THE LAST ACOLYTE, the flagship novel in an all-new space opera sci-fi adventure series, releases a week from Friday. You can pre-order a copy now on Amazon.com.
In the meantime, check out the glossary of terms, which outlines some of the alien races, gadgets and craziness that awaits in this first volume of Rike’s adventure.
Glossary
Antarra: A fringe planet where individual freedoms are valued above any government. Antarrans are always born in pairs, and can only experience tactile sensations through their twins.
Ares Prime: A potentially hostile fringe planet coveted by both the Auran Union and the mysterious Nerok.
Asharra: A Fangorian science officer aboard the starhip Vigilant.
Aulec: An Auran time designation. Aulec numbers 1-10 refer to p.m. hours, while 11-20 are a.m. hours.
The Auran Union: A confederation of peaceful planets in the Auran Galaxy. The Union works together to maintain peace, settle disputes, establish trade relationships, protect its planetary members and explore unknown areas. At this time the Ro’daan are in control, but the Union includes over three dozen planets, including Loraith, Fangor, Chand’aar, Icara, Vandrona and Reg’aal.
Baz: A crewman on the Vigilant.
Bloodthorn Monastery: The base of operations for the Bloodthorn Acolytes, an order of assassin monks who hire out their services to clients they deem worthy and who are willing to pay their inordinate fees. The Bloodthorn Acolytes protect the greater good and will not do work for disreputable clients, but they are at their core a ruthlessly mercenary organization.
Cannibal Class: A designation of warship based on Auran Union cargo vessels but retrofitted with extra weapons and armor. Popular with mercenaries.
Cenaad: One of the two founders of the Chan’daar faith to the Goddes I’nari.
Chan’daar: A planet in the Auran Union. Chan’daar is an exotic oasis planet, and its reptile-like people are known for their capricious nature and cruel objectivity when it comes to planetary affairs.
Coda 11: An Auran space station located near the edge of controlled space with a reputation for being very dangerous.
Crantos: A planet devastated by the Taur. Also known as Sares 3.
Cutthroat: A stolen Cannibal class warship modifed to smuggle contraband goods. Commanded by Lasheen.
Dreadnaught: A Taur war vessel, usually designed for troop transport and engaging foes on the ground. Heavily armored and covered with blades.
D’Rak: The Chan’daar engineer on the Vigilant.
Dulec: An Auran measurement of time, roughly equivalent to 10 minutes.
Fangor: An Auran Union planet populated by dark-haired, grey-skinned warriors known for their mechanical aptitude and strong mystical sensibilities.
Felix: A member of the Vigilant’s deck crew.
Gaff: Space coffee.
Galdar: A militaristic desert planet populated by troll-like monsters who possess advanced military technology but are otherwise ruthlessly barbaric and opportunistic.
Gorg Rek: Taur commander of the forces on Sares 6.
Halec: An Auran measurement of time, roughly equivalent to 6 hours.
“Hand-Cannon”: A low-yield plasma discharger. They vary widely in power and design, but generally these weapons fire single bursts of highly destructive power (as opposed to pistols, which fire weaker rounds in rapid succession). Easy to construct, but not very accurate or reliable.
Helos 1: A fringe planet populated by a warrior species called the Helo, genetically engineered individuals with near superhuman abilities.
Heloraptor: A Taur aerial warship, squat and heavily armored with oversized guns. Suitable for both atmospheric and space combat.
HG-12: A rapid-fire pistol which fires plasma infused shells. Rike had his redesigned to resemble Bruce Willis’ Beretta from “Die Hard”.
I’Nari: The Chan’daar death goddess.
Icara: A planet in the Auran Union. Icara is a hot and desert-like place populated by a winged people who live atop high towers of stone, where they practice art and philosophy.
Jak’taar: A lawless planet of volcanic activity and dark stone. Bed of the Dark Syndicate, and a notable hotspot for mercenaries and black market trade. Also renowned for its weapon smiths.
Jaleen: A Bloodthorn acolyte.
Jandeen: A low technology planet being targeted by the Taur to be refined and conquered as Sares 7.
Ka-blade: A keen longsword about 40 inches long, edged on both sides with a sleek hilt. Rike built his based on the design of a katana.
Kira Jun: Commander of the Auran starship Vigilant.
Konec: An Auran measurement of distance, roughly equivalent to 10 miles.
Krek: The Loraithian captain of the Marauder.
K’ull: A barren planet of plains and tundras. Known for its subterranean caverns and inhospitable underworld carnivores. At the time of Rike’s training this was also the location of Bloodthorn Monastery.
Lasheen: An Icaran smuggler, captain of the Cutthroat.
Lichtown: A black market trading post on Sares 6 built at the edge of a mass grave.
Loraith: A planet in the Auran Union. Moist and jungle-like, the people of Loraith are dark-skinned and have the ability to wreathe themselves in shadows.
Maga: Rike’s mysterious employer. A criminal of dire reputation.
The Marauder: A pirate vessel commanded by the Loraithian Krek.
Nanec: An Auran measurement of time, roughly equivalent to 10 hours.
Nanoic Era: A period of ancient history in the Auran Galaxy.
Nerana: The new doctor on the Vigilant.
