Thursday, January 10, 2013

Oculus by Michael Offutt ~ Spotlight!!



Oculus
Michael Offutt
 
 
Genre: Sci-fi 
Book Description:
 
Autumn has arrived in New York, and Jordan Pendragon attends his first classes as a freshman at Cornell. Born with a brilliant mathematical mind, he balances life as a research assistant with that of a student athlete.
 
But Jordan also has a quest. He must find the Black Tower, a monolithic edifice housing a thing that defines the very structure of the universe. Jordan believes it is buried somewhere in Antarctica under miles of prehistoric ice.
 
October finds Jordan earning a starting position with the Cornell hockey team. But a dark cloud gathers over his rookie season. Unexplained deaths, whispers of a cannibal cult, a prophecy, and a stone known only as the Oculus, cast a shadow over his athletic ambitions. It is the start of a terrifying journey down a path of mystery, murder, and to a confrontation with an Evil more ancient than the stars.
 
Free short story that's a lead-in to this book series: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/236636
 
Talking Assassins in A Crisis of Two Worlds
In both Slipstream and Oculus we are introduced to Kolin Lightfoot, an Avalonian assassin with a vague-ish background as a professional killer. However, the time that he spent in training when he was much younger is something that I do intend to explore (most likely in the next book entitled Caledfwlch). The only hint that I give you of this is the tattoo on Kolin’s neck. It’s a purple rose and more than just something nice to look at. Rather, it signifies his position within a super secret organization of assassins that trained with tattoo warrior monks in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. I refer to this organization as the Slayer Tsincaat.
There are several men that bear these skin tattoos. Each is a different color and grants a different “power” so to speak.  Kolin’s is purple, and bestows upon the assassin the ability to go without sleep for a long time if needed, heightened reflexes, and incredibly sensitive touch. Kolin can literally feel the vibration of the air around him and can tell when someone else is in a room simply by the presence of their body heat. This incredible touch has messed with Kolin’s head a little, as he enjoys having sex more than most people because of the tremendous pleasure he experiences during this activity. Kolin has had to employ the use of very elaborate armor to keep his touch sensitivity manageable in combat situations. The killsuit he wears allows him to utilize all the positives of his abilities and experience none of the negatives.  It deadens the melee blows transferred to his body from the outside, yet has enough porous openings to allow him to still feel heat differences in the air around him. And there is no one in the world that is a better safe picker than Kolin. He can literally feel the tumblers slide about with only his fingertips.
Other assassins of Kolin’s order have different powers. A red rose bestows upon the wearer the ability to transfer tremendous pain through mere touch, literally lighting neurons on fire. It also bestows upon the person thus inscribed, an immunity to pain and tougher bones, rendering them formidable opponents for their ability to shrug aside blows that would knock a normal man to his knees. The only person in the Slayer Tsincaat to have this color rose as a tattoo is codenamed Genesis. He is considered to be the first of Kolin’s order and is the most dangerous man alive.
To know more or to review purchasing options for my book, please visit the website below:
 
 
 
About the Author:
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Michael Offutt writes speculative fiction books that have science fiction, LGBT, and paranormal elements. His first book, "Slipstream" has received some critical acclaim and was published by Double Dragon in the spring. The sequel, "Oculus" came out in November 2012. He has one brother, no pets, and a few roots that keep his tree of life sufficiently watered. By day, he works for the State of Utah as a Technical Specialist. By night, he watches lots of t.v., writes, draws, and sometimes dreams of chocolate.
 
Michael Offutt graduated from the University of Idaho in 1994 with a Bachelor's degree in English.
 
He keeps a blog and would appreciate a visit or two even if all you want to do is say hi.
 
Twitter: @MichaelOffutt 

3 comments:

  1. You never mentioned the dreaming of chocolate thing before, did you? Hmm...

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  2. I don't think I have. Thanks for visiting, Andrew.

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  3. Good guest post! I'm very curious about Kolin's powers and background.

    ReplyDelete