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Submission Synopsis
Raptor's Edge
by Mark E. Boone
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Length:
104,000 Words
Genre:
Fantasy/Adventure
Author's Representative:
Faye M. Swetky
The Swetky Agency
2150 Balboa Way No. 29
St. George, Utah 84770
435-656-0426
fayeswetky@starband.net
Other Books in Series:
Trilogy in Progress
The Book in One Sentence:
An apocalyptic war unfolds between powerful wizards; at stake: control of
the Earth's fledgling world of men...and immortality, itself!
Blurb/Logline:
An untamed precipice – suitable only for birds of prey – becomes the
unlikely means for human redemption as rebellious, unsavory elements of
The Sorcerer’s Council of Mongstrom devises a far-reaching conspiracy for
domination and immortality in hopes of thwarting prophecy on Earth.
After evoking the heinous wrath of a crotchety old sorcerer, the
Fledgling World of Men are faced with a calamitous future of enslavement
and worse unless they can find the one person who heard the pronouncement
of the curse, the one who knows how to remove it.
Left with a burgeoning mystery, very few clues, and little hope for the future, a hearty but reluctant band of four adventurers sets out
into the unknown, searching desperately and facing daunting challenges and
constant peril along the road to the nether region.
Little did they know, their quest was only the beginning….
Synopsis:
A curse… The future of mankind is threatened when a
crotchety old sorcerer with unrealized aspirations of power and
immortality goes on a heinous rampage, declaring war on an unwitting
valley in the world of men.
During one of his many tirades of terror, the sorcerer steals a local girl
from her father’s home, holding her captive and compelling her to be his
wife. By sheer happenstance, perhaps fatefully so, the girl is unknowingly
part of a triumvirate of emissaries sent to Earth to investigate the
egregious abuse of power by the hand of the very wizard holding her
prisoner. Fortunately, she is able to use her hidden powers to
withdraw into a magical realm of refuge to repel his repeated advances
while gaining knowledge into the wizard’s dark motives. Undaunted,
the sorcerer bides his time, weakening the girl’s resolve a little more
each day, unaware of the girl’s true calling.
Having lost his wife a few years ago, the girl’s father, devastated by his
latest loss, boldly sets out to find the wizard’s abode and rescue her.
Empowered by destitute loneliness and a magnificent new sword forged by a
master of metallurgy, the despondent but determined emissary trudges
through Micel-Holt (The Great Forest) to confront the sorcerer and rescue
his precious daughter. He encounters fierce beasts loyal to the
wizard, barely escaping with his life. He sneaks into the house, and
a hard-fought battle ensues as the wizard bombards the desperate man with
magical hindrances and dark foes. Through trickery, distraction and
extremely good fortune (with the aid of his daughter), the old sorcerer
finally succumbs to the father’s retribution but still manages to cast a
malediction upon the fair valley before he dies. The girl discovers,
through the dead wizard’s scrolls and writings, his nefarious plans and
learns of a way to break the curse.
The father, gravely injured by the wizard, dies on the way back to Grene-Mara
while in the middle of writing a testament about the information needed in
order to break the dreadful curse. The girl hastily buries her
father, and for reasons unknown even to her, mysteriously disappears;
leaving the unwitting valley to discover the curse’s calamitous
implications through time alone. The citizens slowly begin to notice
the curse’s effect on the valley, (the growing season diminishes by one
day per year) and are forced to deal with their new dilemma.
Fortunately, a group of schoolchildren and their chaperone discover the
hastily dug unmarked grave and the tattered, half-written testament
started by the dying man. They also find an urn containing the
charred remains of the evil sorcerer. References within the scroll
to the girl’s powers compel the town council to employ the services of the
local constable to deal with the problem. The peace officer
convinces three of his friends, great adventurers all, and the town’s best
bet for survival, to deliver them from impending doom. They set out
to locate the girl, who by now is a grown woman.
They decide to make a pact between them to deliver the community from the
stranglehold inflicted by the evil necromancer...or die trying.
Along the way, they encounter fierce beasts, vile trolls, and a series of
unearthly terrors (including a wicked dragon) unleashed by the nephew of
the demised sorcerer with similar aspirations of grandeur, not to mention
the reputed power of immortality!
Through great courage and just a bit of luck, the men find the girl and
probe her for information until she finally remembers what she had
cryptically blocked from her mind years ago. Through her knowledge
of the wizard and her timely recruitment of the evil sorcerer’s good
hearted brother to aid them, the valiant group is able to sever the curse
by dispersing the evil wizard’s remains amidst the astral air currents
from the infamous Raptors Edge, thereby cleansing the evil and ridding the
valley of its stranglehold. The victorious band returns home, minus
one brave soul who sacrificed his life for the betterment of the quest, to
grateful friends and family and a period of relative peace in the valley,
while the nefarious one licks his wounds and plots his vengeance against
the valley and their benefactor…his own brother.
Author's Bio:
“Born in a log cabin in the dead of winter…” (Oops, this is real life!
Ok, so it was a split-level, redwood ranch house in Western Pennsylvania
with a big “B” on the chimney. And ‘twas springtime…)
Growing up in the blue-collar dynasty of the United States in the late
sixties and seventies oftentimes left a lot to the imagination. No
ambivalence at all – everything cut and dried, forty-hour workweek,
vacation two weeks a year – but at least it left open vast room for
growth. It did not take long before high aspirations and a bit o’ itchy
ambition swept over me and at the ripe old age of eighteen, I set my
sights on the golden state – making it my home for the next four years.
An avid reader and wannabe author, I spent my free time writing short
stories, poetry and articles on current events, occasionally submitting to
local and national periodicals and achieving modest success at best.
Stints in the world of mass employment, including machine-tool-technician,
horticulturist, swamper (on an oilrig), security guard and even
bartending/bouncing took up most of my time, and I never acted on my
highest aspiration of all, novelist, until well after my spontaneous, solo,
six-month, cross-country adventure, and a lot of reflection.
Eventually, I settled in Florida, worked at Mickey’s World for a few years
– writing mostly for an audience of one (myself) until I decided to
further my penning skills – enrolling in creative writing courses in
Central Florida while at the same time establishing a home-based business
on the Sun Coast. Feeling secure, I now have the time to do what I always
wanted to do…. (Write, write and write some more!)
Explain How This Book Lends Itself to Movie and/or Television Rights' Sales:
I believe this novel will have far-reaching appeal to "Sword and Sorcery"
zealots of all ages.
Author's Qualifications for Writing This Book:
I'm an avid action/adventure reader, researcher, trivia master, and
writer.
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