It took me a while to write (over a year LOL!) but I finally managed to get this book edited and self-published on Amazon. Only in Kindle format right now but you can download the viewing utility from Amazon's website for free. The book has been described as: 'A wild and wooly adventure' and 'like a post-apocalyptic versions of Lord of the Rings.' 'Good story, cool new "world", lots of potential' Those were the words of a couple of reviewers. Amazon.com: Mountain Hold (Terra's Edge Chronicles) eBook: Tyler Danann: Kindle Store I made a video promoting the book. One thing this book is not is a 'how-to-survival' guide or something approaching the literature of 'The Road'. Yet if you want a good adventure yarn with action-packed scenes then you should enjoy it. There are a few graphic scenes and violence but nothing relentless. Below is a fun trailer-video I made in the mountains, it ought to get you in the mood: It's not all fighting and so on but that's one of the signature fight sequences spread out through the book portraying a very different America following a strange collapse scenario. Here's a taste of the prelude to action... Into his black-rifle he loaded a straight-edged magazine of twenty followed by two spare magazines into his ammo-pouches. In all three were hand-reloaded splinter-rounds alternated with tumbler-rounds. Both were of fair ballistic co-efficient, lacking the excellence of a full-metal-jacket. Yet for the distances in the forested mountains such specifics were mostly irrelevant. Both the splinter and tumbler rounds were capable of vicious injuries, indeed the splinter-rounds were, prior to The Collapse, 'illegal.' Barber chuckled faintly at the notion, even before the collapse people carefully ignored the law. Leyson himself, one of the more clean-cut Scout-Rangers was known to hoard a rare CZ-75 pistol with select-fire capability. For a moment Barber considered going to him and asking to borrow it over the use of the Automag but dismissed the notion. Protection was next; opening a trunk of equipment he pulled out a war-fighter class of polymer body-armor. It was in woodland pattern, with plate-inserts along with Kevlar and trauma weave materials. A gray Kevlar helmet was in the trunk also, he meant to paint it green but had never gotten around to it. It was a sinister looking thing to some, with a fluted angle on it protecting the sides of the head. To the Ranger it radiated a kind of violent-honesty. He set it aside on the bed and looked to sorting out pants to wear. Barber was already wearing a pair of forest-pattern combat leggings, but he picked up some plastic kneepads and strapped them on under the clothing. Both so they wouldn't catch on anything and so they wouldn't be showing. Next he picked up a his 'go' bag which was a patrol-pack with bottled water, dried-rations and a first-aid kit inside. Taking his night-vision array he slotted the quadruple-eyed device onto his helmets mounting plate. He raised them on the hinge so he could see normally then stowed the spare battery unit in a pocket. His wall mirror caught his eye and glancing at his mustached reflection he noticed his exposed neck was glaringly obvious. With a flash of insight he dug out an old relic from his Asian travels; a thick silk scarf. That was good but he needed better. Taking a few Kevlar flexi-inserts he stuffed them inside the scarf then wrapped it around the exposed flesh. His combat jacket sleeves were next. Barber taped three six-inch sections of the inserts into each sleeve, giving plenty of forearm protection while keeping mobility. He concluded his load-out by slinging the battle-rifle over his shoulder. Just before he left an esoteric notion whispered over to him and he scooped up his lucky sun-wheel hammer-cross. He wasn't a man who let superstition rule him, but many things had changed with The Collapse and good luck was always a welcome mind-effect. The metal pendant felt cool against his skin, but not cold like it had an effect all of its own. He exited the cabin with the look and air of a battlefield-warrior, far from his usual ranger-garb and manner. Something stirred in his blood, sensing somehow that this was a time he alone would be tested. The tree's whispered to him in some way, for he felt an ethereal energy sweeping out and along into him from them. He was not one to make sense of such things. That was more for Leyson or Oakley's domain. For Barber it was enough to give a sense of cool, rigid purpose, like that of a waiting warship before the approaching enemy. The Approaching Enemy: A faint noise sounded from ahead of Barber at a spot deeper in the forest. Barber had a moment to look up from the gloom below as a strange sound of scraping wood sounded. At first he thought it was some porcupine or tree-dwelling creature but the noise was too loud for that. They heard the goat awakening below as Barber strained to see into the trees beyond them. Almost a minute passed and he was almost relaxing his mind as he gripped the rifle that little bit tighter. The night-vision was a fine bonus for night operations; being a 4th generation model it had wide-angle clarity but had seen hard use in previous times. The green-glare given off from the foliage seemed lifeless for the most part, but it gave Barber an undisputed edge in seeing nonetheless. The quarter moon in the sky only enhanced it further. He knew from experience that aiming even accurately with night-vision was tricky, even with the aiming-laser's help. Then a peculiar sensation came over him, like a subtle wave of change from what had been before. His inner-sense told him he was being watched. He almost missed the sight, but glimmered the movement allowing him to see two dull eyes amid a bush vanish back into thick undergrowth. Hardly making a sound he wondered if it was a mountain lion or bear. A clash of claws on wood rang out faintly but with a constant action. 'It climbs the trees?' Barber began to wonder with a dawning vulnerability. Yet his logic almost dismissed it as either a bear or mountain lion. Yet did bears or lions climb in the dead of night? When in panic possibly. He considered whispering his concern to Athias when a big black form of movement appeared two trees distant to Barber. It moved with purpose and he instinctively knew it was no casual animal of the night. The Chimera was making it's move. In that moment Barber knew he was facing life-or-death destiny as it was insidiously seeking out to kill them. His adrenaline soared in a nanosecond. The large form presented a clear target now as Barber surged into action; raising his battle-rifle and leveling it to fire a quick burst without a shred of hesitation. The roar from the weapon sent flashes of white stabs leapt into his night-vision as he held the laser-line at it's general upper-center of mass. As his adrenaline surged, his mind focused and the forest shook to the sounds of battle commencing.
