Prophecy

Slave Empire #1

by T.C. Southwell

Alien hunters invade a dying Earth in search of a saviour, and an ancient prophecy predicts a golden child who will save a galactic empire. A mysterious black ship is Rayne’s guide and a masked outlaw known as the Shrike her guardian. Others want to slay her and prevent the prophecy from coming true. In the midst of two great empires’ strife, the Shrike holds the power to save or destroy her.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Ebooks, Fiction

Nook

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

T. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the Seychelles when she was a baby. She spent her formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South Africa.

T. C. Southwell has written over thirty novels, ranging from fantasy and science fiction to romance and adventure, as well as five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she earns a living in the IT industry.

Reviews

[Férial · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. I expected more from T.C Southwell seing how I liked the Queen's Blade series and the Demon Lord one.

Things felt rushed and, well, I was never really absorbed in the story. A pity *shrug*

[Sharon Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Readable enough, though plot was predictable and the character development seemed to be lacking in some places. Kind of an "okay" book for me except for the ending which is what brought my rating down to one star.

I don't appreciate cliffhanger endings and this is one is a classic example of that. I can handle some storyline being left for additional volumes, but I want some kind of 'wrap up' of some of the plot in each volume. This did not do that.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little apprehensive reading this book at first, as it is not my normal flavor of science fiction - I am glad I did because it is an enjoyable read. The author does a good job of not overwhelming you with unrealistic or strange technology, you can wrap your head around it. The author also does a good job of getting you into the heads of the characters and makes you feel as if you are in the middle of the action. I'm looking forward to reading the continuing tales in this series.

I originally picked this up for free during a Kindle promotion and, as I type up this review, I see the book is still free vs. the normal price of 99 cents. If you enjoy science fiction, you will certainly get a heck of a lot more entertainment value out of this one than 99 cents and I'd recommend it.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a sci-fi series. This is a romance series with sci-fi elements mixed in. I hesitate to even say its cleverly disguised but it boils down to this ole trope. Girl finds conveniently handsome super damaged guy and immediately makes it her life's one mission to "fix" him. That's it, that is all this series is about, with a few distractions mixed in here and there. Why 2 stars and not 1? It had some redeemable elements, although those elements are paper thin and never given any real depth.

[Emma westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

This book was hard to put down. This story keep to interested until the end. Can't wait to buy next one.

[Beatrix Conti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alien hunters invade a dying Earth in search of a savior, and an ancient prophecy predicts a golden child who will save a galactic empire. A mysterious black ship is Rayne’s guide and a masked outlaw known as the Shrike her guardian. Others want to slay her and prevent the prophecy from coming true. In the midst of two great empires’ strife, the Shrike holds the power to save or destroy her. Something so unique and it stays in your mind for days. There are three books in this series all of which have been released. This book is one of the few sci-fi novels I actually liked, and it really kept me hooked for the entire trilogy. It is not your everyday chosen person saves the world story, because well first of all only the first chapters take place on earth, this book it's all about outer space. TC Southwell creates alien worlds, technologies, and politics all in such a way that it feels familiar yet completely new and exciting. The book is fast-paced and not slowed down by over techy sci-fi information, which often turns me off from sci-fi. Every detail is specific yet not overwhelming, and the characters have depth and emotion. I couldn't say who I would recommend it to if not everyone, just give it a go!

P.S. There is a Romance in the book, also it's free on Ibooks and Amazon!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Prophecy-Slave-...

[Matt Hart]

I'm not rating it since I didn't finish it - got to about 40% done.

First, the character names continually confuse me. Rawn and Rayne - I still don't know which one is the girl and which is the boy. "Rawna" - I think that's the girl - would have been a better choice imho, with the extra "a" to give it an Earthly female slant. Then I would easily know that Rayne is the boy.

**spoilers**

But I don't care about them. One minute they are distrusting and reaching for a gun, the next they are asking for aliens to experiment on them. There's no mention of the Earth, other than it is dying and they are better off now away from it. And they don't seem to care.

Really? Their planet is dying, an advanced race that could help, even transporting people to another world, build a space station, heal the environment. Nothing they can do? And the characters don't care.

Maybe they do later in the book, I don't know - but if it were me, even as a teenager, I'd be desperate to save my race.

As a human, I have no stake in this interplanetary war that the golden child may or may not help with, but I have a huge stake in the earth.

