What do you think?
Rate this book
Trophy Saga #1
Trophy
In 2065 A.D. the environment collapses, spawning plague that kills billions earth wide. The survivors are forced to take over every aspect of life. So begins the New Victorian Age. Now, 475 years later, the restored Earth and colonized Solar System are ruled by ten women Guardians who answer only to a governing computer, CENTRAL. Because of genetic mutations mankind faces extinction in one generation. The Keyhole anomaly, a wormhole in space, offers a solution: time-travel to transport genetically sound humans from the past. Renegade nuclear engineer Louis Franelli has developed the technology of that time-travel. His employer, criminal and rebel Galen Bestmarke, is using it to go back to 1975 A.D. to collect hunting trophies and establish a slave-trade through time. The Empire is desperate to recover Franelli and his technology so they can use it to save mankind. The Planetary Control Corps (PCC) under the direction of the Guardians, Star-Commander Abigail VanDevere, and the dynamic young team of Lieutenant Janet Rogerton and Pilot Kolanna Montoombo face the daunting task of stopping Bestmarke and capturing Franelli. Can the determined officers of the PCC succeed? Can they do so in time?
Trophy is the first book of the Trophy Saga, a future look at a pivotal time in mankind's history. It tells the story of the continuing struggle to prevent the extinction of the human race. The Trophy Saga is pure science-fiction, not fantasy, written in the classic style. At the end of the book is a handy glossary that fills in many details about the setting.
Trophy is the first book of the Trophy Saga, a future look at a pivotal time in mankind's history. It tells the story of the continuing struggle to prevent the extinction of the human race. The Trophy Saga is pure science-fiction, not fantasy, written in the classic style. At the end of the book is a handy glossary that fills in many details about the setting.
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 23, 2010
8 people are currently reading
568 people want to read
About the author
Paul M. Schofield
6 books10 followers“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” ~Aristotle
Born and raised in Montana, immersion in the natural world around me was inevitable. As I grew up, I learned the complexities of language and the joy of humor by exchanging puns with my father. Just as Mark Twain said, “against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” An avid reader, my favorite genre was science fiction by authors like Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert and fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien. Coming of age just in time to watch Star Trek, Star Wars and Babylon V, my love of science fiction grew and my desire to craft and share my own stories was ignited. And since, as Maya Angelou once said, “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”, I became a writer.
When my wife Ellen and I became chilled to the bone in Montana we moved to Florida. Now we live in Hollywood with our highly intelligent cats.
“Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not.” ~Isaac Asimov
About my books:
The Trophy Saga is pure science-fiction, action-adventure, written in the style of classic science-fiction. It is not fantasy. My action-packed books, based on scientific fact or theory, feature time-travel, chase and battle scenes, fusion powered star-ships, a computer-controlled society, tender moments and scary episodes. The Saga has a mature theme but is a clean read, suitable for younger readers.
Born and raised in Montana, immersion in the natural world around me was inevitable. As I grew up, I learned the complexities of language and the joy of humor by exchanging puns with my father. Just as Mark Twain said, “against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” An avid reader, my favorite genre was science fiction by authors like Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert and fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien. Coming of age just in time to watch Star Trek, Star Wars and Babylon V, my love of science fiction grew and my desire to craft and share my own stories was ignited. And since, as Maya Angelou once said, “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”, I became a writer.
When my wife Ellen and I became chilled to the bone in Montana we moved to Florida. Now we live in Hollywood with our highly intelligent cats.
“Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not.” ~Isaac Asimov
About my books:
The Trophy Saga is pure science-fiction, action-adventure, written in the style of classic science-fiction. It is not fantasy. My action-packed books, based on scientific fact or theory, feature time-travel, chase and battle scenes, fusion powered star-ships, a computer-controlled society, tender moments and scary episodes. The Saga has a mature theme but is a clean read, suitable for younger readers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 8, 2012
Amazing, Spectacular, Action Packed etc etc etc. Now that I am done I will try and type a sensible review. These are the words you will be shouting/feeling after you have read this book. The author does an incredible job of creating imagery in your mind and developing a world you know exists. Every science fiction fan needs to pick this one up.
May 24, 2011
I don't usually read sci-fi novels, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Trophy, the first book in the New Victorian Empire saga. With plenty of action, interesting concepts and time travel, it was easy to keep turning the pages. Star Trek fans will enjoy this one.
The story takes place over 500 years into the future where women are in positions of authority and the Earth and Solar System are ruled by CENTRAL—a massive computer government. The story revolves around Galen Bestmarke, a villain who has discovered how to time-travel with the help of Louis Franelli, a genius engineer who once worked for the New Victorian Empire. Lieutenant Janet Rogerton is on assignment to capture Bestmarke before he misuses this technology and puts the human race in peril.
