Tyco's Dad

This an illustration from Book #4, "The Saeshell Book of Time Part 4: The Ceremony of Life". It shows a close-up of Tyco's dad, when he was a child, writing poetry. He always wears a medal passed down from his family's ancestors. It is a medal they were given by the Sun Gods. He was a Mayan who grew up in Mexico.

Tyco's dad would sit out under the stars and write poetry. He would give it away to people. The poetry caught the Saeshells attention and they traced the poetry's source and eventually found him.  When they found him, they made plans of what they would do to him over his lifetime. They had a use for him....but so did the Sun Gods....

Matt Curtis is the series illustrator. 

Aleah's True Form

Here is new illustration from Book #4, "The Saeshell Book of Time Part 4: The Ceremony of Life". Aleah is a little girl who likes show off her talents! Well, perhaps slightly more than just a little girl.

Mean Boy

“Why do you hate me, mean boy? Is it my poetry? Do you not like it? I know first graders are not supposed to write poetry. But my teacher likes it. I could teach you to draw. It’s fun to draw. You could draw my freaky hair — make fun of it in your drawing. I wouldn’t mind. I can show you how to draw aliens. I know you don’t believe me, but I can make you see lots of pictures of aliens in your mind. They are wonderful to draw — all life is wonderful to draw. If I show you, it will be like you could always draw. You would draw like a high school person, not a third-grader. Your teacher would be proud and show your artwork to everyone. Just stop hurting me! My mummy scares me. She checks my head every day. I am scared for you, mean boy, scared of what my mummy will do. I haven’t seen the last boy who was mean to me in a long time. I’m so scared. Don’t make me cry. Let me touch your head and I can take away your pain. I don’t know why, but it works, I promise. Please mean boy. Please!”

 This character monologue is an expansion of the story surrounding this illustration. This illustration, by Matt Curtis, is from book #1, "The Saeshell Book of Time Part 1: The Death of Innocents."

Cover Reveal Book #4

(Click Image to Enlarge)

"Magic is advanced science that humans can't understand." "The Saeshell Book of Time Part 4: The Ceremony of Life" is the final part of the serial story "The Saeshell Book of Time" but it is not the end of the Children of Sophista Book Series. The characters in the serial storyline return in book #5, "The Owl from Oblivion". 

In Part 4, you will learn of Tyco's origin and why his talents are largely not from the Great Sophistan, but another pair of races: The Lizards and The Sun Gods. That sun logo Tyco wears on his shirts is not just for decoration! 

Stefan, like a child growing older with the universe as his sandbox makes some pretty whopping mistakes. But because living creatures are like the sand, some pay the price. Tova2 pays a price too, learning perhaps, because of the interconnectedness of humanity, that killing is not the best way to affect change. And Stefan's mom finds who she thinks will be the best person to teach her gentle, artistic prodigy of a son how to be a king --- one of the best Earth assassins. 

Are You a Child of Sophista?

Click image to enlarge for reading.

 

Kirkus Review of Book #3

This is the Kirkus Review of Book #3, "The Saeshell Book of Time Part 3: Paradise Lost". The review sounds a little overly harsh in some ways about how challenging the book is. Still, it is correct in that it is not "beach reading" --- it is a very thoughtful read which will leave you contemplating the possibilities afterwards. Here is the review:

THE SAESHELL BOOK OF TIME PART 3: PARADISE LOST
Biesele, Rusty
Illus. by Curtis, Matt
CreateSpace (330 pp.)
$14.99 paperback, $3.99 e-book
ISBN: 978-1470100346; October 1, 2013

BOOK REVIEW

In the third installment of Biesele’s (The Saeshell Book of Time: Part 2: Rebirth of Innocents, 2013, etc.) sci-fi/fantasy series, two Earthlings embrace their destinies as allies and enemies complicate their path.

The story picks up on the planet Sophista, where evolutionarily advanced non-corporeal energy creatures live symbiotically with telepathic humans. The Sophistan collective is testing Stefan and Tova2—a powerful, mated pair of human hybrids, born on Earth, who have evolved into “new and unique life forms” and are fated to rule Earth and protect its telepaths. The Sophistans are ruthlessly logical and expect Stefan and Tova2 to rule rationally, but their own
motivations are murky. Tova2 is forced to create and destroy a helpless life form, and, later, she and Stefan confront a nightmarish creature that has caused a Sophistan energy-matter hybrid to become sinister and violent. Later, Tova2 and Stefan find out that they, along with Stefan’s gifted younger sister, Aleah, are part of a creature called Atreyeu that exists outside of time. Stefan and Tova2’s future unborn son, who travels through time with Atreyeu’s offspring, also visits them at significant moments, watching as they negotiate challenges and locate telepaths on Earth, including the young Tyco and Ty. Along the way, author Biesele also provides substantive commentary on rationalism versus empathy, aggression versus passivity, and time paradoxes. Given the story’s vast complexity, the first two installments are required reading. Even then, this book’s many secretive characters, cacophonous telepathic conversations, ambiguous innuendos and non-sequential events will likely make the book quite difficult for casual readers to enjoy. It’s a dense amalgam of drama and philosophy that, even for aficionados, may require another installment to fully clarify.

A dense sci-fi tale that will likely appeal primarily to fans of previous books in the series.