Title: SAVING PALUDIS
Author: Clayton Graham
Genre: Science Fiction
Book Blurb:
Finalist in the Readers’ Favorite 2018 International Book Awards.
Winner Top Shelf Awards 2020
Book Excellence Awards Finalist
N.N. Light's Book Heaven Award 2023
At the edge of humanity’s reach, a small planet finds itself at war…
When scientists from Paludis share a technological breakthrough with mother Earth, peace swiftly turns into deadly conflict. The local aliens, downtrodden for centuries, seize their chance, and a desperate human cult plans a mysterious agenda of its own.
Law enforcement officer Stefan Lattanzis must team with two strangers, a botanist and a mysterious seer, and combat the malevolent forces that threaten to destroy their home world. Not only must they battle a power-hungry Paludis leader seeking world domination at any cost, they must also find a way to defeat the military might of Earth.
To succeed they must employ all the powers at their disposal and seek a shadowy alliance with the natives of Paludis. But the way ahead is fraught with danger and the possibility of betrayal. They know the path to freedom will demand sacrifice, but failure is not an option.
Saving Paludis is an electrifying sci-fi thrill-ride. If you like futuristic technology, alien political intrigue, and high-octane, paranormal action, then you’ll love this incredible interstellar adventure!
Excerpt:
Tak-Elno opened his back-tube and took an augmented breath as he arched his body from the water. A quick glance in the gathering dusk told him he was a hundred metres from the shore − the shore on the human side of the peninsula barrier. He laboured on, even now learning more efficient arm and leg movements as he threshed through the water. There came the touch of gravel beneath his searching feet and, floating gently face down, he raised his head to survey the beach.
To his right, he made out the barrier, perhaps two hundred metres distant, snaking into the mist, and on the left the beginning of the eastern coast of West Paludis. Ducking his head under the sea to remove plankton residue from his face, he marvelled at the automatic closure of the back-tube, at the way his transparent cleaning membrane protected his eyes. Surely his race was bred for the water. Lifting his head once more, he saw the flicker of lights, which signaled the presence of human settlement further round the bay. He rose, waded to the shore, and sank to his knees on the beach of moon-kissed pebbles.
He had done it! He had flown in the face of Muskan tradition and flouted the laws of the sea-god, Garn. Exhilaration coursed through his veins. Was he really the first Muskan to swim since his ancestors of many hundreds of years past had played and hunted in the freshwater lakes of the northern lands? He wondered what Brel would say if she could see him now. Certainly, he could not share this secret with her.
Tak-Elno gazed at the stars as they were born in the darkening sky, one by one, sometimes as twins, and wondered if the human sun was among them. The Bridge was there, too, a construction of detestation. The grand elder priests had recently said the humans were in trouble, that their way of life was in jeopardy, that soon Muskans would rule Musk once more. Tak-Elno was not so sure. He did not trust the priests, or their holy writings and prophecies. Sezza! What would they do to him if they knew he had swum to the other side of the barrier wall? What would the humans do, if they found him? Only priests and representatives were allowed on this side of the wall, and then only for arranged discussions with the humans. Tak-Elno was neither, but he was fit and headstrong, and possessed a challenging mind. From where he was now, the barrier looked like what it really was − an artificial means of imprisoning his people. It may be better that way, but it hurt him to behold it.
Taking a deep breath, he noticed the drop in air temperature and decided it was time to swim back. No sooner had he stood to enter the water than the hum of a hovercar broke the dusk silence, and a strong light abruptly pierced the surrounding gloom. The vehicle was on the road leading to the barrier. He crouched, still at the water’s edge, and saw the hovercar’s tail lights pass, then stop as the car reached the barrier’s portal. A search buggy, approaching swiftly, pulled up behind the hovercar and Tak-Elno felt a shiver slide down his spine. Although the smaller buggy was unmanned, it could be more of a threat than the hovercar patrol. It was all-terrain and possessed weapons, and he knew the guards within the wall were able to view what it saw on special screens. This much he had learned from his uncle, a Muskan representative of long standing.
Tak-Elno crouched lower, not knowing which to fear most – the buggy or the occupied hovercar. He closed his back-tube against the cold and swiveled to slide into the sea. The hum of the buggy grew suddenly louder, echoing weirdly and sinisterly in the night. Tak-Elno saw its lights turn and come towards him. He could just distinguish the sleek, alien shape in the reflected glare.
The buggy suddenly slewed from the road, dropped and gave birth to savage, electronic shouts that cleaved the air like thunder. Tak-Elno rose in confusion, and started to run into the sea. Diffused white light enclosed him. A sharp pain hit his right thigh and he collapsed into the shallows, senses lost amidst a cacophony of sound and illumination. His head swam then he sank into darkness.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
An interstellar novel of truly epic proportions. Enter a world of stunning extra-terrestrial mystery, alien subterfuge and incredible human resolve. If you like good sci-fi, good writing, and a plot that screams adventure, you'll love Saving Paludis.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $15 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs October 11 – October 19, 2023.
Winner will be drawn on October 20, 2023.
Author Biography:
As a youngster Clayton Graham read a lot of science fiction. He loved the ‘old-school’ masters such as HG Wells, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, and John Wyndham. As he left those formative years behind, he penned short stories when he could find a rare quiet moment amidst life’s usual distractions.
A retired aerospace engineer who worked in structural design and research, Clayton has always had an interest in science fiction and where it places humankind within a universe we are only just starting to understand. Clayton loves animals, including well-behaved pets, and all the natural world, and is a member of Australian Geographic. He has won many book awards including Author’s Show ‘50 great writers you should be reading’, Readers’ Favorite International Award finalist, and Book Excellence Awards finalist.
Combining future science with the paranormal is his passion. Milijun, his first novel, was published in 2016 and is the exciting prequel to Amidst Alien Stars and Alien Whispers: Conflict and Communion.
Space Opera novel, Saving Paludis, was published in 2018 and won a Readers’ Favorite International Book Award.
His books may be light years from each other but share the future exploits of mankind in an expansive universe as a common theme. In between novels Clayton has also published highly rated short story collections Silently in the Night and Looking for Life, where, among many other adventures, you can sympathize with a doomed husband, connect with an altruistic robot, explore an isolated Scottish isle and touch down on a far-flung asteroid.
He hopes you can share the journeys.
Social Media Links:
WEBSITE: https://claytongraham.com.au/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CGrahamSciFi