Update

Sales of my Kril novel are slow.  I'll come back here if and when more sales are generated.  First Novels never fly off the shelves because they get overlooked among the established writers and the massive amount of books hitting the mainstream.  Not griping.  It is what I expected.  I'll be back when I have something to report.  Busy now working on my new prequel novel 'Oval'. 

Kril Amazon Book reviewed by Kirkus Indie

KRIL

Michael Jeffords

CreateSpace (808 pp.)

$26.95 paperback

ISBN: 978-1-5305-8161-0; September 24, 2016

BOOK REVIEW

In this deep-space, multidimensional tale, the battle of the sexes devolves into actual warfare in a dystopian world.

Jeffords’ debut novel fashions an intricately detailed world full of action, intrigue, and war between patriarchal and matriarchal planets. The book opens with warriors mysteriously zapped out of battles on Earth to the planet Arna—a world located in another time and dimension, and ruled by women. Cpl. Ord (nicknamed “Snake”) is pulled from Vietnam to a nightmare arena resembling the Roman Coliseum on steroids. He sees combatants from various Earthly epochs (“He recognized Civil war vets, WWI soldiers, veterans of the Boer War, Romans, black, red, white, and yellow men. Japanese Samurai, Cossacks, and WWII vets. And ancient warriors he couldn’t begin to identify by their uniforms. Fighting men from his own past, as bewildered as he was staggering in those lines”). Men all around him are killed for merely asking questions or delivering wisecracks. Eventually, he undergoes a trial by ordeal that determines his role in this strange society as a breeder and Kril warrior. The ritual that Snake (KrutChan in his new life) survives is a means of selecting mates and manning the armies of this matriarchy. From the start, Snake is different. He survives four strikes of the pain-inducing trial device and remains stubbornly independent and contrary, while making some powerful enemies. This tale is much more than a cleverly constructed sci-fi universe filled with Machiavellian plots and spectacular battle scenes integrating the use of ancient, modern, and future weaponry. It is a wry commentary on the relationship between men and women, and an intergalactic condemnation of war as seen through the eyes of past, present, future, and alien grunts. It is also quite literary, and filled with stirring imagery: “Battle. He had to tighten his quivering stomach and grit his teeth. Every word he spoke came from the hollow of a drum; squeaking like an adolescent. He wanted to spit, but could not.” The only problem is the wealth of Arna terminology, often not defined until pages after it is introduced. In addition, a rather pointless inversion of words (such as “not do” for “do not”) to represent Arna language becomes particularly confusing at the start of sentences.

An inventive and enjoyable sci-fi epic that offers a cosmic indictment of war.

Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744 indie@kirkusreviews.com

Published on Amazon

Done and Published 9-24-2016.  Out of 100 readers, hopefully 51% will like the finished book.  The other 49% I never expected them to understand the theme.  Many folks I expect will hate it, or never give it a second glance after reading the blurbs.  Kril is not for children of any age.  As for the adolescents of every generation, I'm not a military recruiter, and you can't tell them anything. I give them the story telling experience; what they do with it is their decision.  War, politics, Code legalities, anger, fear of the unknown, and pursuit of love are the realities of every life.  Choices are made second by second of every day.  My intentions were to relate a story around a campfire, track up their minds with mud, some joy and pass on another dream or nightmare to remember.  There's no Hocus-Pocus Magic, no Super Heroes, or Perfection in any of the characters.  The busted, broken, quirky, and Real people will be recognizable.  Live another life, take sides, and ponder what you would have done in the same circumstances.  The Universe I created is just like this one we reside in; deadly, unforgiving, and full of wonderful possibilities. 

Close to Publishing

Revisions....revisions....revisions.  Have to trim 10-12 more pages before the Novel is finished.  Constant worry of deleting wrong sections.  Fingers crossed.  Biggest trouble is re-reading is monotonous; flavor is lost and boring.  Hard to keep interest.  After which comes the tough part.  Publishing.  After final edit, I'll need a week off for recharging my batteries.  

Final progress

Book has 1,485 pages.   Way Too much.  Editing to get down to 850 pages.  Easy?  No way.  Biggest problem is...what to delete?  Make a mistake and the book's theme and plot turn into babbling.  Hope to send off to publisher June of 2016.