SOLDIER OF LIGHT
a science fiction novel
by John de Lancie and Tom Cool
SOLDIER OF LIGHT is a Pocket Books novel, published in
hardcover in October 1999, and subsequently offered in
paperback and electronic editions.
The Story
The Earth enters a region of the universe called a "sphere of
being," one of a series of concentric spheres of stress in
space-time caused by the Big Bang. Inside a sphere of being,
the laws of physics are different. Most of the effects are
mental. Some minds develop psychic powers, while others grow
increasing dysfunctional.
Owen Keegan, a sculptor, and his wife, Kate, a nurse, attempt
to escape from the growing madness of the world by going to
sea in their ketch, Nepenthe. They take with them their
daughter, Constance, who is autistic.
An alien, the One, who has inhabited the molten core of the
Earth for hundreds of millions of years, begins to emerge as
the Earth enters the sphere of being. The One decides to
exterminate the human race.
The minds of Owen, Kate and Constance begin to change. The
story concerns their struggle to understand their new selves,
to save one another and to confront the One.
How the actor met the sailor
I co-authored this book with the actor, John de
Lancie (or JdL, as I like to refer to him). Jim Baen, who bought and published
my first novel, INFECTRESS, recommended me to Bill Fawcett, a
writer and packager of books. Bill was looking for a SF
author to team up with JdL. I was attracted to this project
because I always enjoyed JdL's work, especially when he
played Q, the omnipotent trickster of the Star Trek series.
Before committing to the project, I did some research on the
Web about JdL, and they way he talked about writing in
several long interviews convinced me that a collaboration
with him would be a serious artistic endeavor. Bill flew me
up from Panama to Burbank, where he, JdL and I spent four
days developing the story ideas for SoL. JdL and I then spent
the next eighteen months communicating via email until the
book was finished.
Most collaborations are difficult. Some SF pros will say that
a collaboration is twice the work, not half. My experience
with JdL confirmed my initial impression that he would
approach this project with a keen intelligence, a fine
aesthetic sense and a solid artistic integrity. Fans of JdL
will understand the following observation: when you see JdL's
face in character, there seems to be a whole world brooding
and living on the other side of those eyes. Well, having
collaborated closely with him over such a long period, I'm
here to tell you that there is indeed a lot happening behind
those eyes. While working with him was challenging, it was
also richly rewarding. We're both proud of SoL, a book that
neither of us could have written alone and that could only
have been written by the two of us.
As a sample passage, I've included a
scene in which Owen's brother, Harley, begins to rise in his
powers as the city of San Francisco goes somewhat berserk.
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Copyright 1999 by Bill Fawcett & Associates, Inc.
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