What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tinderbox: Underground Movement
What if Romeo and Juliet had survived and become middle-aged parents?
In this riveting standalone followup to the The Soldier Of Indira we are presented this question along with the other realities that happen long after the 'happily ever after' of fairy tales.
Through twenty years of prosperity and progress, King Everson and Queen Allegra have lovingly nurtured peace between the once mortal enemies, Indira and Mano. The war which nearly drowned both worlds in chaos is merely a memory.
But peace can be fragile...
Unexplained tremors beneath the ground can no longer be ignored. They grow stronger each day. Impossible to miss. Some claim it's nothing. Others, that it foretells the apocalypse.
This new and unforeseen threat opens old wounds and creates fresh fissures within the palace, throwing the court into a maelstrom of palace intrigue, conspiracy theories, paranoia and political posturing.
Can Everson and Allegra hold the kingdom together? Or is it doomed to split once more...
Actor and writer Lou Diamond Phillips returns with this epic Science Fantasy tale, with illustrations done by the incomparable Yvonne Phillips. This story stands alone as it tells a story of service, family, and the lengths we'll go to keep the things we love together.
In this riveting standalone followup to the The Soldier Of Indira we are presented this question along with the other realities that happen long after the 'happily ever after' of fairy tales.
Through twenty years of prosperity and progress, King Everson and Queen Allegra have lovingly nurtured peace between the once mortal enemies, Indira and Mano. The war which nearly drowned both worlds in chaos is merely a memory.
But peace can be fragile...
Unexplained tremors beneath the ground can no longer be ignored. They grow stronger each day. Impossible to miss. Some claim it's nothing. Others, that it foretells the apocalypse.
This new and unforeseen threat opens old wounds and creates fresh fissures within the palace, throwing the court into a maelstrom of palace intrigue, conspiracy theories, paranoia and political posturing.
Can Everson and Allegra hold the kingdom together? Or is it doomed to split once more...
Actor and writer Lou Diamond Phillips returns with this epic Science Fantasy tale, with illustrations done by the incomparable Yvonne Phillips. This story stands alone as it tells a story of service, family, and the lengths we'll go to keep the things we love together.
398 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 19, 2024
About the author
Lou Diamond Phillips
27 books117 followersLouis Diamond Phillipsis a Filipino American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film La Bamba (1987). For the Academy Award-nominated Stand and Deliver (1988), Phillips was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won an Independent Spirit Award. He made his Broadway debut with the 1996 revival of The King and I, earning a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of King Mongkut of Siam. Phillips' other notable films include Young Guns (1988), Young Guns II (1990), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Big Hit (1998), Brokedown Palace (1999), Che (2008), and The 33 (2015). In the television series Longmire, he played a main character named Henry Standing Bear.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 24, 2024
An epic science fiction saga of worlds at war — and a timely parable of how easy it is for one galaxy's fragile peace to be upended by duplicity and violence. Lou Diamond Phillips, with the help of Yvonne Phillips’s haunting illustrations, has given fantasy readers the perfect followup to his first novel, The Tinderbox, and a wonderful new story.
December 24, 2024
The Tinderbox: Underground Movement is a wonderful sequel to Lou Diamond Phillips’ The Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira written in 2021. “Underground Movement” is set two decades after the first novel and I am being circumspect in this review as to not inscribe any spoilers...
After the events in Soldier of Indira which ended a war that was devastating to two kingdoms, King Everson and Queen Allegra have forged an enduring and cherished peace between Mano and Indira. A lasting and welcomed peace. However, as we know, peace is delicate and can be splintered by outside forces...
Such as natural events like the inexplicable reoccurring earth tremors beneath the ground that are seemingly growing stronger. The elders worry they are a symptom of an impending apocalypse. Others simply shrug and say that it’s from the ever growing industrial activity and nothing to worry about.
And of course personal tragedies can also ruin a peace, especially when foul play is inspected. And what is the true story of the new young Witch who appears in court saying that she has had a vision of the events that are unfurling, further causing unrest within the palace where an elite gathering are already swimming in a sea of conspiracy theories, blame throwing and bravado.
