John Roley, Tim Jackson, and ISAC-9 return in the long awaited follow-up to the award winning Shadows of Time!
"Let me guess: " John adopted a derisive tone. "We used to be friends. We go way back. Saved each other's lives at least a dozen times. And the John Roley you knew would want me to work with you, not against you."
"Actually..." The General flexed his fingers, prompting a sympathetic squeak from the chair's upholstery. "The John Roley I knew was an insufferable ass."
In the year 2068, a squad of soldiers are decimated by a desperate attack from a defeated foe. The survivors are rescued, healed, and sent back to duty within the month, each one of them stronger than they were before. They are as implaccable as they are unstoppable. The ledgendary immortals of history made real by the wonders of modern technology. But not all wounds are so easily treated. And with each victory fear begins to grow that man may have created something too powerful for it to control.
In 1998, John Roley, Tim Jackson, and ISAC-9 know nothing about this and wouldn't care if they did. They've got more immediate problems to deal with. Like the fact that their brand new time ship the Wells seems unusually prone to spontaneous combustion. Or that while they may have accepted the title they still don't know what it is that Guardians are supposed to do. Or that John may have accidentally let slip what it is they're building because he has a crush. Or that they've accidentally kidnapped three people who happened to be on board the ship at the exact wrong time who now feel that they're owed a free trip.
These two times finally intersect in the year 3000 when the Wells crashes in a spectacular fireball. Now, in addition to all their other problems they have to deal with being caught between two sides in a war, both of whom are determined to seize what's left of the Wells for their own. Underequipped, alone, and desperate, the only thing they have is everyone's memories of a legacy they haven't even begun to live yet. Because here, at least, everyone knows who and what the Guardians are.
They're the ones who let the world burn.
About the Author: Joseph Reinemann was born in Ithaca, NY in 1985, the son of an electrical engineer and a former peace corps member/grade school science teacher. His first five years were largely spent on the move, including a year spent in Islamabad. In 1990 his family settled in Madison, WI, where he attended school and decided in second grade that writing a novel couldn't possibly be that hard. After several disillusioning years of work and numerous failed attempts he was forced to revise his position, but kept on writing anyway. In 2003 he was recognized by the National Association for the Advancement of the Arts for his first novel, Shadows of Time. He has studied a variety of topics, receiving degrees in English Literature and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin. He also has a variety of hobbies ranging from boat building to drama to robotics, all of which he eventually hopes to write about. He currently lives in Madison with a very precocious and spoiled golden retriever near his family, including younger sisters Elise (a 2nd grade teacher) and Rosa (an actress).