First-time author Schofield succeeds in building suspense and moving the action along. The descriptions and futuristic concepts of the space world setting—fusion-powered starships, space flights, advanced technology, the Keyhole, androids and battle strategies—were brilliant. The whole theory of the guider/pouncer link in which a trained crew member is mentally linked with an animal to fight in space battle was fascinating. The character developments of Martin and Panther and their work as a team was one of the most interesting aspects of the story.
It's true there are some far-fetched ideas that didn't quite work for me because they needed further development. All the crew members and Planetary Control Corps were women. No men. I really had no idea what the men did on Earth or in space. It seemed unbalanced. The only men in the story were the few villains who rebelled against all-women rule. I liked the male characters better than the women, who came across as very idealistic, emotional and soft in a way that undermined their positions of authority. But then again, it's fiction, and the message of peaceful and just rule did come across strongly, which I did like. Galen was the best developed character, with dialogue and actions that suited his twisted persona well.
I did feel that this novel would have benefited from better editing to polish the text from the overuse of ellipses (...) and using dialogue to explain back-story. But because Schofield is a very good storyteller, I was able to ignore these points and truly enjoy the novel. The ending is left open with many future possibilities. His next instalment should prove to be interesting, and I look forward to seeing how far this promising new author will go.
The story takes place over 500 years into the future where women are in positions of authority and the Earth and Solar System are ruled by CENTRAL—a massive computer government. The story revolves around Galen Bestmarke, a villain who has discovered how to time-travel with the help of Louis Franelli, a genius engineer who once worked for the New Victorian Empire. Lieutenant Janet Rogerton is on assignment to capture Bestmarke before he misuses this technology and puts the human race in peril.
First-time author Schofield succeeds in building suspense and moving the action along. The descriptions and futuristic concepts of the space world setting—fusion-powered starships, space flights, advanced technology, the Keyhole, androids and battle strategies—were brilliant. The whole theory of the guider/pouncer link in which a trained crew member is mentally linked with an animal to fight in space battle was fascinating. The character developments of Martin and Panther and their work as a team was one of the most interesting aspects of the story.
It's true there are some far-fetched ideas that didn't quite work for me because they needed further development. All the crew members and Planetary Control Corps were women. No men. I really had no idea what the men did on Earth or in space. It seemed unbalanced. The only men in the story were the few villains who rebelled against all-women rule. I liked the male characters better than the women, who came across as very idealistic, emotional and soft in a way that undermined their positions of authority. But then again, it's fiction, and the message of peaceful and just rule did come across strongly, which I did like. Galen was the best developed character, with dialogue and actions that suited his twisted persona well.
I did feel that this novel would have benefited from better editing to polish the text from the overuse of ellipses (...) and using dialogue to explain back-story. But because Schofield is a very good storyteller, I was able to ignore these points and truly enjoy the novel. The ending is left open with many future possibilities. His next instalment should prove to be interesting, and I look forward to seeing how far this promising new author will go.
Read
December 14, 2015I started the story of Trophy back in 1991. Working full time, married with children, hectic city life, approaching middle age... I needed a creative break. A nearby high school featured Creative Writing in their adult-education series. I went for it. Started the hunting portion of the book featuring the characters Martin and Galen, good and evil.
After the class finished I continued to write sporadically for another year, about 100 handwritten pages, and then everything went into a desk drawer. It lay dormant, slumbering until late summer 2009. We had recently moved to North Carolina. A new friend, who is now our editor, was teaching a creative writing class so I dug out my partial manuscript and solicited her opinion. She liked it, sent a copy to her editor friend in NYC, and encouraged me to finish. Five months later TROPHY was a real book in my hands. A newborn, the first one. I was a proud papa. Little did I realize what I had gotten myself into. Marketing? Sequels? Really?
Really. The Kindle version was put in place. I started writing the sequel, TROPHY; RESCUE. And on and on. Reviews came in for TROPHY; some readers loved it, some were more dubious. Others liked it and gave helpful criticism. It takes a thick skin to put your deepest thoughts out for public scrutiny. My callouses started to grow. When the third and concluding book of The Trophy Saga was finished I took a critical look at book one. Improvement was needed so a full revision began. Over four-thousand words were chopped, sentences and dialogue tightened, adverbs and adjectives removed, and more contractions used. It wasn't pretty, but the end results are, and the first book finally reached the standards of the third.
