Guardians Inc Blog Tour
The other is the story of Thomas Byrne, a young man thrust into secrets he shouldn’t be aware of and dangers he shouldn’t face but, that he ultimately will, for he is a Cypher. The only one who can steer humanity’s future.
The ultimate conspiracy theory is that Magic is real. Kept in check by technology but, every five hundred years the balance can shift and, if it does, technology will fail and those creatures we’ve driven into myth will come back with a vengeance.
To protect the present, Guardians Incorporated needs to know the future, and to unlock the future they need a Cypher.
This is the first book of the Guardians Inc Series.
For More Information
Guardians, Inc. is available
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble .
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club
Read Chapter One
My Review
I actually picked up this book for my nephews to read. However I wanted to make sure it was age appropriate. They are eleven and twelve. The verdict is...it is age appropriate. Even though the cover may look scary with the evil monsters, it is not too scary. Plus, it has a good storyline that my nephews will understand and enjoy. I know I sure enjoyed reading this book.
The mystery surrounding the Guardians had me intrigued. Thomas was a good hero. He kept getting more interesting as the story progressed. With his special talents. I know I would never want to face the monsters in this book. They are evil. Check this book out as you won't regret it.
Book Excerpt:
The Pervagus LibraryMrs. Pianova stared at Thomas. “Mr. Byrne,” she said rigidly. “I am Mrs. Pianova, head librarian of the mansion and your immediate superior.”
Thomas took her hand and tried to shake it, but she pulled it back immediately.
“I’m Thomas,” he said with a smile, but her stern face remained unchanged. She wore a grey dress and her white hair was woven into a tight bun. At least seven pairs of glasses hung loosely around chains from her neck — some were tinted and the crystals in others looked cut in different angles.
Thomas felt a little apprehension setting in. He’d only had to work for a woman once before in Fulton and it was one of his mother’s friends. She always received him with a warm smile and lemonade.
This lady seemed tough.
Maybe he’d rushed his decision. Maybe working for this woman would be the deal breaker. Doctor Franco had told him that he could quit anytime, but right after meeting your boss? What would Grandpa say?
“Follow me,” she said, entering the mansion and taking the left hallway. “Your hours are from four to eight, Monday through Friday, additional hours, if required, will be paid as overtime. This…” she said handing him a black tag with a green stripe on a chain, “is your security pass. Wear it at all times inside the mansion. Doors will not open without it, computers will not work, and you might find yourself surrounded by mansion security if you lose it. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered as he slipped the tag over his head.
“Doctor Franco told me that you are allowed to use our library and computers to do your homework during spare time.” She turned to face him. “Research of our books and Internet is allowed only for that purpose. I regularly check logs and accessed web pages, and I’m not amused by finding games or other questionable sites. Do you understand, Mr. Byrne?”
She accentuated many of the words as she spoke and lifted her left eyebrow at the end of a question. Thomas found both things intimidating. “Yes ma’am,” he said.
“This is the reading room.” She tapped a door on the left and then turned to the door on the opposite wall. “And this is the entrance to the library. Twelfth door on the right. Remember that. Most other doors are restricted to you and I don’t want to hear reports that you’ve entered those rooms by mistake.”
The door opened to a huge room filled with bookshelves from floor to ceiling. The room was at least three hundred feet long and thirty feet high. At the front of the room was a desk with a modern computer, a printer, and a comfortable swivel chair.
Thomas felt a current of air moving through the library. He couldn’t hear the air conditioning, but he felt a draft on his arms and hair. The temperature inside the room had dropped and he shuddered involuntarily.
“The cold helps preserve the collection,” Mrs. Pianova told him. “Humidity is also controlled. Do you have any known allergies to chemicals?”
Now that she mentioned it, Thomas perceived a faint smell of leather and a more distinct smell that he couldn’t quite place, like when entering a hospital. It was chemical, but he didn’t know what it was.
“Mr. Byrne?” she asked when he waited too long to answer.
“No, ma’am,” he said. “Not that I know of.”
“Good, this is your station,” she said pointing at the desk. “The computer already has your clearance, but to use it you need to be wearing?” She paused and lifted her eyebrow.
“The tag?” he offered.
“Correct.” She pointed at the screen. “Some days one or two people will come in, some days fifty or more, and some days you’ll get someone screaming at the top of their lungs about a life or death situation. Don’t get nervous. Just punch the information into the program and the computer will tell you which aisle to send them to. You can cross-reference any way you like, words, titles, authors or by need. You’ve used the Internet before?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said. His head pounded and he felt overwhelmed. Was he cut out for this job? He swallowed the lump in his throat and meekly asked, “Life and death?”
“Those books will appear on this tray.” She pointed to a drawer on the right side of the desk. “All others on the aisles. Follow me.” She walked through the middle of the hall. The bookcases were arranged alphabetically. Each had a golden letter on the sides and tags on each shelf.
As they reached the end of the hall, she stopped in front of a wooden wall etched with thick concentric circles. The circles covered a full quarter of the wall and extended all the way to the ceiling.
“Some books will not be readily available to you. If such is the case, you can contact me through the computer and I will search for the book in the library.”
It was Thomas’s time to lift an eyebrow. “Isn’t this the library?” he asked, and Mrs. Pianova adjusted the pair of glasses she was wearing.
“No, Mr. Byrne, this is your station.” She paused. “I don’t need to remind you of your Non-disclosure Agreement. Do I?” she asked.
“You just did ma’am,” Thomas answered with a playful smirk that made Mrs. Pianova purse her lips unnervingly.
“Welcome to Pervagus library Mr. Byrne,” she said pressing a panel on the wall. There was a short hum and a mechanical sound as the wall with the etched circles began to rotate, disengaging internal locks, and the circles moved to the sides inside each other. The wall became a set of double doors that opened to a hall beyond what Thomas could describe as immense.
The ceiling was at least ten stories high and the bookshelves disappeared in the distance. A clear crystal floor and metal beams supported each row of shelves. Robotic arms and elevators loaded with books ran on rails above the bookshelves loading and unloading their cargo into them. Thomas had been to a football stadium before, but he was sure that this room dwarfed that.
“I don’t know how many books there are, so don’t ask,” Mrs. Pianova said as soon as the question formed in his head. “The best answer I can give you is that we probably have at least a copy of every book ever written after the year 269. Before that, well… a lot of things happened.”
The mind reading trick again! “How did you… “
“Everyone asks the same thing,” she snapped, cutting his question short. “I even know how to answer the next one.” She stared at him as if daring him to ask it.
Thomas pursed his lips, “Very well then,” he said. “What’s the answer?”
“We do have them in electronic format too, but we need them in print for a very specific reason.” She raised an eyebrow at him, his face betrayed that she had answered correctly.
Behind her, a glass elevator appeared on a rail from the left.
“You don’t need to check out with me, Mr. Byrne. But if I need you to stay longer I can notify you up to five minutes before your shift ends.”
“So you work here alone?” he asked as she entered the elevator.
“Not anymore. Apparently.” The elevators doors closed. “Bathroom is on the left. I’ll see you tomorrow. Won’t I, Mr. Byrne?”
“Definitely,” he answered but saw the eyebrow lifting. He added, “Mrs. Pianova.” The librarian nodded approvingly. Apprehensive or not, now that he saw the library he wanted to work here.
He wanted to know more.
He lives in San Diego, California. And enjoys the sun with his wife, three children and cat.
His latest book is the YA fantasy adventure, Guardians Inc.: The Cypher.
Visit his website at www.guardiansinc.com
Guardians Inc.: The Cypher Tour Page:
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