Parallel - The Awakening. A book by Paul A Rice

Synopsis - Parallel - The Awakening

 

 

 

 

So, you think you know how things work do you?

Kenneth Robinson is an ex-soldier who, after leaving the Army, finds work in the Middle East and Central Asia. He smokes too much and he swears too much, but he has a pure heart. That particular attribute is going to get him into trouble. With the help of his friend and partner, Mike, he has started his own company located on Kandahar airfield. They are doing quite nicely and things look set to become even rosier in the very near future. Yes, it’s looking pretty damn good for them, they’ve worked hard, taken risks, and now it looks like payback time?

Yeah, it was all going just fine until the Storm arrived. The howling beast transforms not only Ken’s day but his entire perception of how the world works. He is thrust into a reality that is beyond the edge of reason and shown the truth about what really lies behind the scenes. Ken sees those little things that wait in the darkness beyond the dim glow of our own perception. Whilst looking for Mike, who along with everybody else has disappeared, Ken finds himself taken to a place that would fracture most people’s minds. He becomes plagued by horrific dreams and is tipped toward insanity. Fortunately, Ken is made of stronger stuff. His stoicism and dry humour, when coupled with his experience, enable him to cope with the madness of the crazy things he is shown by George. The old man takes Ken and shows him a view of the universe he never even dreamed of. Events almost beyond comprehension have happened and are still happening, events that require their immediate intervention. Ken and Mike are told that the future for them, and all that remains of mankind, lies in their hands. 

From the madness of a storm, to being trapped and escaping, through his search for Mike and to the shattering arrival of reality, we follow Ken on his discovery of the truth. He finds himself being shown ancient history and then a devastating possible future - both are inextricably linked and both need his help. George tells the tale of how the world was, of how it is now and of how it’s going to be in the future.

It’s not a happy ending, either, or at least it won’t be unless they get to ‘Red’ first? The red-haired giant is going to have his say all right, he’s on a separate agenda and doesn’t care who gets in the way. Killing is a second-nature for this guy. Fortunately, Ken has done his own share of killing, and if it’s a fight you want, well, you've picked on the right man. From dreams to ‘slideshow’s, history to ‘Rip-Fixers’, the past and the present, this tale has them all. It also has the reality of a normal guy who just happens to be pretty handy when it comes to ‘sorting things out’. All Ken needs is Mike, some big guns and the Spears. Ken has the skills and Mike has the magic, together they ride into battle to stop the Demon and his plans. Ordinary men dealing with very extraordinary circumstances

Paul A. Rice - Author

I was born in 1961 in Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) to English parents. My father worked for Caltex Oils and my mother for the Rhodesian Government. I spent the majority of my early school days at boarding schools in Rhodesia before returning to the UK in 1975, where I attended school in Marlborough. At present I live in the sunny province of Almeria in southern Spain.

I served for 24 years in the British Army and saw many different and interesting things during that time. Since leaving the forces, I have run several businesses with my wife, and had the opportunity to visit many different countries, including: Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan and several countries in Africa. I have also spent the majority of this year in Libya - its been a big year for the people of that country and I have been fortunate enough to witness some of the major events that have unfolded there.

I have three beautiful daughters from my first marriage, and three lovely step-kids, two more girls and a son, from my second marriage.

I have a passion for motorcycles and in particular, motorcycle racing. It is about the only thing that I will go out of my way to watch on TV.

My favourite people are those that make me laugh and who are interesting. People who have an opinion and who are always striving to have a go at the next mad idea. I like seeing people just going for it - trying to be better, trying to get somewhere. I know it's crazy, but I like that; we only have one life so don't sit around waiting for things to come your way. Get out there and try and make them happen! Sometimes it won't work, but at least you've got the experience and the memories, and don't forget that there's always tomorrow when you can go and try something else. I think it may well have been Barry Sheene who said something like: "Don't wait for your ship to come ashore - swim out there and drag the bastard in..." 