A new cover was done to give it a more mysterious, sci-fi feeling. The original cover can still be seen on the Goodreads description. It shows our heroine, Lt. Janet Rogerton, and the antagonist, Galen Bestmarke, complete with their purple-tinged eyes. It was fun doing the cover but some readers didn't like it. Now it will have to be a collectors item, the last printed copies stashed in a box in my office. Such is the life of a writer. I've surprised myself by actually writing three novels and that I still enjoy reading them. I truly hope others will enjoy them, too.
Best regards,
Paul M. Schofield
After the class finished I continued to write sporadically for another year, about 100 handwritten pages, and then everything went into a desk drawer. It lay dormant, slumbering until late summer 2009. We had recently moved to North Carolina. A new friend, who is now our editor, was teaching a creative writing class so I dug out my partial manuscript and solicited her opinion. She liked it, sent a copy to her editor friend in NYC, and encouraged me to finish. Five months later TROPHY was a real book in my hands. A newborn, the first one. I was a proud papa. Little did I realize what I had gotten myself into. Marketing? Sequels? Really?
Really. The Kindle version was put in place. I started writing the sequel, TROPHY; RESCUE. And on and on. Reviews came in for TROPHY; some readers loved it, some were more dubious. Others liked it and gave helpful criticism. It takes a thick skin to put your deepest thoughts out for public scrutiny. My callouses started to grow. When the third and concluding book of The Trophy Saga was finished I took a critical look at book one. Improvement was needed so a full revision began. Over four-thousand words were chopped, sentences and dialogue tightened, adverbs and adjectives removed, and more contractions used. It wasn't pretty, but the end results are, and the first book finally reached the standards of the third.
A new cover was done to give it a more mysterious, sci-fi feeling. The original cover can still be seen on the Goodreads description. It shows our heroine, Lt. Janet Rogerton, and the antagonist, Galen Bestmarke, complete with their purple-tinged eyes. It was fun doing the cover but some readers didn't like it. Now it will have to be a collectors item, the last printed copies stashed in a box in my office. Such is the life of a writer. I've surprised myself by actually writing three novels and that I still enjoy reading them. I truly hope others will enjoy them, too.
Best regards,
Paul M. Schofield
March 12, 2012
Only a couple of pages into this book, I thought, uh-ho, this is another chapter of Star Trek, and I am so not a Trekkie. I am, however, open-minded so read on, eager to be pleasantly surprised. Indeed, I was. The book is set in the 26th century and space is a busy highway.
It’s a sobering thought to think that some things don’t change, even after 500 years; there are still unscrupulous, arrogant, and fraudulent criminals around. Even more sobering is the prospect that, due to virulent diseases created by the 2065 collapse of the eco-system which completely wiped out the male of the species, the new post-collapse ‘Empire’ is overseen by a small group of women, the Guardians. They are aided by the Planetary Control Corps, the military contingent of the Empire, also run by women.
The arrogant criminal in this story is Galen Bestmarke who has bribed a genius engineer, Louis Franelli, to work with him. Louis has developed a system of time travel which Galen intends to use for his own unscrupulous gains and 'trophies'. The Guardians, however, need Louis and his expertise – Louis has to be separated from Galen and enticed to help the Guardians who believe that time travel will help them save mankind, now desperately close to extinction.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The pace kept me keen and interested but never lost me, and the characters were all strong. I liked the fact that they were not ‘robotic’ – in the emotional sense. The women had feelings, ambitions, and heart, which gave balance to the timeframe – life in 2500 is really quite unimaginable. It is a well-written book (though a little editorially slack), and the story unfolded methodically and comprehensibly.
There is a very neat little glossary at the end, explaining and defining various Empire terms, phrases, geography, etc., which I thought was a nice touch – I think I would have preferred it at the beginning, however. I had no idea it was there until I had finished the book. Had it been at the beginning, I would have been aware of its existence, and I would have been able to refer to it usefully.
This book didn’t get me rushing to seek out everything Trekkie, but Mr Schofield has certainly whetted my sci-fi appetite. I look forward to more from Paul.
It’s a sobering thought to think that some things don’t change, even after 500 years; there are still unscrupulous, arrogant, and fraudulent criminals around. Even more sobering is the prospect that, due to virulent diseases created by the 2065 collapse of the eco-system which completely wiped out the male of the species, the new post-collapse ‘Empire’ is overseen by a small group of women, the Guardians. They are aided by the Planetary Control Corps, the military contingent of the Empire, also run by women.
