Jump Starting The Universe by John David Buchanan
Universes collide. Most beings throughout the universes are aware of that phenomenon, but people on earth – not so much. Certainly not Mark and Blackie or Wayne and when they rushed to load Wayne’s Chevy Nomad they didn’t have any idea the green tinted light bathing them in the parking lot was more than an impending hail storm. It was a mixing zone. A tiny sliver of space occupied by two overlapping universes.
When the universes pulled apart, the green light disappeared, and so did Mark, Blackie, Wayne, Amelia (who had just joined them), and a 1957 Nomad station wagon. There was no more parking lot, no more bar, and no Hell-Otis highway.
Celestial context now put them smack dab in the middle of a high plain on Alphus Nebulum. They had no idea where they were, or that they would soon be arrested. Lucky for them a prisoner in the cell next to theirs offered them his used Jump Starter. They escaped and were on the lam. After meeting some of the most interesting beings in that galaxy, they used the Jump Starter to avoid a unit of very angry soldiers. Nita came along for the ride, but now, they were lost again.
Wayne said he had an uncomfortable feeling that things were going to get weird – bass players are sometimes remarkably clairvoyant – although weird might have been a bit of an understatement. They met Tugurro, struck a business deal in lieu of payment for their lunch, and stayed at the strangest hotel they had ever seen. An emergency forced them to leave unexpectedly, and they found themselves smack dab in the middle of a meteorite shower.
After spending time with Sly and Vanessa, they returned to the Hotel Phoenix, assured that their previous experience was a fluke. It was there that they witnessed an attempted murder, and having been tipped off by the local police that the assassin’s boss didn’t care for witnesses, they fled. It pays to have friends, friends who can look after you when you don’t know what’s about to happen. Paxim may be the second best swordsman in the solar system.
They used the Jump Starter again and landed on Gafcon where Blackie met Joules at the city library. They became close friends and when Joules was attacked by Shumbrans, they all jumped-in to help her. It was then Blackie suspected something about Nita, and they all got to witness Joules use a talent she had suppressed since her childhood; a talent that would come in handy on more than one occasion.
After the incident at the museum, the six of them planned a trip to a lake in the mountains. On the return trip Wayne quickly realized they had a problem, a very big problem. Blackie had a ridiculous solution; regrettably, it was the best option they had. Mark gave him grief over it later. Given the same circumstances, you would have too!
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Top Customer Reviews
Top Customer Reviews
By Waldo D.B. on July 12, 2016
Format: Paperback
This is the second book in the Jump Starting the Universe Series. The story picks up right where the first book ends, with the characters reflecting on what had just happened to them and how they would proceed in light of a new and critical problem. Interplay of the main characters with new ones, and how they react to troubling situations gives them more depth and complexity as the story line unfolds. Scientific vignettes become major themes as the plot develops and Mark, Nita, Wayne, Amelia, Blackie and Joules are startled by new information about one of their group that completely contradicts what they had previously believed.
This unexpected disclosure from a completely unimpeachable source causes one member of the group to question their own plan to return to Gafcon-49. Each person must now decide what they will do, and the results of their decisions doesn’t just embroil them in a controversy that spans multiple universes, it thrusts them right in the heart of it. The Edge of Nothing and Everything continues the story of their unexpected journey, but it is more complex, and slightly darker, as the main characters must address heavy issues and the realities of their situation.
About The Author: John David Buchanan
John David Buchanan was born into a military family in the territory of Alaska in 1953; his children tease him he is older than the State of Alaska which didn’t join the union until 1959. He was the middle child, having one older sister and brother and two younger sisters. You could say he anchored the middle of the line-up. His Dad was transferred to San Antonio, Texas and he grew up there playing sports, watching science fiction on TV, and playing the drums. After high school he attended Southwest Texas State University where he received a Masters Degree in Biology and subsequently started his career as an environmental specialist.
While working for the State of Texas he was transferred to Austin where he met his future wife De Lynn. After working for two consulting companies John started his own business, Buchanan Environmental Associates, which he operated for 18 years. Along the way he started playing guitar in hopes of learning the blues and ultimately co-founded a Pink Floyd cover band where he played lead guitar. When his three-year-old son climbed in his lap to strum an old acoustic Yamaha 160E he knew he would also be a guitar player.
His desire to start writing a book was fueled when he and his young daughter read J. K. Rowling’s entire series of Harry Potter books together. That urge resulted a two-year creative journey resulting in his first book, Jump Starting the Universe. Although he admits he jumped ahead and wrote an ending to the book when he was only half way through the story, it went unused. In his words, “The characters just didn’t want to go that direction.” He says it was hard for a man of science to make that admission, but he is getting more and more comfortable in his new creative skin and with the idea that he is now writing a science fiction series: the second book, The Edge of Nothing and Everything, was released in May 2016 and work has started on the third book whose working title is World Eaters.
If you have comments or questions about his books, or would like to ask a question, you can reach John at jdbjsu@gmail.com or visit his twitter page at @jdbuchanan1.
Thanks for visiting his author page. I hope you enjoy his books and please post a book review on Amazon; it’s the life blood of an author!
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