Writing: Many people ask me what made me write these books. The honest answer is that I'm not really sure. I've dabbled several times along the way, but never seriously. It just comes upon me, the need to write, and suddenly I find myself at the keypad again. I have never really applied myself before as it takes a lot of self-belief, which I didn't have. However, since I did start applying myself to the art, I have become addicted to writing, it is so challenging and also very demanding. I have spent thousands of hours in trying to learn the craft and have nothing but respect for those authors who have made a success of their work. I now know exactly how much dedication and hard work it takes just to get a decent draft copy finished, never mind a highly-polished and ready for publication manuscript!

I consider the last four years to be my apprenticeship in the art of writing - I've made mistakes, I've been niave and I've been impatient. But, I have learned and learned a lot! I put a lot of my learning down to the feedback I have had from critics, both good and bad, and also down to spending endless hours in trying to improve my writing. If anyone ever tells you this is easy, then send me their details and I'll get in touch with them so they can show me how! Seriously - if you want to write, then my main advice would be that you have to be prepared to spend thousands of hours on your work and be even more prepared to go back, again-and-again, and keep on trying to improve it. Never give up, ever.

I wrote Awakening whilst I was stuck down in Kandahar - mostly working late at night - and then I spent ages trying to get it right. I suppose a lot of the story was to do with the madness I had seen whilst I was in Afghanistan, and other equally crazy places - it just didn't make sense to me and I've always wondered if this was it: the sum-total of thousands of years, supposedly evolving, having culminated in the absolute chaos, poverty and  blood-letting, which can be witnessed in those bleeding lands. Obviously we all know about the 'Hyenas' and their greed, as true today as it always has been, and probably always will be. I  use the name as a similie for the men in grey suits - the ones behind all the big plays that change our world. There was a different 'George' from the old man in my tale, one who wrote someting along the lines of: “He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.” I believe it was George Orwell.

Anyway - I got to thinking about what we must look like to an outsider, how crazy it must all seem... Imagine if you were someone from a different place, a different dimension, or parallel, perhaps. What would you think when you saw the abject chaos that reigns in those crazy places I have just mentioned? Then I thought about someone normal, maybe a guy like Ken, what would he do if he was suddenly thrust into something, or somewhere, that lay well outside his normal concept of how the world works - of how everything works! Would his head simply explode or would he adapt, could he cope with being shown a hidden truth, one that put paid to everything he'd ever believed in? Perhaps everything he'd ever known had been nothing more than his own perception anyway. After all, they do say that knowledge is power, don't they? So, with that in mind I thought I would give it a shot...

 

George tells Ken that on the grand scale of things the Earth is nothing more than a speck of dust...

Nebula - taken from Hubble. Couresy NASA? NSDCC

 

Nearly four years later and I've completed three books in the Parallel series. The first two were originally published by  YouWriteOn under the title Awakening. However, I have learned a lot since those early days and the books have had a good re-write, several in fact, and are now being published under the Parallel title. All three have been uploaded as eBooks and are available via the links given in the 'NEWS' page on this website.

My books are  not what I consider to be science fiction in the true sense - I never wrote them with that genre in mind. They are just fictional tales with lots of action, fantasy, mystery and suspense. Okay, there are some amazing pieces of equipment and some crazy things do happen, but there are no little green men - of that you can be assured!

In the meantime, the latest version of Parallel - The Awakening is available now in both its paperback and eBook editions. Parallel 2 - The Gift, is currently with the publishers: feedaread.com They are part of YouWriteOn and are sponsored by the Arts Council of Great Britian in order to find new authors.

Anyway, that's enough waffle from me. I hope that you get the chance to read the books, and more importantly that you enjoy the story - my one wish would be for them to take you to that special place where only a good book can.

My eternal thanks go out to my wife, Jane, for her endless support and encouragement, when ever I'm down she picks me up and gives me the courage to push forward and keep on trying to get the story to where it needs to be. I also owe a debt of gratitude to all those people who have given me feedback, all comments are gratefully received, both good and bad, and I always take time to think about what's been said. It's all good stuff - thank you!

Cheers

P A R

December 2011

 

Miscellaneous Pictures


The biggest fish of my life - 193lbs of hardfighting, Spanish Catfish.

Big fish

 

On security overwatch for a road-building project in Afghanistan.

Lashkar Gah - Helmand, Afghanistan.

 

Having fun on the race track - my favourite pastime.

Almeria, Spain