The Builder is alternate-history Irish-flavoured Christian science fiction, that further develops the legacy of the first five books in the series. The Builder continues Mara's story following the street battle in Tara through her engagement, her disgrace at court, her defection to the MacCarthys, the unravelling of the MacCarthy plot to destroy Tara, and her discovery of the truth about her father's death. Truth also comes to John Dominic's children, albeit too late, and the new Earth where he relocates is lost in the Timestream. It does not come to Roger Hyland (the Builder of Tara), the CRAE CCC who constructs railways on land, underwater, and in space, but rejects spiritual realities, despite his friends' earnest pleas. From Metan MS, we learn of the initial three Nexi, of the first Builder, and of his age-old nemesis who plots time and again to either rule the earths or destroy them. As this sixth story cycle concludes, the stage is set for the definitive second battle of Glenmorgan, whose outcome will determine who next will sit on Tara's fabled throne.
Richard J. (Rick) Sutcliffe, is Professor of Mathematics and Computing Science at Trinity Western University in British Columbia, and has been Adjunct Professor in the nearby School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University. Prior to his academic career, he taught secondary school for twelve years in Langley, BC. Sutcliffe represents Canada on international computing standards committees and has published a text in computing science, written one on ethical and social issues in technology, and has authored more than fifty articles and reviews in a variety of trade and technical publications. He has been a columnist for several magazines and newspapers. He coined the terms "New Renaissance", "Metalibrary", "concinnity", "Fourth Civilization" and "wired campus", has been a leader in electronic publication, and has been active on the Internet since the 1970s. He has also been an invited speaker at numerous churches, educational and computing conferences, and technical symposia at local, national, and international levels. Rick Sutcliffe writes Irish-flavoured Christian science fiction. His first series, The Interregnum, deals with a variety of technology and ethical issues in thought-provoking plots set on alternate earths. His first novel, The Peace was published electronically in June 2000 and became its publisher's best-seller. The Friends, and The Exile, books two and three the same series followed in 2003 and went to the EPPIE finals. He revived The Northern Spy electronically, and also has a Philology site at www.opundo.com. He has research interests in standards, programming languages, data structures, and in the social, ethical, and religious aspects of high technology. He is active in Aldergrove Fellowship Baptist Church, having been chairman, treasurer, deacon, elder, youth worker, librarian and Bible teacher. He has built two houses, gardens, writes software, and been active in politics. He has also been appointed as external advisor in the accreditation of several local schools. He has travelled extensively as a speaker and to represent the Canadian Standards Association and the Standards Council of Canada at ISO meetings. He presently resides in Bradner, B.C. with his wife Joyce. They have two grown sons Nathan and Joel.
His books are complicated to start off with, but once you get to know who's who, they are fantastic and you can't wait to find out what happens to them all.
As well as an appreciative reader, I also published this book (only accepted because I liked it:)