The Webs of Varok
Silver medalist, teen/YA fiction—Nautilus Book Awards 2013
Finalist, science fiction—ForeWord Book of the Year Awards 2012
In an alternate 21st century Solar System: Tandra Grey has left Earth for the ancient sustainable culture of Varok, with its promise of stability for her young daughter. But a genius with a hidden talent sets her eye on Varok's wealth—and Tandra's soul mates. Tandra, the elll Conn, and the varok Orram must untangle a web of deceit to restore balance for Varok and their fragile new family.
The second novel in Cary Neeper's Archives of Varok series, The Webs of Varok follows new adventures for the cast of Neeper's 1975 novel A Place Beyond Man, re-released in 2011.
| Small paperback | 6x9" trade paperback | Hardcover with jacket | E-book editions |
. . .engaging, multi-layered, provocative, and above all relevant to the times. . .
—Frank Kaminski, book reviewer for Energy Bulletin and Resilience.org
. . .so many alien-imaginative twists, intrigues,and betrayals that the spellbound reader won't even realize s/he's being educated!
—Professor William Rees, originator of the Ecological Footprint concept
Who knew sustainable economics could be so much fun? . . .a page-turning struggle between the eternal themes of personal accumulation vs. the common good.
—Kathy Campbell, past president, League of Women Voters New Mexico
Highly recommended, as is author Cary Neeper's first book in the series, A Place Beyond Man.
—Midwest Book Review: Children's Bookwatch, June 2013,
on the Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
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From the book
I found myself immersed in a living painting. Opalescent blues and tans danced a slow waltz with sheets of lightning behind portly trees, knee-deep in dark, blue-green scrub. Rock and adobe buildings with rounded contours shared nearby cliffs or nestled under huge trees, scattered on the hillsides or clustered near streams and lakes. All sang with a peaceful quiet. Only a few tall figures moved along the paths, spiraling their hands at the occasional rider on wheeled craft. Across broad, rust-hued fields leapt huge rabbits, like shaggy giraffes with smiling dog faces.
“They’re daramonts, Orram, aren’t they?”
My varok nodded and smiled, raising his chiseled brow without looking up from the navigation panel.
The vision faded, but the painting was mine now, a part of me.....
Continue reading in The Webs of Varok sneak preview: prologue and chapter 1...
Free preview chapters
- Prologue (PDF, 62KB)
- Chapter 1. A Troubled Homecoming (PDF, 117KB)
- Chapter 2. Approaching Varok (PDF, 44KB)
- Chapter 3. Mind Block (PDF, 48KB)
Discussion questions
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