Sign of the Dragon (Tatsu Yamada Book 1), Niall Teasdale [books for 20 year olds .txt] 📗

‘I don’t really care what’s under that skin. Except for the part in the brain case. That’s important too.’

‘Good so far. Mika?’

‘I think… I think I’m ready to do it. It’s a little scary, but the alternative is scarier, and that… That wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.’

‘Excellent,’ Izanami said. ‘I’m so glad that you’re willing to choose life over a silly societal prejudice.’

‘Yes,’ Nakano said in a voice so low it was obviously not meant to be heard.

‘Since you have decided to go through with it,’ Izanami went on, ‘would you like one of these chassis?’

‘What?’ Mika asked.

‘Not exactly the same. A more commercial model with less armour, but the same self-repair systems. Frankly, Tatsu needs it far more than you do, but it would be a service to me to give a more civilian view of the operability of the new system. Two testers are better than one.’

Nakano forgot the naked Tatsu for long enough to turn around. ‘You’d do that? It would be safe?’

‘I would do that, and it would be safe. This is more like customer testing than beta testing. I want to be sure the technology holds up in real-life situations, including the stress Tatsu will undoubtedly put it through.’

‘Anyone would think I tried to get damaged,’ Tatsu muttered.

‘But more normal use would also be informative. And Mika is a first-time user who will likely give opinions Tatsu, more used to the circumstances, would not.’

‘I’d love to do it,’ Mika said, her eyes shining. ‘I’d love to help Izanami develop a new technology. That’s like… I don’t know, but it’s good. It’s exciting.’

Tatsu turned, starting for the ‘backstage’ area where she had left her clothes. Nakano remembered she was naked and quickly turned his back. ‘You say that now, Mika,’ Tatsu said, ‘but just you wait until she’s turning up on Sundays to grill you about your social life.’

‘I am not that bad!’ Izanami almost shrieked.

‘Says you.’

###

About the Author

I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote science fiction when I was playing Traveller. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still love the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

Recently I took the big step of quitting my day job and taking up full-time writing. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, J.D. Robb, and Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.

For More Information

Take a look at the Witches and Ray-guns blog: http://witchesandrayguns.wordpress.com

Links to book vendors and other information can be found there, along with a view on what I’m up to and when it might happen.

Other Books by this Author

The Thaumatology Series

Thaumatology 101

Demon’s Moon

Legacy

Dragon’s Blood

Disturbia

Hammer of Witches

Eagle’s Shadow

Ancient

Dragonfall

The Other Side of Hell

For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

Vengeance

Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe

Tales from High Towers’ Study

Tales from the Dubh Linn

The Aneka Jansen Books

Steel Beneath The Skin

The Cold Steel Mind

Steel Heart

The Winter War

The Greatest Heights of Honour

The Lowest Depths of Shame

Hope

The Ultrahuman Books

Ugly

Shadows

Hunting Mink

Frostburn

Guardian

True Dark

Liberty

Royal Flush

The Unobtainium Books

Kate on a Hot Tin Roof

King Solamet’s Mines

The Fox Meridian Books

Fox Hunt

Inescapable

DeathWeb

Criminal Minds

Emergence

The Ghost in the Doll

Eden Burning

Dominance

The Hellas Find

Dancing with The Devil

Overwatch – coming in 2021

The Princeps Venator Books

Hunter’s Kiss

Be My Valentine

Blood Magic

The Misfits Series

Misfit Magic

Misfit Witchcraft

The Twilight Empress Trilogy

The Iron Princess

The Last Emperor – coming when it’s ready

The Death’s Handmaiden Series

Death’s Handmaiden

Bitter Wind

Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions

The Tatsu Yamada Series

Sign of the Dragon

Other

Reality Hack

The Zanari Inheritance

The Vanity Case

The Eyes of the Huntress

Gunwitch: Rebirth