The Fifth Era Of Man
Joshua Banker
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 18, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1983515027
ISBN-13: 978-1983515026
Synopsis
Career grifter and perennial loser Cal Reeger is a dead man. He owes a lot of money to, and the only thing he owns are his pair of revolvers. Not even the jacket on his back belongs to him. To repay this debt, he must infiltrate the Archaeology Guild's site at Natx Hollow.
As Cal schemes to steal the find of a lifetime from the aeons-old site, the ruin's true nature is revealed. Within a cryogenic coffin belowground sleeps Centurion Prae Ganvelt, a member of the first civilization, the original race of humans who flourished millions of years ago.
Still looking for a way out of his debt and with a mercenary hot on his tail, Cal joins the awakened warrior Prae and archaeologist Peter Mathester to investigate the fate of Prae's kind. Within the mysterious, ancient compound of Ala’ydin, they learn that progenitor scientist, Erudatta, altered the cycle of dormancy for Prae's people. What they still must discover are his reasons for doing so.
The Fifth Era of Man examines the dangers of unearned achievements and the desperation that drives those who are prey to their own bad decisions.
May contain spoilers May contain spoilers
My Thoughts
In this read, we follow Cal Reeger who has to repay his debt to crime lord Jaefore. Cal nervously meets with Jaefore, before obtaining funds from Illgosses.( I had to pull back my post to tell you all that I wanted to take out Jaefore. But then this story wouldn't work because Cal owes him, and I must despise Jaefore - which I do.)
Cal then moves on to meet with Hru-Gatta in transit to infiltrate Natx Hollow.
We've left the abhorrent actions of Jaefore and we've traveled to a most wondrous place.
Yes. Naxt Hollow is amazing. The author paints us a picture of a five thousand-year complex beneath a lost sea of sand. It is a place of recovery and analysis with ornamental arches and a curving staircase that leads to interconnected chambers and alcoves, and we meet archaeologist Peter Mathester and Quillin is also there with his team.
Cal, meanwhile, meets up with Hru-Gatta (The Grande Dame). She leads him to the Central Archive where he meets Oebe Nsu-Ogette who becomes his ward. Oebe is an An-Sebban, and gathers data. I find I am intrigued by her ability to be like a research library.
Along the way, we are introduced to Erudatta, who is working in an airtight dwelling on a Goleum (Mechanical man). And, my enthusiasm for the story truly grew leaps and bounds here and that's not just because I am an Iron Man fan. The descriptives are so well written I wanted to be there helping Erudatta as he works with Alloys and Polygonal Plates.
Cal and Oebe travel on to Natx Hollow and meet with Peter and, security guard, Apello. Here, Cal plans to rob the site and finds a panel in the Blue Room that leads to a metal coffin. He releases Centurion Prae Ganvelt from her cryogenic coffin. Newly awakened, Prae, appears in full silver armor and initially brawls with them. She later joins them, donning the armor, before fleeing past Quillins team, who are camped out in the mural room.
Jaefore meets with Illgosses to discuss the plan and when Jaefore leaves, Illgosses plots with Raxus.
We learn that Ala'ydin, the mysterious, ancient compound, is the center, where many forces converge. We have a Centurion fighting with a Goleum and my adrenaline surges as I read what happens next.
In closing, minus a few calculated pages in the first chapter, I was thrilled with this speculative sci-fi adventure. The characters are memorable, the setting amazing and the writing superb. The book is propelled by a plot that is visionary and achingly human and a glorious thing happens - we realize that the information that challenges our passions and opinions travels through space and time.
I received this book through the generosity of the author for an honest review