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The Psychic Wars
Thought is more
dangerous than you think.
Present-day Earth: Schoolteacher ROMAN DOYLE, 25, is
married and his wife is pregnant. He remains unaware he is PRINCE ARMON SAKARA,
heir of the EMPEROR of a distant galaxy.
That is, until he encounters CHI-RO JIN, a veteran of the Psychic Wars.
Chi-Ro’s mission is to return
Roman to the Emperor. And so, with his dormant psychic and astral abilities
awakened by an alien drug, Roman journeys to the distant galaxy known as The
Cosmic Sea, where he joins the Second Psychic War: An interstellar battle
between the forces of his father, the Emperor, and those of his uncle, the
BARON.
Torn between his princely
responsibilities and those to his wife and unborn child, Roman discovers a
shocking alien plot that threatens to exterminate the human race.
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Veterans of the Psychic Wars
Another new addition to the official Red Moon site is a books section. Find out more about Veterans of the Psychic Wars, Wayne Gerard Trotman's epic science fiction novel.
Part One
Veterans of the Psychic Wars
(Novel with Appendix and Glossary of Terms)
Part Two
Architects of the Psychic Wars
(Proposed sequel).
Part Three
Masters of the Psychic Wars
(Proposed sequel).
Veterans of the Psychic Wars (2011)
Reviews:
22nd April 2011
This is a great book!
THIS REVIEW INCLUDES SPOILERS
By Tony-Paul - See all my reviews
Veterans of the Psychic Wars (Kindle Edition)
One moment, Roman Doyle is searching for rum-raisin ice cream and peanut butter for his pregnant wife, Soraya; in the next, he’s being attacked by five jack-booted Asians intent on doing him severe bodily harm; in the third moment, he’s rescued by a stranger who proceeds to explain that he’s really a long-lost alien prince from the planet Talis. Seems Roman’s exiled father is ready to return and claim his throne and the stranger, Chi-Ro, a veteran of the Psychic Wars, has been sent to bring his son home.Needless to say, Roman thinks he’s either fallen through a crack into an insane Twilight Zone or the stranger’s telling the truth. He soon finds it easier to believe the latter, and that sets off a wild adventure as he seeks to reunite himself with his wife, and escape the police who arrived at the scene just in time to be included in the mayhem. Enlisting his friend Zachary’s aid, Roman finds himself in an exciting but definitely harrowing and deadly adventure, for Zachary has issues with a heretofore unconfessed alien abduction, and Soraya and their unborn child are now in danger from Roman’s murderous relatives and others who don’t believe he should be allowed to live long enough to claim the throne. And a new twist is added to the whole unbelievable mix…Baby Doyle may be developing prebirth psychic powers…
MY OPINION: This is a great book! The action starts in the first paragraph and doesn’t stop until the last with no slowing down. The author’s done a vast amount of worldbuilding here and it shows. Good characterization and great narration and the dialogue, especially that Roman has with himself is thoroughly entertaining. This may or may not be the first in a series but whether it is or not, it’s a great read.
For those who like everything explained out, there’s a glossary at the end.
__________________________________________________________________
12th April 2011
Fantastic!
4.5 out of 5 stars
By Rayven - See all my reviews
Veterans of the Psychic Wars (Paperback Edition)
When given this book to review by Darkiss, I was unsure if I would like it or
not. I am not a huge Sci-Fi fan. However, from the very first page Veterans of
the Psychic War grabbed my attention. This book is jam packed with action and it
grabs hold of you as we follow Roman a school teacher, married to the love of
his life and soon to be father, being swept up into a nightmare that he can't
escape. As a martial artist I was enthralled with the way the fight scenes
played out. The author has a unique writing style that placed me smack dab in
the middle of elaborate fight scenes. I found myself fighting alongside of Roman
and Chi-Ro on more than one occasion. I was transported into a world where the
boundaries of time did not exist and anything was possible with the sheer power
of thought.
The depth of the characters held me captive and I felt my heart ache for Roman
who is trying to grasp and understand the truth of who he truly is. He is driven
by loss and the love of this wife and unborn child. The author did a fantastic
job of creating supporting characters that you either hated or loved. He gave
glimpses of their stories and I was caught up in all the gamete of emotions that
each character went through.
The authors writing style is truly brilliant and his ability to draw you into
his universe is second to none. From the start you are as confused as the books
hero but together you are led forward into an incredible conclusion that left me
stunned, shocked and greatly satisfied. I have to say that the conclusion to
this tale was practically orgasmic. I can not recommend it enough just on the
merit of it's plot twist. Throughout the book there are many memorable quotes,
but one that stuck with me the most was " Death whispers your name to me"
I highly recommend this book if you are a Sci-fi lover for it has everything you
are looking for; Star Wars meets Enter the Dragon. Be prepared to be hanging off
the edge of your seat wanting more. I am looking forward to the next book in the
series, and on that note I give this book a 4.5 star rating.
Wayne Gerard Trotman is a British writer, filmmaker, artist, photographer, composer and producer of electronic music.
