What happens when a desperate man, looking to save his own skin, foolishly stumbles upon a million-year-old mystery?
Author Joshua Banker releases third book.
Author Joshua Banker announces the release of his third full-length work, The Fifth Era of Man. Banker's first stand-alone novel is a speculative fiction adventure that blends in elements of science-fiction and noir to tell a story that examines the dangers of unearned achievements and the desperation that drives those who are prey to their own bad decisions.
Career grifter and perennial loser Cal Reeger is a dead man. He owes a lot of money to crimelord Jaefor, and the only thing he owns are his pair of revolvers. Not even the jacket on his back belongs to him. To repay this debt, he must infiltrate the Archaeology Guild's site at Natx Hollow.
As Cal schemes to steal the find of a lifetime from the aeons-old site, the ruin's true nature is revealed. Within a cryogenic coffin belowground sleeps Centurion Prae Ganvelt, a member of the first civilization, the original race of humans who flourished millions of years ago.
Still looking for a way out of his debt and with a mercenary hot on his tail, Cal joins the awakened warrior Prae and archaeologist Peter Mathester to investigate the fate of Prae's kind. Within the mysterious, ancient compound of Ala’ydin, they learn that progenitor scientist, Erudatta, altered the cycle of dormancy for Prae's people. What they still must discover are his reasons for doing so.
In The Fifth Era of Man, Banker attempts to tackle a different genre while exploring alternate methods to the writing process. "Unlike my previous two books," he says. "I went into this story wanting to change up how I wrote, both genre-wise and my approach to the story from a world-building aspect. I chose to work with a simpler, tightly-focused narrative that zeroed in on a smaller cast featuring only those important to the tale."
About the Author
Author of Not Gods But Monsters and A Prison of Flesh, Joshua Banker was born in Greece in 1973. He grew up in the San Francisco area before moving to Chattanooga where he attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and received a BFA in Graphic Design. After moving to Charlotte, NC, he ran an independent entertainment review website from 1999-2006. Now living in Greenville, NC, his day job is graphic designer and analyst for a Fortune 100 company. Josh is a writer, painter and illustrator, loves all things H.P. Lovecraft, is married and has two cats and a dog.
Publication Details
March 20, 2018
Trade Paperback ISBN 1975960424 - Amazon $9.99 USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1983515027/
Kindle eBook $2.99 USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B6TFX6Z/
