Reviews

"One of those rare books that you read from cover to cover without stopping. I can't wait for the next and especially to play the game"
- Alan Pavlish

"Make sure you go to the bathroom, clean your house, and have had a recent physical before you start reading. Deborah Pratt has absolutely flown over the edge with this one. Science fiction redefined, Vision Quest sends Dune, Star Trek and Star Wars into an era, not unlike silent movies. Characters hurtle through the story in miraculous vivid detail. Each page leads breathlessly to the next. Concepts are fresh, brilliant, thought provoking, esoteric and yes I couldn't get enough. Welcome back Deborah Pratt your innovative skill will rewrite the history tired storylines we've had to endure in your absence."
- NDIGO MAGAPER, Contributing Editor, Chicago

"What an amazing ride! I found myself instantly captivated by the complex and intriguing future world Deborah paints. The characters had me from the start, and their shocking adventures had me racing to the next chapter. What really moves me about VISION QUEST is the deeper message it represents... It's about time we meet a hero who we get to witness as he grows in skill and Mastery in the arts of the Great Mystery. This is a must read for ALL ages."
- Wendy Haines, Founder, Illumine Entertainment

"Not being an avid sci-fi reader, I sat down to read the Vision Quest, before I knew it several hours had past and I had read over half the book excited to see what happened next. Deborah Pratt has created a unique and compelling world filled with great characters, a lot of action with the prize qualities being that a strong sense of spirit and the power of knowledge will save us in the end. This is a great message to put out at this point in time."
- Lesli Linka Glatter

"I was hooked. The science seemed so plausible. I definitely can't wait to read the next volume"
- Victoria Fredrick

"What an amazing ride! I found myself instantly captivated by the complex and intriguing future world Deborah paints. The characters had me from the start, and their shocking adventures had me racing to the next chapter. What really moves me about VISION QUEST is the deeper message it represents... It's about time we meet a hero who we get to witness as he grows in skill and Mastery in the arts of the Great Mystery. This is a must read for ALL ages."
- Wendy Haines, Founder, Illumine Entertainment

Paul Rich Review:

As the Big Bang was forged out of the mists of the time-space continuum, a radiant new dawn emerges on the horizon of the science fiction world. Deborah Pratt's "The Vision Quest: The Age of Light" is a fitting title for an exemplary work, a mind-bending creative explosion from a gifted writer who, with seeming effortless ease, fuses the power chords of classic futurist canon with narrative, romance and emotion reminiscent of Tolkien and Frank Herbert's "Dune." Add to this her uncanny knack for grasping the conflicting inner turmoil of a teenage boy hero, Cole Lazerman (a.k.a Lazer), who's raging hormones fuel his white hot desire for revenge against the murderous Black Guard bio-droids ... as well as his intoxicating love and lust for Elana Blue, the almost too-perfect woman of his dreams.

Within this wholly fantastical Earth of the "near future" populated with genetically-mixed animal, insect and marine-life "splicers' -- SFX ingredients that would make Hollywood moguls in search of a blockbuster drool -- Pratt then injects her page-turner with delicious chunks of scientific techno-babble to satisfy the pickiest palate of the "geek chic" crowd.

Example: "Needing an amino strand that couldn't be destroyed, Covax borrowed viral strands diluted from the original I. L. virus. They produced RNA and thrived in high temperatures. The machinery acted liked incubators ...and from it the biodroids were created -- machines with a biological brain."

But don't be fooled. The author, a former sit-com actor and award-winning TV writer ("Quantum Leap") is fully aware of what titillates a universal audience. Thus we are introduced to the Universal God (not unlike "the force"), the mysterious all-powerful Masta Poe (more beguiling than Yoda) and the Harvard of cool tech-meets-Zen schools, Tosadae University ... an eye-candy playground that would give Hermoine Granger and Harry Potter a run for their magic.