[Laurel · Rating 2 out of 5]

On finishing reading this book, I have to say that I feel very sorry for it. In its' present form it is a very rough cut diamond that needs some grinding and polishing to make it shine. Particularly in the first half of the story I found that wordiness, backstory and various other elements kept kicking me out of the story to such an extent that, when I took a break from reading it for a few days, I couldn't even remember what the story was about. This is so sad as, having completed it, it is in fact a very interesting story that makes me want to pick up books two and three of the series to find out what happens next. The fact that I would still pick up the rest of the series shouldn't be taken as a reason for it to be left in the state it is at present - I simply hate to be left high and dry in the middle of a tale.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing ... well, no. Good story....well, yes. First of three ebooks for Slave Empire trilogy by Southwell. Free. Now I either have to pay of the next two or never learn the answers. Drat. I hate this. Too good not to read, but not really good enough to pay for.... Rayne and her brother Rawn live on the rapidly deteriorating planet earth, where POLLUTION has done its worst, leaving mutants and starvation. Just silly premise, really. No question Southwell must be a liberal. Anyway, they are rescued from the certain demise of their world, as Rayne fits the prophecy of the perfect girl from a dying world who will save, blah blah. The best characters are the men, while Rayne is kind of lame and not a little dense.

I found myself succumbing to the story and buying the following issues. Sometimes I think I am nuts.

[Gary O'Brien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs A Lot Of Work

The plot is good. The writing, however, needs a lot of work.

The character development is not very good. The characters are two-dimensional caracatures of what they should be.

The main character lived in a human hell from the age of 8 years until the story starts when she is 23. Yet she holds ideals of honor and self sacrifice that are inconsistent with her previous life. She is also extremely naïve. Innocence of this type is unbelievable in someone with her background.

This could have been a very good story but the writing falls far short of, not only what it could be, but what it should be.

I got this ebook free from Amazon. It's worth it for that price.

I can recommend this only to people that can manage to enjoy stories with unbelievable characters.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

T.C. Southwell is a very talented writer that I think is going to be around for a long time. That said, I don't think that this is my favorite work from this writer. It was okay, and the series has some potential. I would even finish it in order to give the benefit of the doubt, but I don't think that this is a really great example of what Southwell is capable of.

Wish I could give a bigger and badder review but I came across this book and realized that I never reviewed it or added it to Goodreads from a few months ago when I read it so it isn't super fresh in my mind!

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for something to read in between another series and came across this as a free download. The story follows a brother and sister fighting for survival in a post apocalyptic world. Earth has a very limited time left with a habitable atmosphere. Surviving seems improbable until aliens arrive searching for the savior to fulfill a prophecy, a golden child.

I instantly felt connected to the main characters, Rayne and Rawn. However, at times I felt like the story felt overbearing in it's message of save the earth. I am intrigued enough to continue with the series.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prologue has a bit of a cheesy feel to it, and the 'scientific' explainations of how story events came to pass will dumb down the human race. Once you get into the book, if you can ignore these factors and just take the story for what it is- a work of pure fiction only loosely based on our reality, its a great read(has a good flow).
I'll likely be reading the authors next books in the serries. Ending is also a bit rushed(imo) and does expect you to read the next books for story conclusion. Not standalone.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

From a dying Earth to worlds out there, Rayne finds herself hunted due to an enigmatic prophecy. She is sold as a slave, and seeks escape. This is an excellent read. The descriptions of Earth in death throes are quite numbing – it’s something that could happen to our world. But the worlds out there are imaginative and you just have to read on to find out what’s in store for Rayne and her brother. My personal favourite is the being known as the Shrike!

Readers of scifi/fantasy will lap this up, I have no doubt. Definitely recommended!

[moxieBK · Rating 3 out of 5]

The earth is dying, and Rayne and Rawn are hunting for food. A giant ship comes along and whiskies them aboard, looking for the "savior." But are Rayne and Rawn really saved, or are they just beginning a new life as slaves? This was an interesting book with a creative idea. I really liked following Rayne and the heartbreak she faced and the triumphs that empowered her. I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens.

Three stars.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually don't read sci fi but I was determined to finish this book. It was a little slow moving for me. After I finished the book, I really don't care to read the second one in the series, even though the book ended but the story didn't. You have to read on.....

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting and I liked it, but I think I was expecting it to be more fast paced adventure. I will probably read the next one. In some ways it reminds me of The Rowan, although probably only because it is a space travel book with a female main character on a mission.

[Vanessa Finaughty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from the Queen's Blade series, this is my favourite series from this author. No one else I know has close to the imagination this author does, and I end up losing sleep because I can't put the book down!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liking this author. Good science fiction with Prophecy.

All her books are ebooks. First one is free the and the subsequent ones are 2.99 to 4.99. Not bad for great stories.

[Larry B Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the charactors. It kept my attention with its fast pace action and twisting plots. I recommend this book to all age groups.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story for the most part.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was an interesting story, but some of it was too wordy; the description(s) being too long and a little hard to follow. In the ebook there were some editorial errors.

[Felecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story - looking forward to the next book.

[H Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel. I just purchased book II and III.

[Kevin Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Sci-Fi series. Looking forward to the rest of it!

[Edith Plisko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book

[Sandra Dodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Make it a movie.