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Motes
A speck of dust floats in the air, illuminated by a sunbeam. To a daydreamer like Thom Finch, that speck is an imaginary commander leading his army against an equally imaginary foe. The reality is something even Thom’s fertile imagination cannot fathom. He must somehow convince himself, his family and his best friend that his sanity is intact and that what he is seeing is real.
The Mu’ahi are tiny in comparison to humans – each one as small as a dust mote. Their planet is isolated in a bubble of space that is desperately bereft of resources. The survival of their race is at stake. They are scavengers searching for treasure over ten light years from home.
The Mu’ahi are tiny in comparison to humans – each one as small as a dust mote. Their planet is isolated in a bubble of space that is desperately bereft of resources. The survival of their race is at stake. They are scavengers searching for treasure over ten light years from home.
486 pages, Paperback
Published July 9, 2013
1 person is currently reading
219 people want to read
About the author
Tilmer Wright Jr.
5 books14 followersTilmer Wright Jr was born in 1965 in Kingsport, Tennessee. His mother was a dedicated homemaker and incredible loving mother of three - of which Tilmer was the youngest and the only boy. His father, Tilmer Sr., worked at a glass manufacturing facility and was just the best dad a kid could have.
Growing up he enjoyed most of the same things other little boys born in the 1960s did. He loved to play baseball and ride his bicycle all over the hilly terrain surrounding his family home. Life was pretty good. Sure, there were only four channels to watch on TV (and one of those was a grainy UHF-based ABC affiliate.) But there was some magic contained in that quartet. Many hours were whiled away sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a monolithic console television set that was comprised of more wood than electronics. Beaming from its convex low-resolution screen were such fantastic offerings as "Batman", "Looney Tunes" and "The Wild Wild West". Young Tilmer (known as Timmy in those days) would hop up excitedly after watching James West and Artemis Gordon foil the diminutive, but evil, Dr. Loveless. Off he would dash to his room where, in his closet, he would find the old cardboard box that had once housed the vacuum cleaner. This box held all of his most precious toys. Digging frantically, he would eventually find his trusty chrome-plated six-shooter cap pistol, reeking of burned powder from previous conquests. Minutes later, the pistol would be loaded with a fresh roll of red paper caps and Timmy would blaze out the back door, across the patio and into the large, grassy back yard. There, in his soaring imagination, he would find the nefarious Dr. Loveless and bring him to justice, all the while humming "The Wild Wild West" theme song as loudly as possible.
Tilmer has since retired the old chrome six-shooter and his wild west secret agent days are behind him. Since graduating from Florida State University in 1987 with a degree in Computer Science he has gotten married (and stayed married), fathered two beautiful daughters and worked in a variety of Information Technology roles across the southeastern United States. Today, he lives in Knoxville, TN. He loves to write and hates to edit. He loves music and plays the piano and guitar (both poorly.)
Growing up he enjoyed most of the same things other little boys born in the 1960s did. He loved to play baseball and ride his bicycle all over the hilly terrain surrounding his family home. Life was pretty good. Sure, there were only four channels to watch on TV (and one of those was a grainy UHF-based ABC affiliate.) But there was some magic contained in that quartet. Many hours were whiled away sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a monolithic console television set that was comprised of more wood than electronics. Beaming from its convex low-resolution screen were such fantastic offerings as "Batman", "Looney Tunes" and "The Wild Wild West". Young Tilmer (known as Timmy in those days) would hop up excitedly after watching James West and Artemis Gordon foil the diminutive, but evil, Dr. Loveless. Off he would dash to his room where, in his closet, he would find the old cardboard box that had once housed the vacuum cleaner. This box held all of his most precious toys. Digging frantically, he would eventually find his trusty chrome-plated six-shooter cap pistol, reeking of burned powder from previous conquests. Minutes later, the pistol would be loaded with a fresh roll of red paper caps and Timmy would blaze out the back door, across the patio and into the large, grassy back yard. There, in his soaring imagination, he would find the nefarious Dr. Loveless and bring him to justice, all the while humming "The Wild Wild West" theme song as loudly as possible.
