Hi everyone. Today I am featuring Michael Small's book "Kuro-Sil: The Book of Humans, Reptuuls, and God." Dive into this Science Fiction Fantasy today and find out how to purchase your copy now. Happy reading everyone. :)
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In a galaxy nearly conquered by Reptuuls, one boy will change everything, not by destroying them, but by befriending them instead.
Q: How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
A: Again, they came up from childhood fantasies. I love the aliens and monsters of fantasy and sci-fi like Star Wars, and wanted to make my own world where the aliens and monsters were more or less the stars of the show, since they tend not to be major characters in a lot of those stories, at least from my point of view. My aliens called the Reptuuls were inspired by various lizard people from other series, and thought they would make for cool heroes of a story. There are other aliens throughout my series, such as a race of spider people, orc people, and others inspired by like Star Wars. I would love to share what creatures directly inspired the Reptuuls, but I hope my potential future readers will figure that out themselves.
Q: Where did you come up with the names in the story?
A: I kind of just made them up. I just brainstormed ideas for names, and settled on whatever I feel fits the character or alien species. For example, I wanted my species called the Reptuuls to be named after “reptile”, with part of the name being something that sounded alien and menacing. So I created the suffix “tuul”, which in the Reptuul's language means “mighty” or “strong”. That's probably not the most inspired answer, but it's the truth, and I feel there is a lot of just BS-ing when authors create names of characters or species.
Q: What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
A: My favorite thing is writing the character dynamics. I absolutely love team dynamics in stories, and figuring out how they act and how they treat each other. I have a lot of characters, and think I've done a good job at making them all stand out and having good chemistry with each other.
Q: Tell us about your main characters-what makes them tick?
A: Alright. Let me give you a little rundown:
-Orren is a hopeful young boy who adores the Reptuuls, and wants to befriend them, no matter how much they hate him and persecute him. He enjoys adventure, reading, and gaming. He can be very closed off around people who don't understand him. But when he's among Kor'Ba and Ti'Ran, he comes to life. He loves his alien friends, and would do anything for them.
-Kor'Ba is stubborn, short-tempered, and gluttonous. He loves to eat and sleep, and would prefer to sit back, fatten himself up, and watch the Reptuul sport Ba'Kralla, and is often forced into adventure. He acts like he doesn't care about Orren, but deep down loves the boy.
-Ti'Ran is noble and outgoing, if a bit full of himself. He longs to become the Valkaara (emperor) and save humanity from Reptuulian oppression. He loves sword fighting, history, gaming, and reading. He adores Orren like a little brother, and is always eager to show him the Reptuul world.
-Burk is a klarok, and the heroes' pet. He is lazy and stubborn, but deathly loyal to the heroes, except Kor'Ba, who he holds a grudge for selling him at an earlier point in time.
-Krull is the leader of the Garathal, and the most powerful Reptuul in their empire. He loves to conquer and pillage. Nothing gives him joy than the cries of torment from his human slaves. He also loves to drink and feast with his companions, sleep with his harem, and plot more conquest.
-Kedrik is a Skiterkas (a spider alien that appears a bit in my first book, and more prominently in the main series), and a close friend of Ti'Ran's. He is a major troll, and loves to prank and scare his friends and especially his foes. He is the one who made the prince a gaming nerd.
-Nalari is a Cerval (a deer-like alien that also appears as a cameo in my first book, and more prominently in the future). She is a servant of Ti'Ran, but is treated like a sister. She is more interested in mentoring him and Orren, is a bit uptight and lecturing and regularly butts heads with Kedrik, but is a kind, sisterly figure to the heroes.
-Harrison is humanity's greatest protector. He is a serious man who puts his life on the line to protect humans from being sold into slavery. He has no time for jokes, but cares deeply for his family, and is desperate to fix the divide between them.
Q: How did you come up with the title of your first novel?
A: The title “Kuro-Sil” came from a lot of brainstorming. It means “Lost Universe” in the language of my reptilian aliens called the Reptuuls, and it signifies the corruption and spiritual darkness of the state of the world our heroes live in. I wanted a title for a space fantasy series that could be about the universe and not relegated to the heroes. Like how Star Wars can be about the universe as a whole, and not just about Luke Skywalker, you know? The term “Lost Universe” sounded generic, so I decided to make up some words for this fictional language. I came up with the word “Siluk” for “lost”, and “K'kurosh” for “universe”, and combined them into “Kuro-Sil”. It's something I hope stands out. And I came up with the subtitle “The Book of Humans, Reptuuls, and God”, because it's about the war between humans and Reptuuls, and about how the Christian faith, which has been nearly forgotten in that time period, brings them together. I felt it would make for a good title for a standalone story.
Q: Who designed your book covers?
A: The people who designed my book cover is someone I found online called JustCallMeInsane. I have someone else doing my next cover, as my previous artist is unavailable. However, I will say that my main characters (Orren, Kor'Ba, Ti'Ran, Burk, Krull, Harrison, and Kul'Rath, the latter of whom is the emperor of the Reptuuls) was drawn by my brother in law, which served as the basis of later designs. He doesn't work with me anymore, but I couldn't be prouder of his skill.
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Kuro-Sil: The Book of Humans, Reptuuls, and God
Book 1
by: Michael Small
Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy
Add to your TBR List!
Check out Reviews and Recommendations!
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BLURB:
I am the Chronicler, hear my story:
In the year 5027, humanity will be enslaved by an alien race called the Reptuuls.
But what if I told you a young boy befriended their oppressors?
Orren Hawkins is a boy with a dream: to make friends with the Reptuuls, no matter the cost. It won't be easy due to the Reptuuls hatred of humanity. But by the grace of a long forgotten God, Orren has found two great and unusual friends, and they must learn to work together to rescue enslaved humans, as part of their destiny to unite man and Reptuul under God.
There's just one problem: Orren is himself a drulak, a slave of Reptuuls. Can he still accomplish his dream?
Will you dare read the true story of a forbidden friendship no government wants exposed? Then welcome, one and all, to the legend of the Kuro-Sil!
"This book was so different from anything I’ve read and I enjoyed it. Small did such a great job with this storyline and plot." - Yvette Garcia, Goodreads, 4 stars
"I found the whole concept of this book fascinating." "It’s a brilliant debut from the author." - Tami Wylie, Goodreads, 5 stars
Purchase your Copy Today!
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Michael Small
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Michael Small didn't plan on becoming an author. He initially wanted to be a video game programmer, though he couldn't wrap his head around the subject. But he always had a story to tell, and seeing how woke and especially anti-Christian messaging had started infesting modern entertainment, he dropped out of college in 2016 and taught himself how to write, spending the years since creating his own world, which became his debut novel Kuro-Sil: The Book of Humans, Reptuuls, and God.
Michael is a Christian and goes to church regularly, using his faith to inspire his stories. He is also an avid gamer, and has been playing video games since he was three. He mainly likes pop culture stuff like movies, tv, and more recently manga, but he likes to try many things, like going on walks and drives, and working out (though he's not a pro at it).
He is currently thirty two years old and lives in Washington state.
Follow Michael at the Following Links:
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