The events that follow are surprising, shocking, revealing, emotional, and they all are layers of a delightful literary journey, magnificently written by Lou Diamond Phillips and stunningly illustrated by his wife Yvonne Phillips. You will relish peeling away each layer of this engaging tale and enjoying each new level of intrigue as it is discovered.
I highly recommend this book.
After the events in Soldier of Indira which ended a war that was devastating to two kingdoms, King Everson and Queen Allegra have forged an enduring and cherished peace between Mano and Indira. A lasting and welcomed peace. However, as we know, peace is delicate and can be splintered by outside forces...
Such as natural events like the inexplicable reoccurring earth tremors beneath the ground that are seemingly growing stronger. The elders worry they are a symptom of an impending apocalypse. Others simply shrug and say that it’s from the ever growing industrial activity and nothing to worry about.
And of course personal tragedies can also ruin a peace, especially when foul play is inspected. And what is the true story of the new young Witch who appears in court saying that she has had a vision of the events that are unfurling, further causing unrest within the palace where an elite gathering are already swimming in a sea of conspiracy theories, blame throwing and bravado.
The events that follow are surprising, shocking, revealing, emotional, and they all are layers of a delightful literary journey, magnificently written by Lou Diamond Phillips and stunningly illustrated by his wife Yvonne Phillips. You will relish peeling away each layer of this engaging tale and enjoying each new level of intrigue as it is discovered.
I highly recommend this book.
December 9, 2024
I have mixed feelings on this book as parts of it had really interesting plots. I like the politics of the book, the interesting planetary situation, the alien animals and situations they run into. Book one seemed very polished and knew what it was trying to be. This book seems more rushed and perhaps like it was written in blocks without a cohesive reading overall. I think there's certainly a market for more readable space opera that could appeal to those who don't necessarily like sci-fi much.
The main characters from book one come across as very basic in this book. While they had distinct personalities in book one, in this one they seem to be ruler one and two. There's not much evidence of if they ruled well or not. Is there peace simply because of the marriage? While there's some side character discussion of things being done to improve the lesser planet, I didn't understand what has happened the past 18 or so years.
Too much focus on side characters in general was how I felt through parts of the book. We don't need to know the names and backstory of each person the mains run across.
The siblings are decently fleshed out but perhaps in the case of the brother - too much by the narrator. I would have leaned in more to how they became rather estranged or the brother from the family. That would have been more interesting content to me. The best fleshed out character was definitely the queen mother.
I liked the underground movement parts a lot. It was interesting and I enjoy content that shows how clueless leaders can be living in their own royal world. I liked the author's willingness to make the mains from book one look kinda bad as rulers in that respect.
The main characters from book one come across as very basic in this book. While they had distinct personalities in book one, in this one they seem to be ruler one and two. There's not much evidence of if they ruled well or not. Is there peace simply because of the marriage? While there's some side character discussion of things being done to improve the lesser planet, I didn't understand what has happened the past 18 or so years.
Too much focus on side characters in general was how I felt through parts of the book. We don't need to know the names and backstory of each person the mains run across.
The siblings are decently fleshed out but perhaps in the case of the brother - too much by the narrator. I would have leaned in more to how they became rather estranged or the brother from the family. That would have been more interesting content to me. The best fleshed out character was definitely the queen mother.
I liked the underground movement parts a lot. It was interesting and I enjoy content that shows how clueless leaders can be living in their own royal world. I liked the author's willingness to make the mains from book one look kinda bad as rulers in that respect.
December 15, 2024
A Captivating Story
Although this book moves at a slower pace than its predecessor, at least in the first half, the story draws the reader in and captivates them. Phillips’s blend of ancient and modern still works, and his characters are believable and relatable in their setting. Wonderful illustrations as well. Wish there were a few more.
Although this book moves at a slower pace than its predecessor, at least in the first half, the story draws the reader in and captivates them. Phillips’s blend of ancient and modern still works, and his characters are believable and relatable in their setting. Wonderful illustrations as well. Wish there were a few more.
November 29, 2025
💯💯💯💯💯
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews