Kronos
Authors: Jeremy Robinson
Tags: #Sea Monsters, #Action & Adventure, #Horror, #Fiction, #Science Fiction, #Suspense, #Sea Stories, #Animals; Mythical, #Oceanographers, #Thrillers, #Suspense Fiction, #Horror Fiction, #Scuba Diving
KRONOS
Origins Edition
By Jeremy Robinson
Book V
Dear Reader,
My career as an author began in a very different way from most authors. I didn’t submit my books to agents or publishers; I self-published them under the umbrella of a small press I created, Breakneck Books. With each book release, I got feedback from readers, both good and bad, and used the critiques to improve my writing. So while most authors take their licks in private in the form of off-the-record advice from industry pros, I was flogged in the public square for all to see. My growth as an author has been a very public affair.
But it worked. Not only did my writing improve with each book, but so did my sales. And by the third book release, ANTARKTOS RISING, I had captured the attention of Scott Miller, my superb agent at Trident Media Group, and Peter Wolverton, editor supreme at Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, who has signed me on for five novels—PULSE, INSTINCT, THRESHOLD, SECONDWORLD and ISLAND 731, the first three of which are now (4-27-2011) in print.
KRONOS was my fifth novel and takes place almost completely in my backyard—the seacoast of New Hampshire. The story was inspired by my lifelong fascination with the ocean and what might lurk beneath its surface. While writing the story, I took several trips out onto the waters of the Gulf of Maine, watching whales, smelling the salty air and letting my imagination run wild. When I first decided to write a sea creature story, it was going to be a very straightforward monster-eats-man tale, but I discovered Steve Alten around that time, devoured his books and decided I needed to do something different. So I added a twist that once again invited angry reviews from those who take offense at the slightest notion of religion not being total rubbish.
But for readers with open minds and the understanding that this is fiction, this book emerges as a favorite. So, if you’re new to KRONOS, try not to take it too seriously and prepare to suspend your disbelief. This story is not based solely in science, but instead takes the sea creature genre in a new direction. There’s still plenty of action, a hefty body count, the closest thing I’ve ever written to a sex scene, and a little magic that I like to tell myself is reminiscent of early Spielberg (E.T.) or M. Night Shyamalan (SIGNS). Of course, I could be delusional.
I hope you enjoy this fifth of the five books that comprise the origins of my career. Let the flogging continue!
-- Jeremy Robinson
To experience my growth as an author, check out the Origins books in chronological order:
• THE DIDYMUS CONTINGENCY
• RAISING THE PAST
• BENEATH
• ANTARKTOS RISING
• KRONOS
FICTION by JEREMY ROBINSON
(click to view on Amazon and buy)
The Zombie's Way (humor under the pen name Ike Onsoomyu)
BONUS MATERIAL!
Don't miss the exclusive sample chapters of Robinson's ANTARKTOS RISING and THE LAST HUNTER – DESCENT (Book I of the Antarktos Saga) found at the end of this book.
Table of Contents
Sample of THE LAST HUNTER - DESCENT
© 2008, 2011 Jeremy Robinson. All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For more information e-mail all inquiries to:
Visit Jeremy Robinson on the World Wide Web at:
www.jeremyrobinsononline.com
For Spud (now Norah)
Acknowledgements
In the past I have thanked just about everyone I know, but I’m going to do this a little differently and focus on the folks who made the biggest impact on this book.
Stan Tremblay, without you I would have never made it through the year. You have picked up the slack for me and provided a brain when mine ceased to function.
Walter Elly, you are a web genius and your guidance and advice has been invaluable. Your passion for my books and spreading the word via the web is infectious and appreciated.
And finally, the gang without whom I’d be lost and empty: Hilaree, my amazing wife, Aquila my brilliant daughter, Solomon, my endlessly fun son, and little Spud, who has yet to be born or named; you are due to be born any day now and I can’t wait to meet you. I love you all.
“The ocean is as vast as it is mysterious, and man’s desire to venture to its depths to uncover its bounty rarely fades from the forefront of our imaginations. And it is through science and understanding that the finest results will be achieved, not through the dredging, overfishing and exploitation of the world’s finest resource. These mechanisms can only lead to tragedy.”
Dr. Atticus Young—
Oceans in Peril
“When beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang.”
(1819–1891),
Moby Dick
“When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves. The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble. Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.”
Job 41: 25–29 King James Translation—The Holy Bible
1
June 17, 1637
Boston Harbor
Each slice of oar through water seemed more like a guillotine splitting flesh, vertebrae, and nerve bundles over and over—unceasing agony. This was the pain the Reverend John Wheelwright felt, or a close approximation of it, when he heard the news of his banishment from the state of Massachusetts. He’d come to the New World a year previous and was well received, quickly becoming pastor of the Eaxe Chapel at Mount Wollaston in Boston. He was happy for a time, leading his new flock, revealing a path to God in which free speech and opinions were welcome. The congregation blossomed, but along with his success came controversy.