Through the Edge: Part I

by Alex Purnell

Through the Edge is Alex Purnell's debut novel, the first in a planned series following the hero Boot's adventures across his far off home world. Part I brings the planet to life, detailing the rituals and faith that keep his primitive tribe moving forward distance by distance. When their way of life is threatened, how far will they go to make things right?

ebook

First published June 16, 2016

About the author

Alex has always had a passion for story telling, and has been writing in some form or another since he first learned the alphabet. His interest in Science-Fiction began in middle school, with Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, and Madeleine L'Engle among his early influences. Growing up in a State Department family meant living for several years in Soviet Russia and newly independent Kazakhstan, which heavily shaped an interest in exotic locals and extreme environments.

In college Alex studied Russian Language and Literature at the University of Virginia, where Gogol and Dostoevsky's murky style crept into his head. Tolstoy's conflicted protagonists shaped his understanding of fictional 'heroes.' Alex dabbled in humor his senior year (class of 2007) by publishing a daily comic for The Cavalier Daily. After graduate school, the passion for writing took a break to focus on the demands of the 'real world.'

Fortunately, the past year has provided the time and inspiration to finally get to work on his long gestating debut novel, Through the Edge. With Alex's wife and editor, Lauren, returning to graduate school, they have been traveling since August 2015, based out of Bologna, Italy, and are currently wrapping up the summer of 2016 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Alex is hard at work self-publishing Parts I, II, and III of Through the Edge, with plans for an eventual definitive edition available in print. Nepal continues to inspire, and Alex knows he has only grazed the surface of his story. The sequel is already brewing, helped along by your support of his early work.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first part of Through the Edge establishes a fascinating and primitive world through the phases of childhood of the main character, Boot. Boot is very likable, but as always when I read something I'm looking for a strong female character to latch onto and in Shell and Arrow, I have two strong girls to put my faith in. All in all the first part of this story raises a lot of questions and I look forward to seeing which mysteries will be solved by the end of this series!

[Alex Purnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I wrote this book, and am sitting on parts II and III for a final round of proof-reading before I self-publish those on Amazon, hopefully very soon.

I tried to make it a thoughtful story of a hero caught in the wrong time, a scientist in a world before science existed. He struggles with himself as much as the rigid society around him, constantly asking questions, never satisfied. Part I brings the reader into his world, and details the unique character of the planet itself. Society has molded itself to survive a harsh environment where the sun is never allowed to set, out of fear of what lies in the darkness behind. I am very happy to introduce you to this world and get Boot's story started.

The experience of writing this story has been absolutely incredible. What I set out to do and what ended up spewing out of my brain were two very different things. I had no idea how much the story and characters would shape themselves. I found myself surprised, betrayed, and heartbroken, as Boot's journey took twists and turns I had not at all planned.