__________________________________________________________________
25th March 2011
Fast paced sci-fi action
5.0 out of 5 stars
By Sonya Iovieno - See all my reviews
Veterans of the Psychic Wars (Kindle Edition)
Veterans of the Psychic Wars was a real thrill to read. I used to read quite
a lot of sci-fi, Asimov being one of my favorites, but I haven't been drawn into
the genre for a while now. Well this book has sparked my enthusiasm once more.
There's never a dull moment from the opening scene onwards and the characters
are really well developed. It has everything a good story should have with
various sub-plots, conflicted characters, interesting twists and edge-of the
seat alien encounters. The science & martial arts details are well-researched
and delivered in a very fluid way, adding credibility to the storyline. At the
conclusion the reader is left with plenty of questions to be addressed in a
sequel. I can easily see Veterans of the Psychic Wars gathering a cult following
and I can't wait for the next instalment.
__________________________________________________________________
10th March 2011
A sweeping space opera resonating in the here-and-now
5.0 out of 5 stars
By Oana - See all my reviews
Veterans of the Psychic Wars (Paperback Edition)
In my teenage and student years I was a very keen Sci-Fi fan with a strong liking for Heinlein and Bradbury in particular. Later I developed a liking for Julian May's multi-faceted Pleiocene Exiles series. Even though the Star Wars series was great fun, and for the time technically spectacular, it didn't push any narrative boundaries. So the genre lost its gloss for me to a large extent. In terms of storyline and character development if not execution, only Episode III has managed to redeem that franchise for me.
That's why I was thrilled to come across Veterans of the Psychic Wars. It really is a sweeping, old style space opera in form, but with a depth of detail and personality development beyond anything I have read in a long time.
Wayne Trotman's great success in this novel is the convincing melding of the here-and-now with vast conflict in deep space. Moreover, the "mundane" depth of feeling the hero Roman Doyle shows for his wife and unborn child are very genuinely portrayed and utterly convincingly carried through the narrative. Allied to the otherwise vast scale of the novel, it is this seamlessly executed zooming in and out that adds greatly to books enjoyment.
To have a hero who is just as confused as the reader at the outset but who then takes all his skills, passions and previously unimaginable abilities and pits them successfully against a truly gruesome and utterly evil enemy, is very refreshing.
The evolving personal interactions, not always positive, between friends, mentors and ambiguous allies old and new all serve to ground the narrative convincingly. It also has to be said, the ultimate enemies here are stomach-churningly gruesome.
Veterans of the Psychic Wars is very clearly a snapshot set at a crucial
juncture in a well thought out greater context. The highly complex
cross-generational (oh yes and inter-galactic) web of relationships seems
flawlessly worked out although it does take some figuring out initially.
This was a great read and I am genuinely eager to read the sequels and prequels.
Wayne Trotman deserves every success with this novel.
__________________________________________________________________
17th February 2011
5.0 out of 5 stars
By The Dark - See all my reviews
Roman, a young married schoolteacher, is the reluctant hero, whose attachment to his wife Soraya is often used as a snare by evil aliens. There is more than a fair share of humor and surprising twists in the book. Several of the characters seem oddly religious, considering the technological advancements of their universe, but there is a sense that extremely advanced technology has not eradicated superstition or solved social problems such as race and class division.
The book presents a great deal of historical data, both real and imagined and it soon becomes clear that the author employed substantial effort in creating believable characters, relationships and cultures. Often in science fiction, alien worlds are treated as the extraterrestrial equivalent of nation-states in present-day Earth, and there is a tendency to depict entire planets as embracing one religion or ideology; or of being of one ethnic race. In ‘Veterans of the Psychic Wars’ I was presented with realistic diversity. ‘Veterans of the Psychic Wars’ is a ‘heroic monomyth’ as described by Joseph Campbell in his book ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’; as such, fans of ‘Star Wars’, ‘The Matrix’, or ‘Dune’ should enjoy it. I highly recommend this book.
__________________________________________________________________
9th February 2011
By Clayton Clifford Bye (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
Veterans of the Psychic Wars (Kindle Edition)Reviewers Note
As Veterans of the Psychic Wars by Wayne Gerard Trotman is something of an unusual story, and my review is long, I want to mention right away that I enjoyed his story, especially when I found the Appendices and the Glossary of Terms at the back of his book.
News Release
On January 18, 2011 – Red Moon Productions Ltd. announced the recent publication
of ‘Veterans of the Psychic Wars’, a 416-page epic science fiction novel
described as ‘Star Wars’ meets ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’. It is the first
book of a proposed ‘Psychic Wars’ series.
Review
‘Star Wars’ meets ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ is a fine description of
Veterans of the Psychic Wars, as long as you realize that the hero isn’t a
wimp like Luke Skywalker and that the amazing warriors of Crouching Tiger would
be toast before this story hits its stride.
