in the mid-20th century, and yours looks really good so far. Definitely going to add this to my to-read list.
I have always had this polarity with the spaceship SF on one end and the modern day Earth-bound SF on the other. I indulge myself in both. ;)
DeleteThanks for stopping and commenting, Patrick!
Sounds interesting. Excited to read the book when it comes out.
ReplyDeleteI'll be excited when the book finally does come out, T.M.! Ha!
DeleteThank you. :)
Good stuff, as always! This is why I don't like hiking... :-)
ReplyDeleteT.M., you always make me laugh!! :D
DeleteThanks for stopping by.
I'm intrigued. I also have to admit my igorance - I didn't know who Frank Lloyd Wright was until I wikipediaed him. I can't claim to know much about architecture.
ReplyDeleteI like this - I'll be interested to see more. The snippet works to catch the attention and to paint a picture in a few words.
I'm glad I could add to your cultural knowledge, Peter. ;)
DeleteThank you for the compliments! Those are always appreciated!
Oh good stuff. When's the release?? My finger is waiting over the buy button!!
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeh, that happens to me too when hiking. Everyone else looks happy and misery free. :)
T.K., you'll be the first to know when AZ comes out. Thanks for your perpetual enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I've had my share of miserable boot experiences, too. In this case, it was write what you know. ;)
Ouch! Nothing worse for a foot soldier or a hiker. Gotta take care of your feet. I think everyone can relate to that in some fashion or another.
ReplyDeleteI especially loved the Dostoyevsky reference. I had to giggle at that. Brilliant as usual.
Ha ha! Thanks, JC. Who better to parallel misery? ;)
DeleteGreat snippet, Heidi! Loved your description of the laughter to hide the fear.
ReplyDeleteAnd what an intriguing idea for a book!
I've been working on this book for two years, Ann. It has been the biggest project I've ever undertaken. Glad you're intrigued. ;)
DeleteI'm LOVING the premise, Heidi! *Claps hands and squees!* I'm intrigued with the intel (I've been reading true spy stories my whole life), and loving the combination with architecture. There's too little art in SF, I think, so I'm excited to see that aspect is included. If you had some cyberpunk (Alan Turing jacked into his bombe), I think I'd faint from joy. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteHa ha, Ceres!!
DeleteMaybe I should give Nick a cyborg skeleton just for you... ;)
Great premise. I love where your inspiration came from and what you did with it. The snippet is so well written--you've communicated an entire scene with so few sentences. Excellent details.
ReplyDeleteYou humble me, J.M.
DeleteThank you for your kind words. :)
Fascinating idea (and oh, do I sympathize with the soldier with sore feet!) But I thought the code talkers talked, not wrote things down.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue Ann!
DeleteCodeTalkers did talk, but they also did some written coding. In AZ I have the some written codes incorporated within the blueprints.
I love the book concept and this snippet is incredibly evocative.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Cassandra.
DeleteOuch - I can feel his pain! Great snippet Heidi :)
ReplyDeleteBTW I love the way you have your name on the banner - it looks like it could be an expensive make-up brand.
Chantal, I get more compliments on that banner...don't know how everyone will react if I ever change it.
DeleteThanks. ;)
Ouch, poor Skovajsa. I think he needs far sturdier boots, though!
ReplyDelete(sounds like an action-packed story, too)
I'm certainly trying to pack as much action as possible into it!
DeleteThanks for dropping by, Gayle!
Wow. This little snippet packs a punch, Heidi! =)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alexa! :)
DeleteGosh, it's been a while since I read anything like this, but the voice is perfect and immediately carried me back to stolen hours reading Ian Fleming in the school library.
ReplyDeleteYou can compare me to Ian Fleming any day, Misa!
Delete:) Heidi