When I think of a good book, I often think of characters and setting first. Science fiction and fantasy stories are my favorites for the way those stories can show different aspects of society and technology that may not be right around me. The characters in these stories, while mostly relatable, have adapted to the society they come from. Those stories can tackle themes that are present in everyday life, but because they are set in those fantastical or future worlds, they can entertain while getting people thinking.
In many good stories, the protagonist has their comfortable, or at least, expected daily routines changed by events as the stories are set in motion. Sometimes, those events are caused by the protagonist’s actions, but many times, the actions of others cause them. How much do they need to suffer?
Strong characters in those stories may not start out that way. Usually, they grow into the hero of the story, but along the way, they may have moments where they feel all is lost. They may be overwhelmed with their challenges and want to give up.
Life is like that. Challenges come and go. They may not be wrapped up completely like some endings of books. The hard times come without warning. Sometimes, we rise above them and come out ahead, and other times, we fail. The important thing is to never give up. That’s one reason I find myself writing and reading stories. They help me take a look at my life from different angles. Beyond that, reading good books and writing stories help me step away briefly from the hard times.
Check out some of my books.
Malignance, my third book in my time travel series that began with Resonance and Dissonance, is on Amazon as a kindle and a paperback. That was a fun series to write, and for now, it is completed. I have also placed all three books from that series into one volume titled The Machina of Time.
My fantasy, A Map, a Mage, and a Sacrifice, was a fun book to write. It is set in a world with limited technology, but where sacrifice is a necessary element to magical power. The greater the pain and suffering, the greater the magical power generated. The few mages in power use voluntary sacrifice of the citizens to generate power they use to protect and defend the empire. But their rule may be coming to a close.
If you’re looking for a science fiction story, try my book The Promise of Dust, which takes place in a cloud city floating in the atmosphere of Venus. Or Progenitor’s Legacy: Deceit, which takes place many years in the future on a tidally locked world that orbits a red dwarf and has been reached by humanity in their search for the alien progenitors who seeded the galaxy with nano machines.
If a young adult science fiction is more to your liking, check out my series This New Earth, that starts with Demons of a Dead World and Secrets of a Dead World.
If you are looking for a young adult fantasy, check out my book The Threads Unbound.
DANIEL R. BURKHARD 