New Books by C. T. Fitzgerald
Double Vision: Stories from home
Altered: New Science Fiction
The Good Salesman
Review of Altered by C. T. Fitzgerald
Altered features sci-fi short stories that center on new possibilities and consequences for humanity’s decisions on technology and the quality of life. It creates disparate and inviting stories that should give rise to debates in book club and discussion groups about the values and directions humanity is on the cusp of choosing, that could irrevocably affect how freedom and the future plays out.
Take the opening story, ‘Inevitable Antiphony’, for example. Here, an unusual dialogue between human and robot, presented in a unique two-column format, surveys the boundaries of artificial and biological life, considering the moral and ethical choices in life, death, and what lies inbetween.
The dialogue is structured to slow the mind’s tendency to read too quickly, injecting pauses that, though they may seem artificial at first, result in emphasis and enlightenment that is usually harder to achieve in the standard paragraph form.
From the moral concerns of human-generated creation processes to the types of transformation that will be produced by AI, the conversation takes on deeper undertones of reflection that will delight by its form as well as its content.
In contrast is ‘Made to Order’, in which a futuristic result of genetic engineering leads to some extraordinary and frightening traits. These prompt the narrator to admit that his more-than-human semblance actually represents a being incapable of exhibiting or feeling the emotions that make for a human being.
What, exactly, is this new creation? By his own admittance, the narrator has no feelings about his life, purpose, or those who are deciding his future:
“…at this point in my life, I had no idea about what I wanted to do, and to make things worse, there was nothing that motivated me, no emotion, no great need or fear, no drive to pursue anything specific. I was, quite literally, a blank slate that someone had to fill in, and that someone would never be me. No problem.”
Deemed a legal and social nightmare, can one who is ‘barely human’ be tailored, altered, or trained to re-integrate into society without dire consequences?
C.T. Fitzgerald raises tough moral and ethical questions in each of these cases of altered states—questions that will especially intrigue and delight book club participants as well as philosophy groups considering what makes us human.
Altered is thus highly recommended reading not just for its entertainment value, but for its series of examinations that, libraries will find, lend perfectly to broad recommendation to patrons interested in the intersection of sci-fi, technology, philosophy, and the future of human affairs.
—Diane Donovan, Author, San Francisco Relocated
The Threat of Angeals Book 1:
Crucibles of Power
A New Novel by C. T. Fitzgerald
The Threat of Angeals Book 2:
Powers Revealed
A New Novel by C. T. Fitzgerald
The Threat of Angeals Book 3:
Power Lost, Power Found
A New Novel by C. T. Fitzgerald
An Advanced Review of Powers Revealed
Powers Revealed
C. T. Fitzgerald
Powers Revealed is the second book in a series, provides an introduction of the story’s main players, which helps newcomers absorb the setting, in the opening preface, and cements the action with a mission by ship captain Torvyn Lok to learn what is happening to his country.
His decision to sneak into a small fishing village with a few men to gain information leads them straight into danger on the island nation of Athlan, which is in the throes of tearing itself apart. Stellar Angeals Cath and Dorchada, power brokers for the Celestial Travelers, have unleashed their forces to stir the pot of rebellion and battle.
What has Athlan come to? Lok wonders about the source of its struggles as he faces giants with strange powers and comes to acknowledge that Athlan’s strength in the face of them may fall far short of anything that could bring success. Sith-ast, one of the Mighty Twelve, servant of the Bas Croi, Soldier of Darkness, seems to be invincible, and the microcosm of the island’s conflict portends a broader battle in which the struggle for Earth seems doomed.
As Lok faces dire circumstances and the impact of his decisions, the battle appears to be heavily weighed in favor of the forces of darkness: “He had witnessed useless death, random death, almost whimsical death and he knew with absolute certainty that goodness had nothing to do with it. His plan had been a disaster. Dedicated men, friends, were killed, no real information gained, and KT’s life was in jeopardy. What should he do?”
C. T. Fitzgerald takes the classic good-versus-evil confrontation and gives it a satisfying twist. Epic fantasy readers who appreciate vivid battle scenes juxtaposed with thought-provoking considerations of how good intentions can win over evil forces will relish the action and insights featured in Powers Revealed.
Fitzgerald excels in depicting a range of characters affected by the battle for the planet and the dilemmas faced not just by those who oppose these devastating forces, but those who operate under the Angael’s direction: “Too much is withheld from us. We fight and die but you pull the strings. There are rules, you say, but we don’t know them. Our enemy is led by someone just like you. The Bas Croi and his men are just like us. We are placed on a board not of our choosing and you say to play, fight, win, lose—it is all up to you. If it was up to us, we may decide not to play at all, as I chose not to play when tested, but we must play or die, because this is the game you have created and we can not escape.”
The result is an especially delightful conflict strengthened by the questions presented on both sides as events unfold, blurring the line between good and evil with a gray area that keeps readers involved and guessing about outcomes and motivations.
Powers Revealed is an epic fantasy especially recommended for prior readers of the first book in the series, as well as those who like battle scenes marked by massive struggles between humans and non-human opponents who all become caught up in the machinery of war.
See What People are Saying about Crucibles of Power
★★★★★ Thrilling fantasy adventure
An epic fantasy full of heroism and world-shaking battles.
★★★★★ Can’t wait for book 2!
The beginning of one of the most compelling new fantasy book series. Fitzgerald crafts complex and compelling characters in a sweeping universe full of magic and destiny. Any David Eddings or J.R.R. Tolkien fan will love Crucibles of Power.
About C. T. Fitzgerald
C.T. Fitzgerald was born in South Buffalo, New York. While attending Canisius High School, Canisius College (B.A.), and Canisius Graduate School (M.A.), he also worked as a union card-carrying longshoreman (Local 1286) in the grain elevators of Buffalo, in the blast furnaces of Bethlehem Steel, as a bartender where his father and grandfather tended bar before him, and as a licensed teacher for the City of Buffalo. He attended Kent State for his Ph.D. in Literature (2004), and he has been married to Kathleen for 45 years. They are the parents of Ryan, Craig, and Tim and the happy grandparents (“Pops” and “Nana”) of Lachlyn, Shea, and Emilia.
Dr. Fitzgerald is weak in religious faith, but strong in the hope that we go to a far better place when the ballgame is over. Being a philosophical Cretan, Dr. Fitz’s religious beliefs have been simply stated in the past: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” If humanity actually followed this easily understood rule, the world would be a much better place.
“The Gods are Reflections of Our Souls”
—Cas Amrhan, Poet of Athlan
C. T.’s Blog: Crucibles of Words
Musings, Stories, Ideas from my journey as a writer
Crucibles of Power book 2- first chapter
The Island nation of Athlan, once ruled by the legendary Council of Four, the Priest, the Warrior, the Poet and the Scientor, each marked with symbols etched into their skin by forces unknown, continues to self-destruct on a physical plane, as well as a moral one. Of the Four, only the Warrior, Kon-r Sighur, has survived and Athlanean society is tearing itself apart, as certain death stalks all of them.
The First Chapter of Crucibles of Power
Preface “The Gods are Reflections of Our Souls” by Cas Amrhan, Poet of Athlan The world is young, rough, and dark. A bright light illuminates the islands of Athan, a place of order, balance, and enlightenment. However, the world changes, and what is solid becomes fractured. People, tribes, and nations
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