About Terra Tamers: Alpha:
Matthew Wong and his little brother, Oakley Wong, are excited to leave the cramped living quarters of humanity’s last bastion of civilization, the floating domed city of Sojourn. Matt thought the most annoying thing about his mission would be caring for his little brother. Making sure Oakley wouldn’t obsess over studying something off mission and talking Matt’s ears off about his game, Terra Tamers. All of Matt’s expectations fly out the window when a flock of Holo birds kidnap his screaming brother, carrying him away. Holos, holographic animals that can interact with the physical world, never attack children. Holos only target adults! The defining truth of the world for the past forty years has changed, but Matt just wants Oakley back safe and sound. Matt soon joins forces with Juan, his amigo from a previous scavenging mission, and the two follow the Holo flock to a dilapidated hotel surrounded by a barrier. They are unsuccessful at breaking through the barrier and spend a frightening night camped in tree branches as danger stalks the night. The next day a now apparently empty hotel greets them. An empty hotel with working electricity. They soon find an auditorium in the hotel, an auditorium with a holographic woman, some imprisoned locals, and a happily grinning Oakley. The woman is hovering. She is an artificial intelligence named Tara who introduces the newly created (with Oakley’s help) game, Terra Tamers, a new way to interact with Holos and technology. Tara has plans to transform the world and the Holos into one giant game, Oakley is completely on board as a co-designer, and Matt is desperate to retrieve Oakley. Matt agrees to showcase the game’s features and technology, like the futuristic Rayment. Matt competes in an obstacle course, tames a Driger (mostly) and then takes off with Oakley. Tara follows and strikes a bargain with Matt as he begins to contemplate the benefits of pushing his paperwork onto a hyper-intelligent AI. Terra Tamers testing continues as Tara announces a tournament which will result in the winner being granted one wish. Matt hunts Holos, team building strategies are pursued, and Matt starts wondering if Oakley even needs him anymore. Amidst the trials and tests, passions flare, knives are pulled, and difficult questions are raised. Things every teen must deal with after the Hollowing. The tournament continues until Matt and Juan battle for the wish. At this point, the fight is just for fun and pride. Juan wins and waits for Tara to create his wish. Until Oakley, with the help of Sojourn’s Triad AI system, unleashes Tara’s evil twin, Gaia, into the world to change the course of history once more. Gaia traps Juan, Matt, Oakley, and Tara in a Dungeon. They have to outthink the architect of the Hollowing and free Juan by defeating the secret ancient Rockong in the heart of its family’s Nest. They release Juan and return to a chaotic scene of panicked children after Gaia’s reckless, yet not murderous, actions lead to confusion. Matt and Oakley chase after Gaia as it becomes clear she’s heading straight for Sojourn. Matt finds Sojourn strangely open, yet the sound of gunfire announces that all is not well. Matt throws Oakley to safety and rushes towards the sounds of fighting. Matt finds his father wearing a prototype Rayment and fighting with Gaia, preventing her from descending to Sojourn’s nuclear power plant. Matt and his father work together but are rapidly losing as Gaia adapts and reacts with inhuman speed. Matt’s father destroys the normal route to the engine and blocks Gaia from following Matt as best he can. Matt races to protect the core from Gaia. He fails. Gaia uses the core and creates a terrible Titan, Oceanus. Matt siphons energy from the core to recharge his Rayment and Terrors to continue fighting Gaia and Oceanus. The battle seems lost as Gaia tries to consign Matt to a watery grave, but help arrives as Sojourners and Tamers gather to recover the core from Gaia. The battle settles into a tense stalemate as both sides weigh the cost of victory. Gaia calculates it is better for her to leave and construct a base for her next scheme. For now, Blue Port and Sojourn are saved! And Matt is totally punished for his part in irresponsibly handing so much power to an unknown AI and not doing his job. Matt, now exiled, is then tasked with tracking down Gaia.
Buy the book, and follow the author on social media:
Learn more about the writer. Visit the Author’s Website.
Author Bio:
Brian Petrilli is a new author. He narrated and edited the audiobook version of Terra Tamers: Alpha. Brian also works in graphic design, game design, and video editing. See lunarnebula.com for more of his work!