Nerok: A mysterious race who manipulate the events of the Auran Galaxy to their own ends. Believed to be allies of the Taur.
Quantrillium: A precious ore of great value and strength. The Taur use it for both currency and manufacture, and value it above all else.
Ra-blade: A wide-bladed short sword roughly 16 inches long, edged and curved along one side. Rike designed his to resemble a machete.
Rael Jorn: The Ro’daan Ambassador to Ares Prime.
Rast: Master of Bloodthorn Monastery.
Ravager: A pirate vessel commanded by the criminals Ravus and Synder.
Razorhawk: A sleek one-man spacecraft designed for war. Small and shaped like a wedged blade, Razorhawks are incredibly maneuverable and pack considerable firepower, but a direct hit from most heavy weapons are enough to destroy them.
R’dek: A Tauran port town on Sares 6.
Reg’aal: A planet in the Auran Union. The Reg’aal are an illusory race, capable of taking the form of whatever those beholding them desire most. Their society is based around carnal pleasure and manipulation.
Rejek: The Chan’daar god of retribution.
Rendari 4: A fringe planet recently placed under protection of the Auran Union. The Rendari are tall and broad-shouldered blue and white creatures with a warrior caste and a keen nose for business.
Ress: An Ensign on the Vigilant. Something of a technical expert, and a constant thorn in Rike’s side.
Rigel System: A cluster of fringe planets controlled by the black market production of raw materials for illegal drugs. Arguably the most lawless place in the Auran Galaxy. Rigellans – orange-fleshed and horned humanoids with incredible regenerative powers – were once a noble warrior caste, but a planetary cataclysm forced them into a nomadic existence until they discovered the system, where they adopted a criminal existence in order to survive.
Ro’daan: A planet in the Auran Union. The Ro’daan are a pale-skinned humanoid race, the most populous in the Auran Galaxy. Ro’daan are humanoid in shape and size, with runic markings that glow red when they are under duress. Ro’daan are highly advanced and consider themselves a race of peacekeepers and explorers, and they have been in control of the Auran Union for quite some time.
Rohn: A Loraithian hand aboard the Cutthroat.
Rulec: An Auran measurement of time, roughly equivalent to 2 minutes.
Sares 6: Formerly the planet Kendarra, now occupied and terraformed by the Taurans.
Sax: Pilot of the starship Vigilant.
Scorpion: Land skimmers on Jak’taar used for transporting living cargo. Fast and heavily armored.
Senega 2: A desolate planet known for its dangerous wildlife and inhospitable forests and volcanoes.
Serelya: One of the two founders of the Chan’daar faith to the Goddes I’nari.
Shock rod: An Auran melee weapon which discharges high voltage electricity into its victim.
Skyquake: A combination race/gladiator game that is popular on Jak’taar.
Taur: A race of aggressive and militaristic humanoids who forcibly colonize and subjugate planets so they can mine them for quantrillium. Taurans are slightly shorter than humans but very stocky, with dark leathery skin, red eyes and short bull-like horns. Their technology is advanced and centers around the development of weapons and industrial technology for colonization and refining quantriullium. They are a brutal and opportunistic race.
Vandrona: A planet in the Auran Union. The Vandrons are beings of pure energy, ghost-like apparitions who inhabit host bodies specially raised for that purpose. They are master engineers and scholars, as well as the keepers of much of the Union’s lore.
Varec: An Auran measurement of time, equivalent to roughly 18 months.
The Vigilant: An Auran Union starship.
V-11 Slaughter Assault Cannon: A Taur weapon designed for mass combat, developed and openly sold on the black markets of many worlds.
Voltair Class: A starship designation. Voltair vessels are large ships designed for extended space travel that in times of need can double as war or cargo ships.
Vrak’taan: A lizard/camel creature used for riding on Jak’taar.
Zaur: The Helo security officer of the Vigilant.
Zel: A fringe planet dominated by black mountains and methane gas. Zel males are multi-armed horrors the size of grizzly bears, while the females are humanoid but always bald and blind; both are efficient killers, and the cruel and cold-hearted race make some of the Galaxy’s most efficient assassins
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THE LAST ACOLYTE
Mercenary. Soldier. Lover.
All in a day’s work.
John Rike will never see his home again, but he’s ok with that. Back on Earth he was nobody, just an anonymous grad student with no personality, no ambition, and nothing that made him stand out.
But after nearly fifteen years in the dangerous and war-torn Auran Galaxy, Rike has become an infamous soldier-of-fortune. An Acolyte of the vicious Bloodthorn Monastery, Rike’s adventures have taken him from the dregs of crime-ridden fringe planets to the deck of the fabled starship Vigilant.
Now Rike has come to the oppressed planet of Sares 6, the latest in a string of worlds subjugated by the vile Taur, where he must track down and kill the man who trained him.
Aided by a mysterious mercenary and faced with the horrors of the Taur’s despicable occupation, Rike soon finds himself in a desperate race against time…because if he fails in his mission, what little he holds sacred will be forever lost.
Embark on the first installment in an all-new space opera/military sci-fi adventure from the author of Blood Skies and The Skullborn Trilogy!
COMING FEBRUARY 27th!
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