Published: April 13th, 2014
Description:
If you awoke to find that humankind had been annihilated, could you survive?
John's dreams have crumbled. A global corporation, CRYO, kidnapped him, froze him and sent him to the future, only to fade into history as he slept. Now, John and his pod mates are in a new and strange world that's far from anything they've ever known.
With a strange creature having cut their already dwindled numbers, the fight for survival has begun. There's already discontent amongst the small group of survivors. And, as John heads out into the unknown with a small splinter group, there's just one question; what will he find?
The author offered up to us readers a nice healthy plate, very descriptive, detail oriented, with a background mystery that kept me guessing. I never knew what was coming next, and I liked that aspect of unpredictability. This was a refreshing read, and not something I would have picked up at first glance, however the cover was very alluring and made me curious even more. - Missy Devour (Goodreads)
MB's INTERVIEW
Thank you, Mr.Geoffrey Wakeling
All of your books seem to have a part of horror (or at least thriller), but what they have in common or what is your “signature”?
It’s definitely painting the worlds in which my stories occur. I’m a details person, someone who loves to create imagery. Of course, there’s overdoing it, aka Tolkien-style, but I like to create a vivid place which people can easily imagine – particularly when writing science fiction and fantasy. I tend to leave character details for readers because everyone normally has their own take on what someone looks like. But, I get caught up in world creation; it’s something I love.
Between Urban Fantasy / Paranormal and Science Fiction what you love more to write and why?
I think it’s science fiction that I prefer to write, mostly because I have more experience with it. I’m a HUGE scifi fan, from movies and television shows to books and gaming. Having all that experience helps with creating a complete and believable world in which the ‘science’ I use in books, works. When it comes to fantasy, I’m not so adept with magic, fairies etc. Readers of my fantasy series, Inside Evil, will note that there’s actually quite a lot of science fiction (parallel worlds) and most of the ‘magic’ elements actually have a scientific backing of some form.
What is in your opinion the most important ingredient for a SF how did you convey it in Cryo?
Believability. Science fiction needs to create a stunning and futuristic story which is believable – in my opinion. I always like a novel which has technology based on something current, or utilizes what we know of the universe to create the fictional world. With CRYO I took great care to ensure that any technologies, worlds or settings used were as real as possible; to convey to readers that this reality is very possible.
Which were the biggest challenges for you when you wrote Cryo – Rise of the Immortals and Cryo – A Changed World?
Honestly – keeping them to 100K. My mind pretty much wrote this series without much thinking; it must’ve been lurking in the background waiting for my fingers to type. Editing out scenes and keeping the word count down was the biggest challenge. Originally, John Carlody (our main character) was supposed to get frozen FAR earlier than halfway through CRYO: Rise of the Immortals. But his backstory grew and I thought it was important to include it in the resulting novel.
How important are the characters in a SF and what kind of a hero is John?
Going back to my former answer, believable characters are extremely important. I hate a SG novel, film or anything for that matter, which has a great concept and weak characters or caricatures. People need to be flawed, human, characters readers can actually recognize.
In CRYO, John really is the begrudging hero. He never set out to be a leader and is, by nature, quite a solitary soul. But the situations he’s put in requires a stand to be made, and when that occurs, he takes the lead. However, without his friends and alliances, I think John wouldn’t have got very far at all.
EXCERPT
Chapter 6 - Civilisation
There was a rustle ahead of John, and he acknowledged Nathan with a nod as the man pulled a branch out the way and held it so it didn't whip back and hit John in the face. He was about to walk past, when Tone and Amity stopped dead in their tracks, freezing on the spot. There was another rustle, and John looked around and realised that it wasn't coming from any of the group. Viktor put a hand to his lips, carefully dropped his backpack from his shoulder and pulled out a knife. A grin spread on his lips.
