Teaser Tuesdays: OCULUS by Michael Offutt

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is from one of my favorite scenes in Oculus, even if I don't know too much about hockey. I gasped when I read it.

 

Oculus by Michael Offutt

Pg. 252 of early draft

Andy, you’re too close. STOP! Jordan didn’t have time to yell the words.

In the next instant, Jordan watched with horror as Andy, not aware that Grego had fallen down, skated over his wrist.   

Do you have a teaser? Leave one or a link to one in the comments.

Book Review: OCULUS by Michael Offutt

Title: Oculus

Series: A Crisis of Two Worlds, #2

Author: Michael Offutt

Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing (November 6, 2012)

Format: Ebook Novel

Source: Author

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Goodreads 

"What is the oculus?"

Autumn has arrived in New York, and Jordan Pendragon is a freshman at Cornell University. Gifted in mathematics, 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.

Review: A stunning sequel, Oculus by Michael Offutt increases the intensity as it bridges fantasy and science fiction.

Jordan Pendragon craves normalcy, but for this genius college freshman, a normal life might be just out of his reach. As he enters life on Cornell’s campus, he makes new friends, enjoys spending time with his boyfriend, and plays hockey for Cornell’s team. Normal life, right? Wrong! Evil is all around him. Students are dying, and he has a major role in a prophecy as ancient as King Arthur. Jordan has a lot more he needs to save before he can really find his normal life.

Oculus takes place completely on Earth. Jordan has left Avalon, but the evil of that world has crossed over into ours. The story grabs the reader at the very beginning and mixes college life with the supernatural, science with the fantastical. The characters have grown more real since Slipstream, especially Jordan. The action is fast-paced, and Offutt has done a wonderful job in bringing to life the Cornell campus. The evil is more real as well, and several times I gasped at what happened. As they discover more answers, more questions are uncovered to a stunning cliffhanger ending that’ll leave the reader breathless.

Michael Offutt’s Oculus keeps the reader guessing. I can’t wait to read book three!

 

Five Bookworms = I loved it!

Other Books in the Series:

 

Click here to read my review.

Teaser Tuesday: SLIPSTREAM by Michael Offutt

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

Slipstream by Michael Offutt

Paperback ARC page 220

Dylan pulled out his gun and pressed it to the guy's throat. "Vamp scum," he said, eyes narrowing.

Do you have a teaser you would like to share? Post it in the comments.

And for an interview with Michael Offutt, please head over to my other blog here.

Book Review: SLIPSTREAM by Michael Offutt

Title: Slipstream

Series: A Crisis of Two Worlds, #1

Author: Michael Offutt

Publisher: Double Dragon Media Group

Format: ARC paperback novel

Source: Author

Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy

Goodreads

Description: Jordan Pendragon is crazy good at fixing situations that have gone bad. It's a talent prized by his high school ice hockey team. However, when a car accident puts Jordan in the hospital, he wakes up with more than just an amazing slapshot in his toolbox. Jordan can manipulate space-time and in just a few weeks, he'll depend on it to save his life.

When earthlings detonated the first atomic bomb in 1945, something incredible happened. The detonation triggered an extinction level event on a parallel world. A computer program saved humanity and became the ruler of this place. However, its brilliant mind fragmented and became insane.

Jordan's power strands him in this nightmare universe. To get home, he becomes a professional in a sport where athletes are killed to boost network ratings. To survive, he discovers that the most broken among us can be fixed and that love is unpredictable. Near the end, he also learns a startling truth about his own birth. If he fails to fix the computer’s insanity, both Earth and this sister world are doomed.

Review: Michael Offutt’s Slipstream is a thrilling debut to this new series!

After Jordan Pendragon awakes from a car accident, he discovers he has unusual abilities to manipulate space-time. Those abilities quickly become his answer to life or death when he, another man, and his sister are sucked into a parallel universe. In Avalon, nothing is as it seems, and Jordan must find a way to use his powers once again to save both their worlds.

Slipstream is a complex book filled with strong elements of science fiction and hints of fantasy with its creatures and mythologies. The characters are well-thought out, and I enjoyed Jordan’s character development the most as he becomes who he truly is. The plot is intricate and kept me guessing and reading. The novel uses scientific principles and mythology (particularly Mesoamerican with some Arthurian) to create this fascinating world of a science fiction Avalon. Offutt must’ve done some major research to craft his novel. The only downside to Slipstream is the over-description, which caused me to skim some sections and slowed down the pace, yet the adventure to the story kept me reading even during the slower parts.

Slipstream by Michael Offutt is unlike any book I’ve ever read. I love the elements of mythology combined with science to make a wonderful read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Four Bookworms = I really liked it!

O is for . . . #atozchallenge

For the A to Z Challenge, I will be featuring up to three authors per letter (via their last name). Some of the authors responded to my request for authors to promote. Others, I found. Please check them out and their books. Thank you!

I know Michael Offutt through blogging. His debut novel Slipstream will be out in May!

Our "O" Author 

Offutt, Michael

Michael Offutt is a writer of science-fiction books.  Depending on when you catch him, he may also be an aspiring writer of epic fantasy, young adult fiction, or a daily non-sequitur.  He has one brother, no pets, and a few roots that keep his tree of life sufficiently watered.

Mr. Offutt’s mother is  a four-foot tall Japanese woman and his father is a six-foot tall white man from Texas with a thick southern drawl.  She loves city life and sushi. He loves small towns with run-down pick-up trucks and fried chicken.

When he asked his mother how they got together, she happily responded that when she was working in the United States Air Force back in the '50's, she used her spare time as an office clerk at the Air Force Base to look over personnel records for a husband.  He remarks that peculiar behavior like this must have been how people met each other prior to the influence of Facebook and Twitter.  It puzzles him whenever he thinks about it, so he chooses instead to just love his stalker mother who speaks quite fondly of the family to the fictional people that live in the basement.

Things you may want to know about the author:

1) Mr. Offutt’s day job is working for the State of Utah.  In his own words, he says, “I help people get computers for their home and school that could otherwise not afford them.  I also install environmental control units, voice-activated devices, and work with computers and electronics.  Generally, I fix stuff when something goes wrong with it.”

2) He enjoys writing, reading, and keeps a blog to regale scores of followers with his wit.

3) He feels like he has an unhealthy preoccupation with caffeine.

4) If the world were to be scientifically verified to end tomorrow, Mr. Offutt would eat chocolate cake until he passed out. That way, he would not have to worry about fitting into his pants again come tomorrow.

 

Links: Blog

Now, if you like fantasy flash fiction, please visit my other blog participating in the challenge: Cherie Reich - Author. To find the other participants, click here.