Title: Zon (Beyond #5)
Author: Maureen A. Miller
Genre: YA Sci-Fi Adventure
Release Date: 22 June 2020
Summary:
From USA TODAY bestselling author, Maureen A. Miller, comes this young adult cosmic adventure.
With a father from the planet, Ziratak, and a mother from Earth, Zon’s challenges are galactic. Zon doesn’t possess superpowers, though. If anything, he’s a bit of a klutz.
In Ziratakian folklore, the tale of the Temple of the Monarch has been passed down for generations. As legend has it, a series of miniature globes lead to the temple’s gate.
Folklore…nothing more.
Except, Zon knows of a cave with small globes in it. And with one clumsy mishap, he triggers the gate–opening a portal to other worlds.
A trip through this vortex transports him to Earth, where the first human he encounters is a young woman with challenges of her own.
This is a brand new saga, and a new generation. There is no need to read the BEYOND series. However, for readers of the series, you will enjoy this continuation of the epic science fiction adventure.
Zon Excerpt:
“Do I look so different?” Zon continued. “Just because my mother is from another planet? Because she is human and my father is a mecaw?”
“There is very little difference between a human and a mecaw,” JOH reminded. “It’s practically the same word–just different languages.”
“If that’s so–” Zon slipped on loose gravel, his thick sandal flirting with the jagged precipice, “–then why do they judge me as an alien? I look like everyone around here, don’t I?”
It was a plea he had asked JOH a thousand times. Each time, the intuitive ball offered a different response.
“Keep in mind who you’re asking. But, yes, you have your father’s tall frame and solid build. You have his strength. Your hair is dark like a Ziratakian, but under the suns it bears a flash of red from your mother. And your face–there are more curves to your face–”
JOH stopped, sensing that his feedback went unheard. He waited until Zon maneuvered the most precarious incline, and then zipped alongside him once they reached a bluff high above the crater.
“It’s not what they see,” JOH considered quietly, bobbing against the strong winds at this high altitude. “It’s what they know. They know you are different. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
Zon rubbed the back of his arm across his forehead. Perspiration lurked here even with the wind.
“They don’t call my mother, Gorzot, and she truly is.”
JOH’s face slipped down at an angle. “They accepted your mother long ago as one of them. She did a lot for the Ziratakians. She helped rid the drylands of the Korons.”
“Well, why won’t they accept me?”
Zon hated the whiny plea. Regretting the outburst the moment he voiced it, he kicked a rock off the cliff and watched it vanish into the fissures grooved from ancient landslides.
He knew, though. It wasn’t just the subtle disparities in his appearance. It was his lack of trying to fit in. It was he who alienated himself. He was the one who remained distant. Aloof. Different.
As much as Ziratak was his home, he never felt rooted here. He felt the galaxies held a unique destiny for him–something far from the crimson-colored lowlands, baking under two suns.
About Maureen A. Miller:
In a job that required extensive travel I spent my airport layovers doodling up plots as an escape from the chaos around me. Somehow it was easier to accept being stuck in a snowstorm in Detroit if I was writing a suspense scene on an exotic island.
When I’m not writing, I’m either chasing my crazy Corgi around or cheering for my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I am a firm believer that the world is a better place with mozzarella in it. I am not a thrill-seeker. I find Ferris wheels terrifying. But, if I was to be reincarnated I would come back as Buffy and slay me some demons.
I wear many hats and one of them is in support of fellow authors. I’m the woman behind-the-scenes at the JUST sites.
I’m grateful to all the readers and writers who offer such gracious support!
Connect with Maureen A. Miller:
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