The arrogant criminal in this story is Galen Bestmarke who has bribed a genius engineer, Louis Franelli, to work with him. Louis has developed a system of time travel which Galen intends to use for his own unscrupulous gains and 'trophies'. The Guardians, however, need Louis and his expertise – Louis has to be separated from Galen and enticed to help the Guardians who believe that time travel will help them save mankind, now desperately close to extinction.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The pace kept me keen and interested but never lost me, and the characters were all strong. I liked the fact that they were not ‘robotic’ – in the emotional sense. The women had feelings, ambitions, and heart, which gave balance to the timeframe – life in 2500 is really quite unimaginable. It is a well-written book (though a little editorially slack), and the story unfolded methodically and comprehensibly.
There is a very neat little glossary at the end, explaining and defining various Empire terms, phrases, geography, etc., which I thought was a nice touch – I think I would have preferred it at the beginning, however. I had no idea it was there until I had finished the book. Had it been at the beginning, I would have been aware of its existence, and I would have been able to refer to it usefully.
This book didn’t get me rushing to seek out everything Trekkie, but Mr Schofield has certainly whetted my sci-fi appetite. I look forward to more from Paul.
August 24, 2012
"Trophy" by Paul M. Schofield is the first book in The Trophy Saga. The year is 475 NVE (New Victorian Empire) and the technology has been developed to travel throughout space and other planets have been settled. The New Victorian Empire began after the collapse of the Earth's environment. The Empire is run by a super computer that is guarded by women. The computer has restored the environment but mankind is facing extinction.
Enter Star-Commander Abigail VanDevere and Lieutenant Janet Rogerton. They must track down the rebel Galen Bestmarke who has Louis Franelli in his grasp. Franelli is a scientist who has developed the technology to time travel. Time travel will be the key to stopping the extinction of mankind. Of course Bestemarke is using the technology to travel back in time to collect "trophies". I will let the reader discover what that entails on their own.
I loved the concept of the story. It was very well though out and developed and kept my interest throughout. Schofield even provides a glossary at the end that provides details about terminology and equipment in the new empire.
One of my favorite parts was the guide/pouncer mind link between the humans and cats. Of course I am a cat lover. Great read!
Enter Star-Commander Abigail VanDevere and Lieutenant Janet Rogerton. They must track down the rebel Galen Bestmarke who has Louis Franelli in his grasp. Franelli is a scientist who has developed the technology to time travel. Time travel will be the key to stopping the extinction of mankind. Of course Bestemarke is using the technology to travel back in time to collect "trophies". I will let the reader discover what that entails on their own.
I loved the concept of the story. It was very well though out and developed and kept my interest throughout. Schofield even provides a glossary at the end that provides details about terminology and equipment in the new empire.
One of my favorite parts was the guide/pouncer mind link between the humans and cats. Of course I am a cat lover. Great read!
July 4, 2012
Set in the future, Earth is under the care of ten women Guardians and ruled by a governing computer called CENTRAL. But all is not well in Paradise: mankind faces extinction because all men are sterile.
The Keyhole anomaly, a wormhole in space, could offer them a solution to preventing extinction; time-travel to transport genetically sound humans from the past. The only problem is: all probes sent through the keyhole never return....
The empire have heard that a Renegade nuclear engineer Louis Franelli has developed the technology to successfully use the keyhole for time-travel. They want the technology, and to get it they have to get Franelli. Only problem is, no one knows where he - and his criminal employer Galen Bestmarke - are!!
The Keyhole anomaly, a wormhole in space, could offer them a solution to preventing extinction; time-travel to transport genetically sound humans from the past. The only problem is: all probes sent through the keyhole never return....
The empire have heard that a Renegade nuclear engineer Louis Franelli has developed the technology to successfully use the keyhole for time-travel. They want the technology, and to get it they have to get Franelli. Only problem is, no one knows where he - and his criminal employer Galen Bestmarke - are!!
November 6, 2013
I received a copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway. I quite enjoyed this book and would probably rate it around 3.5 stars. It had very interesting/unique concepts and an intriguing story line involving time-travel, space, a government run entirely by female guardians and a computer, and the inevitable extinction of the human race. I would give this book 4 stars if it weren't for the style of writing, which I wasn't particularly fond of. It definitely feels like a debut novel that could use a little work but overall was a great story.
January 5, 2013
A space opera, time travel story about a villain who travels back in time and collects trophies of lifeforms from earth, including human trophies, that are kept (sort of) alive on his spaceship. Interesting and engaging.
August 21, 2018
Easy, fun reading
Some new constructs which pull you in to the novel. Enough action to satisfy, enough science to keep you reading.
Some new constructs which pull you in to the novel. Enough action to satisfy, enough science to keep you reading.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews