Luke
by Robert James Tootell
Luke, and his friend the Moon, take a journey to a strange and troubling land to compete against the 'Princess' in a terrifying game of chess. A journey of discovery.abel orion has spent his entire life defining the difference between madness and genius, the fine line between inspiration and hallucination.from an early age he showed an unparalleled aptitude for mechanical engineering, computer sciences and other trades. he learned by doing, spending his childhood in junkyards, pulling things apart and putting them back together. he learned their functions as he went, familiarized himself with several languages by reading labels and searching through abandoned computer data. he overcame hunger, thirst, and the harsh environments of his home using only his intelligence, and the teamwork offered him by his family. under his leadership, the orions accomplished extraordinary feats, but abel wasn't without his shortcomings.he would wake up in the dead of night screaming, driven to terror by some vivid dream. as the years passed, the nightmares began spilling into abel's waking world. emotions, thoughts and memories sometimes overcame him, so much so they would manifest themselves into powerful hallucinations. sometimes abel saw objects or figures he knew didn't exist. sometimes he saw monsters, and sometimes he saw people he use to know.abel's condition helps and hinders him as he struggles to overcome unimaginable odds, to save his family, himself, and reach a promised land so far beyond his grasp. through his many trials, abel is confronted by inexplicable things, and for the first time in his life, he's forced to take his hallucinations seriously. some of them, he realized, could be his only hope.abel is a story about a young man struggling with his own playful mind, as well as the impossible situations he finds himself in. it's a story about confronting the past, and facing one's demons as if they were standing fully formed in front of you. it's also about the triumph of family, and embracing the extraordinary. it's a mystery novel with environmental themes and science fiction undertones.