{"id":1261,"date":"2016-11-15T07:59:24","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T13:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/?p=1261"},"modified":"2016-11-15T07:59:24","modified_gmt":"2016-11-15T13:59:24","slug":"step-into-the-burning-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/step-into-the-burning-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Step into The Burning Light<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"burninglight\"<\/a>The Burning Light<\/em><\/a>
\nBradley P. Beaulieu<\/a> and Rob Ziegler<\/a>
\nTor.com
\nPaperback $14.99
\nebook $2.99<\/p>\n

This short novel went on sale about two weeks ago.\u00a0 I’d like to thank Brad Beaulieu for sending me a review copy.\u00a0 I’d also like to apologize for not getting it read and reviewed closer to the release date.\u00a0 Life has been happening, and I’m still adjusting to some new time constraints.<\/p>\n

I’ve not read Ziegler but I’m a big fan of Beaulieu’s work.\u00a0 And while most of that work has been fantasy, he has written some science fiction.\u00a0 That’s what The Burning Light<\/em> is.<\/p>\n

Set in a future where the ocean levels have risen, New York has been flooded and taken over by squatters.\u00a0 The wealthy and powerful live in enclaves further inland, and everyone has implants that allow them to communicate nonverbally through a type of cybernetic web.<\/p>\n

Something called the Light is starting to erupt in places.\u00a0 It produces an addiction that leaves its victims burned out junkies who eventually die.\u00a0 Colonel Chu is trying to find the source of the Light and destroy it.\u00a0 Years ago the Light manifested through her twin sister.\u00a0 Although her sister survived, and Chu was touched by the Light, everyone else in the vicinity died.\u00a0 Now Chu has become obsessed with vengeance.<\/p>\n

Zola used to be a wealthy pilot of boats, controlling fleets from her high rise apartment.\u00a0 Then the Light tried to reach her.\u00a0 The failed attempt cost her everything.\u00a0 Now she hides in the remains of New York.\u00a0 But she’s not just an ordinary junkie.\u00a0 She may be the one path the Light has to manifest.<\/p>\n

The Burning Light<\/em> is a fairly short novel.\u00a0 The chapters alternate between Chu and Zola.\u00a0 This is a dystopia, so things are pretty grim most of the time.\u00a0 There is an element of hope in the way things resolve.\u00a0 Although, be warned, if you’re something of an individualist like me, you probably won’t find the resolution too hopeful.\u00a0 But then I’m not a huge fan of dystopias to begin with.<\/p>\n

That’s a matter of personal taste; and yours may certainly be different.\u00a0 In the hands of a good writer, even a scenario that wouldn’t be a reader’s first choice can be an enjoyable experience.<\/p>\n

The writing in The Burning Ligh<\/em>t is crisp, and events move along at a quick pace.\u00a0 Beaulieu and Ziegler handle the backstory well, providing flashbacks in a way that moves events forward.\u00a0 In the hands of less capable writers, flashbacks could slow things down and get in the way of the story.\u00a0 Not so here.\u00a0 The pacing and characterization are top notch.<\/p>\n

Like I said, this is a short novel.\u00a0 Unless your schedule is such that you are only getting a few minutes a day to read (like mine), you can finish it in one or two sittings.\u00a0 Check it out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Burning Light Bradley P. Beaulieu and Rob Ziegler Tor.com Paperback $14.99 ebook $2.99 This short novel went on sale about two weeks ago.\u00a0 I’d like to thank Brad Beaulieu for sending me a review copy.\u00a0 I’d also like to apologize for not getting it read and reviewed closer to the release date.\u00a0 Life has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[40],"tags":[825,824,826],"class_list":["post-1261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bradley-p-beaulieu","tag-bradley-p-beaulieu","tag-dystopias","tag-rob-ziegler"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3P5pJ-kl","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1261"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1265,"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261\/revisions\/1265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/adventuresfantastic.com\/futurespastandpresent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}