BooksChatter: ☀ Aries' Red Sky: Vergassy Universe [1]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for Aries' Red Sky, a Space Opera by James Young (18 Jul 2018, 373 pages).

This is the first book in a new Vergassy Universe trilogy. A prequel to An Unproven Concept, it is the first in the Spartan Trilogy. If you like space opera and capital ship battles on a galactic scale, pick up an author who has been recommended by Amazing Stories, Pop Cults, and The Midwest Book Review

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and the Kindle Cloud Reader Preview below.

Aries' Red Sky is FREE on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owner's Lending Library.

Author James Young will be awarding a 5x7 print of concept artwork from the Vergassy Universe to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), and reviews (✍).

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || Teaser: Excerpt || The Series || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

Synopsis

For over seven hundred years, the Spartan Republic's citizens have known one truth: Terra is coming. Descendants of exiles who dared to defy an emperor, the star nation's 70 billion citizens spent the centuries training, arming...and waiting.

In 3035, Leftenant Ian Campbell, Spartan Defense Forces (SDF), discovers a strange anomaly on his corvette's sensors...and realizes the wait is over. The Spartans must convince the Terrans of the cost of subduing their nation. If they succeed, the Republic survives. If not, the SDF will be forced to paint the stars red with their enemies' blood.

The Confederation of Man was born in the terror of the Harran Empire's death throes. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, humanity now spreads from its cradle on Earth to hundreds of stars across the Milky Way, and seeks out new worlds to add.

Captain Marcy Cochran was hoping to find a habitable planet; she didn't expect the system to already have hostile humans. Now a captive, Cochran must contend with a crew proving to be as dangerous as their enemies, and prevent what has started out as a misunderstanding from becoming a full-fledged interstellar war. For Terran law is quite clear: All humanity will answer to the Confederation. For the Spartans, that makes the government on Earth no different than the empire it supplanted...and they would rather die on their feet than subjugate themselves once more.

Aries' Red Sky is the newest novel in James Young's Vergassy Chronicles universe. A prequel to An Unproven Concept, it is the first in the Spartan Trilogy. If you like space opera and capital ship battles on a galactic scale, pick up an author who has been recommended by Amazing Stories, Pop Cults, and The Midwest Book Review.

Teaser: KCR Preview

Teaser: Excerpt

The problem with making plans is sometimes the universe feels the need to remind you that it has a sense of humor, Nathan thought to himself. He glanced once again at his watch, then at the single wooden door at the end of the long, narrow room. It did not help his mood that the room was gloomy, the only light provided by the floating holograms of ancient documents. These lined the red, carpeted walkway that led through the surrounding blue carpet like a scarlet runway.
     The Magna Carta. The American Declaration of Independence. The American Constitution. The Freebooter Articles. All forbidden by the Hassan Empire.
     Nathan turned to look at the final hologram hovering above the legislative chamber’s entrance.
     All also located here with The Acts of Inception to remind a waiting Executive that they are far from all powerful.
     “Mr. President, that door’s not going to open until the Chief Parliamentarian is damn well ready to have it open,” Andrews stated dryly. Despite the security officer’s laconic comment, Nathan could tell the man was not impressed with being in the darkened room.
     Three Presidents have died in this location and its predecessor, Nathan thought. Sure, one of them was a heart attack, but no one ever says to the head of security, ‘Oh you poor dear, how could you have known his heart was going to expode?’
     “I still can’t believe Porter was the easier of the two of them to find,” Nathan said, giving Andrews a wry look.
     “Porter has always been very good about his itinerary,” Andrews stated. “Nikephoros, not so much.”
     The Chief Parliamentarian had finally been found with the help of a couple local kibbutzin. He and his two female companions had been far from the beaten path, having discovered a high mountain lake to avail themselves of.
     Polyamory should be lethal at his age and that altitude, Nathan thought uncharitably. In either case, I’m sure that’s part of the reason we’re waiting—so he can remind me I’m not the boss of him.
     The Spartan Republic’s Acts of Inception incurred a certain…tenseness between Executive and Legislative branches by design. First and foremost was the fact that the former served one six year term, period. Add to that no individual could serve in either branch for more than ten years combined, and it became readily apparent why the latter did not really give much of a shit what the former thought.
     Walthers, Brown, and Menoit were no Washington, Marshall, and Madison, Nathan thought. But they got the job done. Longest any Republic has lasted in history.

When a Republic determined to be independent meets a Confederation determined to subdue it, war is inevitable.

Aries' Red Sky
Available 24 July 2018!

The Series: The Vergassy Chronicles

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Click on the book cover to Look Inside the book on Amazon and read an excerpt.

Ride of the Late Rain [1]

The destroyer Shigure is the oldest destroyer in the fleet...or so she seems. Equipped with a powerful, new device, the “Late Rain” is chosen for a special, dangerous project. With a young crew and modifications that makes her vessel not what she seems, Commander Leslie Hawkins presses into unknown space to examine structures detected by an Confederation Fleet survey vessel...and discovers that Mankind is not alone.

[Published December 2012, 79 pages]

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An Unproven Concept [2]

The Confederation of Man has overseen the prosperous expansion of humanity for almost eight centuries, with the Confederation Fleet its shield against all enemies both internal and external. Despite its numerous successes, the Fleet is a shield that is becoming warped by the schism between its Carrier and Line factions. In the year 3050, Fleet Admiral Malinverni has overseen the design and commissioning of a vessel intended to merge the best of both factions: the battlecruiser Constitution. Intended as a harbinger of a better future, the Constitution is considered a flawed concept by all except her crew. If either Fleet faction has its way, neither the Constitution nor her captain, Mackenzie Bolan, will ever get a chance to prove their naysayers incorrect.

The starliner Titanic is considered to be the epitome of her type. With a handpicked crew, the Titanic is expected to see to passengers' every need and whim, be it a rare artifact of opulence to stringent, discreet security. Unfortunately Captain Abraham Herrod, her master, is confronted with the growing likelihood that his vessel may soon be rendered obsolete by the ever pressing march of technology. Pushed by his superiors, Captain Herrod must decide just how far he's willing to go in an attempt to prolong the "Golden Age of Starliners."

Unlike the Titanic and Constitution, the destroyer Shigure is far from modern. As the oldest destroyer in the fleet, the "Late Rain" is chosen for a special, dangerous project. With a young crew and modifications that makes her vessel not what she seems, Commander Leslie Hawkins presses into unknown space to examine structures detected by an Confederation Fleet survey vessel.

With all the unremitting action, mecha, and carnage of the original novel, An Unproven Concept (Kraken Edition) also includes the short story "Ride of the Late Rain" for the first time. In addition, this special edition contains artwork from professional illustrators and an excerpt from the alternate history novel Acts of War.

[Published 17 December 2013, 372 pages]

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About the Author

James Young is a Missouri native who escaped small town life by attending the United States Military Academy. After being set free from the Hudson River Valley, Mr. Young spent the next six years of his life in the Army repaying his education the proverbial “nickel at a time.” Along the way he collected a loving, patient, beautiful spouse…and various animals that did not fit that description.

Leaving the Republic’s employ, he returned to the Midwest to pursue his doctorate—a process which took twice the time planned but is finally concluded. Having now concluded two of the prerequisites to be a super villain, Dr. Young spends his time waiting for the inevitable origin story, winning writing awards (2016 United States Naval Institute Cyber Essay Contest Winner, among others), and writing an alternate history (Usurper’s War) and military space opera (Vergassy Chronicles) series. His latest book is Aries Red Sky, the first in a new Vergassy Universe trilogy.

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