The good and bad news? It's Book One of a trilogy. The Byzantine machinations of good and evil forces are thrillingly set into motion. Smaller heart-pounding skirmishes evolve to battles that lead to the inevitable war just as Lazer begins to know he is blessed with a special power that may or may not be the key to out-witting and out-evolving the now-sentient biodroid mastermind Five, a delectably complex and sinister Cyborg with the ability to alter his atomic particles back and forth like liquid to create horrific human features on his "face."

Save your first-printed edition. It will no doubt have value as a collectible in the future land of Atlantia ... along with the four otherworldly gnorbs that hold the key to saving humanity and our mutant offspring.

Excerpt

COLE LAZERMAN

A fist hit Lazer’s face and carried with it the cold, hard smack of pubescent fury. Cole Lazerman, Lazer to his friends and family, was seventeen, handsome, and boyishly charming, with a thick head of dark, rebellious curls. He had piercing electric eyes, one of which had only moments ago been blackened. To add to the new color scheme, a trickle of blood flowed from his lower lip. His body trembled with rage.

azer recovered from the blow and retaliated with a left-right combination of well-placed punches that connected squarely with his opponent, Striker McMann. Striker was a tow-headed blond, big-eyed, weasel-lipped brute with no neck and big shoulders-a long-time rival and dedicated enemy of Lazer’s since sometime during the summer before sixth grade. Both the fighters wore passage locks, an eight-inch braid of hair that hung down the neck of any young man under the age of twenty. The passage lock was often decorated with silver or gold rings and a few pieces of leather, stone, or feathers to mark a boy’s individuality. It was required by law for any boy or girl prior to the Rite of Passage, and every boy who stood and watched the fight wore one as he cheered his chosen hero to victory.

Striker took Lazer’s blows in stride and came back with a devastating one-two combination to the stomach and kidney that all but knocked the wind out of him.

“Cashton, do something!” Kyla pleaded with one of the boys. Kyla Wingright was one of the only girls at the skirmish and Lazer’s oldest friend. Kyla was tough, smart, and pretty-almost beautiful but not quite, not yet. She was a second-generation splicer, with what looked like fine, flesh-colored tattoos on her neck and arms that fit the multiple ear and delicate nose piercings. Her strange, intricate markings were the only visible sign that she was not all human. But keeping your genetics to yourself could save your dignity and, in some cases, your life-especially in the outback of this partially settled, newly risen continent called Atlantia, which is where Vacary High School was located. Kyla nudged Cashton harder. “Do something,” she pleaded again.

“What? Striker’s an ass. I can’t change reality.” Cashton shrugged. He, like the rest of the boys, was captivated by the action of the fight.

Cashton Lock was Lazer’s other best friend. He was older, taller, and stockier, with broad features and brown skin the color of amber and honey. Lazer had told him he looked like a fox, always ready to start trouble. The difference was Cashton had the body and build to finish anything he started. But this was Lazer’s fight, and the laws of machismo demanded Cashton stay back until Lazer let him know he was needed.

Kyla knew better than both of them that Lazer’s ego would never admit he needed anything, especially help.

A solid right hook to Lazer’s jaw sent him five feet backwards, slamming him hard into the trunk of a tree. Lazer bounced off and plowed into Striker like a human battering ram, sending them both stumbling backwards. They lost their balance and crashed onto the ground with a hard thud. Lazer scrambled to his feet with the agility of a cat that had landed on hot coals. Furious, Striker looked up, jumped to his feet, and ran back to Lazer at full speed, but this time he’d have to go through Kyla. “

Lazer! Striker! Stop it!” Kyla shouted. She stepped between them, her long sinewy arms stretched out in either direction. To everyone’s surprise, she sent out a double energy field that consisted of two spinning circles that spiraled in midair, barely visible but strong and solid enough to stop them in their tracks. The two boys hit the field and staggered, momentarily thwarted. Desperate to be the voice of reason, Kyla shouted again, “You can’t fight on school grounds. You’re gonna get us all kicked out!”