"We're having rodent for dinner tonight," he whispered as he gently leaned across to John, taking one foot off the floor and placing it down with extreme care so as not to make a sound. However, it wasn't an agouti that scurried out of the leafy vegetation of the forest, but a small individual with an amphibious face. There was a moment where it stood there, frozen to the spot, its eyes flicking between John and the others. Then, it very carefully lifted a leg and began to back away, its slender arms reaching out behind it to move branches, its eyes still firmly fixed upon the group.
"Grab it!" Nathan yelled, letting go of the branch and allowing it to whip back into John's face with a bolt of pain. John screeched as the hard bark smacked into his cheek, knocking him backwards. He clutched his face and scrunched up eyes with his hands as he cursed loudly, the extreme stinging like a fire bolt across his skin. At the same time, a shrill squeal filled the air as Nathan leapt towards the small creature in front of them. John opened one of his watering eyes to see the tiny figure turn and bounce away with Nathan and Tone in hot pursuit. Any thought of silence had been forgotten now, and the two men crashed through the undergrowth as they rushed after the alien disappearing through the trees.
"No dinner for us then," Viktor said as he wrinkled his face, before obviously deciding he didn't want to miss anything and plunging after the creature as Nathan and Tone had done. Anne followed suit, screaming for the men not to hurt the creature, and John was left behind with Franz and Amity.
"That's gonna hurt," Franz muttered as he drew John's hands away from where he was still cradling his face.
"It hurts now," John mumbled, realising that his lip was stinging as he spoke. He put a finger to his mouth and pulled it away to see blood.
"Here, use this anti-inflammatory cream," Amity said as she rummaged in her bag. "It'll keep the swelling down." She reached over and wiped John's face from the top of his left cheek bone to just below his lip with a sterile wipe, before handing him a small tube of cream. The cloth was bloodied when she drew it away, and John realised he'd split more than his lip.
"Ain't too bad," Franz said. "Peanuts compared to this." He drew up his shirt and grinned towards John, happily revealing the scar that was forming across his stomach and covering the hole where the dart had penetrated.
Another squeal rang out through the trees, immediately followed by the unmistakable cry of Anne.
"The cream can wait," John said, shoving the tube into his pocket and running in the direction of the sound. His heart was pounding as he dashed through the undergrowth. Not again, not again, not again. Another howl rang out, this time a man's, and he was filled with dread as he rushed towards the scene. They couldn't lose more people, he couldn't lose more people. As much as it pained him to think about it, those who died last time had just been pod-mates, nothing more. These were his friends, his comrades, the people who had become his family. Natalia was already gone, he couldn't lose more.
Anne yelled again and John found another burst of speed and threw himself through the forest, unperturbed by the branches that slashed at his already bloodied face. He could see figures up ahead, a crowd of people standing in the trees. He rushed faster towards them as he saw Anne screaming and throwing herself towards Nathan. He was crouched on the floor and her fists came down on him hard, pummelling his back. Viktor was heaving her away, and she kicked out with her legs, sending a heavy strike into the side of Tone's face as he leant down to help Nathan to his feet.
"You bastard. It did nothing to you," Anne shrieked as she struggled in Viktor's arms.
"Get that bitch away from me," Nathan hissed, before spitting and splattering the forest floor with red. It seemed that Anne had landed more than just one kick. Viktor dragged Anne further away, pulling her head around to look at him and telling her to calm down. Meanwhile, Tone heaved Nathan off the ground and hauled him to where the roots of a large tree rose out of the ground like sheets of corrugated iron. As the group was pulled apart, John's eyes moved to the floor, and as he stumbled onto the scene, he looked down and saw the motionless body of the slender and mottled alien.
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About the author:
Geoff Wakeling lives in London and escapes the smog of the city through his writing. The Inside Evil, even though being dark and mysterious, was a way to escape the drudgery of every day life and indulge in something a little more fantastical.
With a degree in Zoology, Wakeling is animal mad and has three cats, fish and five chickens in his London home. He is a keen gardener and conservationist. He is also still awaiting the arrival of his Hogwart's Owl!
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