India, 1923. Robin Windsor, a five-year old boy living in India, British father and Indian mother, plays with his ruby pendant. His little brother has a blue sapphire. His mother tells him the pendants have mystical powers that will bring him luck and he must never take it off.
Athens 2012. Demitra is celebrating her 12th birthday. She is shattered when her father is unable to come to her party. Something blue and shiny whizzes by her and gets stuck in a cake on her plate, which begins to glow. She ponders how the strange crystal came to her possession. Staring into the fireplace one day, the crystal begins to glow and a vortex is formed. Helpless, she is sucked into it. When she wakes, she finds herself in a small forest clearing. Touching the ground, veins of energy radiates from the spot and everything comes alive with blooming flowers. After walking for hours, she comes upon a small lake with an island. At the edge of the lake is a stone fountain from which oozes scarlet liquid. Beside the fountain is a statue of a soldier. A serpent monster emerges from the lake. Snatching the axe held by the statue, she attacks the serpent. Out of the forest comes a stranger and shoots the serpent with an energy rifle. Wanting to thank him, he reaches for her, purple light radiating from his fingers and tells her to sleep.
In the four chapters of Axtelera Ray M.J. Gallagher teases the reader with a compelling tale of a magical crystal, a girl who finds herself transported to a strange land, and Norse warriors searching for a wondrous prize. Wonderfully written with flowing narrative and live dialogue, I was disappointed when I came to the end, wanting more. As a rule, I don’t read fantasy, but I was drawn into Axtelera Ray. Thinking this was a short story, I did not like having M.J. Gallagher release part of a full-length novel, leaving me feeling cheated. I don’t approve of this practice by a writer.
About the Author:
I’m Maurice (Mo), and I come from the town of Cumbernauld, Scotland. I’m a mathematics and economics graduate who got lucky and stumbled into a job as a travel writer for a New Zealand-based tourism company, Citywalksz Ltd.
As an author, I am perhaps best known for my unofficial novelization of the best selling videogame ‘Final Fantasy VII’, but Axtelera Ray is my first original venture with the project’s creator, Alroy Jovi.
I’ve been an avid fan of reading since I was a kid, and have grown to love popular fantasy sagas such as A Song of Ice and Fire, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and His Dark Materials, as well as other fiction epics like the Millennium trilogy or Jurassic Park. I would currently count George R.R. Martin and J.K. Rowling among my biggest inspirations, not to mention my fellow Glaswegian and legendary comic book writer, Mark Millar.
To date, I have written two fanfiction novels (the retelling of Final Fantasy VII which was featured on Kotaku in Dec, 2014) as well as been involved in featurette screenplays, blogging, film directing, script editing, website content and other various articles.
You can find Axtelera Ray on Amazon.com.