Roman Doyle is an ordinary guy. He’s a 25 year-old British school teacher in a situation many will remember quite fondly. Roman is out on a 1 a.m. run for peanut butter and ice cream for his pregnant wife. But, mere moments after grabbing some cash from a banking machine he finds himself battling for his life against 5 intergalactic thugs. Knocked silly and forced to begin strangling himself at the psychic command of one of the thugs, Roman is rescued by Chi-Ro Jin, a veteran of the Psychic Wars. After rescuing him, Chi-Ro Jin (Fu Manchu mustache and all) insists that Roman is really Armon Sakara, who must now be returned to his father, the Emperor Sakara Rey. But first they must steal the enemy’s space ship in order to get off the planet, and then they must further avoid the minions of Baron Seti Aljyk, Armon’s evil uncle, who has usurped his father’s throne and brought about another Psychic War.
Okay, so it does sound like Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Obi-wan and The Force. The choking thing sure seems like a nod to Star Wars, doesn’t it? But let me assure you, this is no made-for-the big screen, spoon-fed, pottage. In this story, we don’t have The Force. Instead, virtually every soldier is scientifically enhanced for psychic warfare and various forms of deadly martial arts. Like real life, some are good at what they do and some aren’t. The elite can create astral forms or become astral beings with the power to smite almost anything. One of the characters, a physicist, even postulates that the astral forms may be connected to black matter. As for others, the technical can only bring out and enhance what talent is already there.
In Star Wars, an overwhelmed Luke must quickly learn to use the “mysterious” force or perish; in Veterans of the Psychic Wars, Roman is already a master in several disciplines of the martial arts but finds them terribly inadequate for the challenges he faces: real science must help him multiply his inherent talents. And when Roman’s psychic power reaches a certain level, it’s only then he becomes a force to be reckoned with. One example of this is the ability to glean knowledge telepathically by sharing minds with his teacher, Chi-Ro Jin and later in the story, with his many enemies.
Okay, enough Star Wars and such. Writers borrow structure (plots) and ideas (androids, for example) all the time. Its what they do with them that matters. So, lets proceed on this basis: why should you buy and read Veterans of the Psychic Wars? First and foremost it’s science fiction all the way. It’s also strong story telling from someone who’s used to being behind a camera. Trotman, a veteran film maker, uses this experience to take us from one scene to another with blazing speed and precision. Unable to show us (visually) what’s in his view screen, Trotman must show us with words. This is something that’s all-important and that I think he does very well. Because, even though this is science fiction, good story telling comes first.
With what must have been strenuous effort and research, Trotman ties his story inextricably to Earth’s human history, builds a realistic but distant galaxy where we’re introduced to all sorts of people, embroils us in close-up and planetary scaled battles and bombards us with information—not just as it would come to the character in the book, but from within the minds of many.
Trotman has also created a language (maybe he borrowed one, but I can’t tell) for his book. Character names, spaceship names, planets, animals, phrases, etc. are all presented in this unknown language, and it took me most of the book before these alien words were rolling off my tongue with ease. This is something that will turn off many potential customers but should delight the true science fiction buff. Trotman doesn’t deal with “machine technical” unless absolutely necessary, but his attention to “language technical” is every bit as deep and intriguing as the former. An example of this would be the naming of each of the numerous and differing martial art forms and the way he describes some of the moves.
So, while I confess to having difficulty with the first third of Veterans
of the Psychic Wars: the author throws us headlong into a complex alien war
that’s waged with weapons and techniques so advanced they seem like magic, and
he expects us, at the same time, to follow a strange language which peppers the
pages… It all works in the end: it’s as if we’re Roman, dropped into an alien
life, and our heads are spinning with the newness of everything. We’ll come
around in a while. And I’m just fine with that.
Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2011
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A roller coaster of Space Opera
5.0 out of 5 stars
By M. Thompson "Mike Thompson" (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
Veterans of the Psychic Wars (Kindle Edition)
This is a well written and well thought out book. From the outset it brings
together the 'ordinary' in the main character (Roman Doyle) and the vastness of
the galaxy with the psychic wars, spread over many worlds and beings.
It is obvious that much work went into working out the background (in the full
book there are appendices on the characters, medals, and a glossary of terms
from the Talisian language and the story).
The many characters are well crafted and do not change throughout the book
(except due to events in the story). I found that I got a bit lost in all of the
names, however, the author does ensure the reader knows the main names by using
them often and in context.
It is not obvious from the Product Description of the vastness of the story
world; during the initial stages of the book this is hinted at through Chi-Ro
Jin, who provides history and background for Roman (and hence the reader).
However, in the latter stages of the book, the reader begins to feel at first
hand (through Roman himself) the hugeness and importance of the world that he is
forced into.
The book had some of the imperialistic feel of Dune (Frank Herbert), the ideas
from the Matrix (training within dream worlds), the Primes within the Talents
(Anne McCaffrey), and the technology of Babylon 5 and Star Wars.
While I made rather heavy of the reading, I enjoyed the book and its ending.
For Kindle readers: this is the first 'self-published' book that I have read
that has not had typos in it and was well laid out.
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