Tilmer has since retired the old chrome six-shooter and his wild west secret agent days are behind him. Since graduating from Florida State University in 1987 with a degree in Computer Science he has gotten married (and stayed married), fathered two beautiful daughters and worked in a variety of Information Technology roles across the southeastern United States. Today, he lives in Knoxville, TN. He loves to write and hates to edit. He loves music and plays the piano and guitar (both poorly.)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 13, 2018
This is an intriguing premise and very original alien encounter story. It focuses mostly on the alien explorers, who must search for other world's resources in order to keep their race from dying on their depleted world of Darj. While differences are shown, the author very adroitly weaves in the idea that there are many similarities and that one creator is responsible for everything and everyone in the universe. Well crafted.
March 12, 2023
Beautifully written book with an excellent storyline and such interesting characters! It makes a wonderful read for both adults and young adults. I won’t add any spoilers to my review, but it made me laugh and cry, imagine what other worlds may be out there and think more in depth about our purpose on Earth! I couldn’t put the book down! Oh, and I will never see a mote with the same eyes ever again!
July 6, 2018
I was hesitant to get into this book as I'm not a regular science-fiction reader and it's quite a hefty tome at 475 pages, but I immediately connected with the story and the characters and thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. The author has a dazzling imagination, introducing us to alien life forms that are the size of, well, motes. But the tiny Mu'ahi are big at heart and in intellect. We have no trouble accepting their scaled-down world as having all the wonder and beauty, as well as the challenges, of our own.
While this story is daringly unique, Mr. Wright's use of music as the universal language brought to mind the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," especially the scene where earth people stand in silence as the mother ship communicates with them through tonal scales that build from deep base rumbles to bright brass notes. Mr. Wright creates a similar moment of awe when the humans and aliens realize they can understand one another through music, leading them to share their beliefs in God and his Word as a reality that knows no boundaries of space or time. This synthesis of worlds known and unknown through universal truths is the heart of the message of the book and represents Mr. Wright's special insights and talent to impart through his excellent writing.
I highly recommend this book as a thoughtful, inspiring read.
While this story is daringly unique, Mr. Wright's use of music as the universal language brought to mind the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," especially the scene where earth people stand in silence as the mother ship communicates with them through tonal scales that build from deep base rumbles to bright brass notes. Mr. Wright creates a similar moment of awe when the humans and aliens realize they can understand one another through music, leading them to share their beliefs in God and his Word as a reality that knows no boundaries of space or time. This synthesis of worlds known and unknown through universal truths is the heart of the message of the book and represents Mr. Wright's special insights and talent to impart through his excellent writing.
I highly recommend this book as a thoughtful, inspiring read.
November 8, 2018
I'm not typically a sci-fi reader but this book intrigued me. I loved the author's deft juxtapositioning of technical know-how and music, of science and religion. The author's imagination wowed me in every facet of the book, from the creative "bending science" of space to the complicated linguistic maneuvers of the Mu's. All the characters rang true, most especially the parent-teen interactions and the adult-keeper/minister interactions on two very different worlds. Though the beginning of the book moved slowly the pace picked up dramatically as I anxiously read toward the riveting conclution. I really loved the interplay of faith and music which served to draw people together in such a dramatic way. I highly recommend this book from young adult on and look forward to reading this authors next book!
March 17, 2019
To be honest, I didn't expect a lot when I read the synopsis, but boy was I wrong. The author drew me into the story from the first page and held my interest throughout the book. Author Tilmer Wright clearly did his research. I loved the correlation presented in the form of a Higher Being known by more than one culture. The ending was not at all what I expected. I would love to give more detail to encourage others to read Motes but it would be a shame to give away any portion of this story.
This book is appropriate for any reader but I think it would be especially loved by YA. So very well-written and edited.
This book is appropriate for any reader but I think it would be especially loved by YA. So very well-written and edited.
April 25, 2020
I absolutely love this book! It's a little lengthy, but has everything I like in a great novel. It has lots of mystery, excitement, adventure, suspense, good family morals, and sequel hints. It's long, but well worth the time and money.
April 3, 2018
Incredible futuristic imagination in this book. If you don't have an imagination this book would encourage it! I couldn't wait to read what was happening next.
November 30, 2021
Wright did a fantastic job of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. He certainly sees, understands, and communicates with finesse the details and drama of life.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews