The Cool Breeze of Spring - A new beginning
18 September 8.40 am
Is there such a thing as a gentle apocalypse?
If you were consulted, would you vote to have most of humanity removed from Earth?
Who would you choose as your seven companions to restart a new population?
Caila, notorious for her clumsy moments and indecisiveness, is asked by an alien species
to help decide the fate of Earth, in less than a week.
To make matters worse, she also needs to select seven companions to help rebuild a human population.
The surprisingly gentle apocalypse marks the start of their fight for survival,
whilst Caila discovers and comes to terms with her mixed human/alien origins.
What's what
Neteru are the aliens who seeded Earth with different species as an ecological experiment.
Etherun is the planet where the Neteru live.
Key species are species which are of special interest to the Neteru: humans, crow, dolphins, whales, and tortoise.
Khered are the direct descendants of the first seedlings.
Activated Khered are the original descendants and their chosen ones.
Mesu is a Neteru word for Earth.
Lectanimo is a form of mind communication.
Spheream is the coloured cloud surrounding activated Khered and Neteru.
Telumparticula is the beam that is used to remove specified objects and species from Earth during the Event.
Mito is a Neteruian relaxation trick.
Anima migro is a form of teleportation.
Who's who
Caila is one of 13 humans pulled out of their ordinary lives, to be consulted on the future of human existence on Earth.
She is then tasked with the restart of a new human population, whilst discovering and coming to terms with her own mixed human/alien origins.
Chris is Caila's husband and the love of her life. The feeling is mutual, and Chris finds an accomplice in Mateos as he attempts to keep his wife safe.
Mateos is Caila's Neteru contact. And a bit more.
OOVII is a very posh corvid, he is Caila's crow Khered. He selected the name OOVII because his real name, Khrhhsh, is too difficult to pronounce by humans.
Steve worked briefly with Caila, but he also became Caila's and Chris' best friend. He is intelligent and loves gardening. Steve is married to Richard.
Richard is Steve's good-natured husband, he is an engineer and a friend of Caila and Chris. Steve and Richard adore their two cats, Bluebell and Banjo.
Juliet is the perfect personal assistant and before the Event she was a colleague of Caila’s. She grows her own veg and she keeps chickens, goats and ducks, and she makes her own cheese and bread.
Luke, Luke Jedi, works with Chris and he is not a fan of social occasions. His honesty sometimes borders on the embarrassing, he is an extremely logical thinker and absolutely brilliant.
Jenny is at 21 the youngest of the chosen ones, she loves make-up, talks a lot, and she loves partying. She was also incredibly intelligent and creative, even if she doesn't know it herself.
Peter is selected by Mateos as one of Caila's chosen ones. Caila asked for someone with medical skills, Peter is a vet.
Rebecca is an accidental survivor. She is only 12 years old and adores her horse Flock. When she meets Peter, she decides that she wants to be a vet and a doctor as well.
Aurora, what can you say about a cute bundle of joy like Aurora? Everyone adores her.
Baldwin is a self-pronounced Prime Minister and he is simply a nasty piece of work.
Reviews
Amazon - 28 August 2018
I read ‘A new beginning’ during my Bank Holiday and couldn’t stop reading. How should I categorise it, it has elements of Science Fiction, and a bit of ET and Harry Potter style fantasy.
It’s not suspense though there are some crooks who make life before and after the event really dangerous. It’s about survival in new world without any prejudices.
The main character, Caila, is a funny character, almost a bit frivolous when put in a position where she and her companion Khered’s have to make life changing decisions,
and tense when the fearsome reality daunts upon her. Her alien DNA elements get her into trouble at times and out of trouble at other times, and so does her alien brother.
Her 7 chosen ones are very special characters, and they are well played out throughout the story.
The story plays in the South of England, near a place called Hever, and it shows that the author actually knows the place, as many features are very recognisable and really exist.
I read ‘A new beginning’ before reading its companion ‘Rebecca’s diary’. Both are absolute page turners.
It made me think, who would I choose as my chosen ones? Although not the central story line, it makes you think nevertheless.
Then when Caila meets Guvnor for the first time and gives him a piece of her or her antecedent’s mind, tears came into my eyes.
The books makes you laugh, think, and cry but it certainly doesn’t make you forget.
A must read.