SYNOPSIS
OF THE LUCK OF MADONNA 13 (long version)
by E. T. Ellison
THE
LUCK OF MADONNA 13 is timely technosocial insight and satire in the guise
of
a fast paced
futuristic coming-of-age quest. It explores that
brave new frontier — our human and transhuman genetic makeup — from
the perspective of a time when such interventions have long been commonplace...but
still have leverage on events.
The epic tale is set in the mountains of northern New Mexico in the year
2434. A quarter millenium prior, the Nirvana Exodus and the Nevergate Wars
left Earth a planet shrunken in upon itself and going nowhere.
The tiny, remote and cloistered IsoTown of St. Coriander is a sleepy, comfortable
place populated by the descendants of lottery winners. There are no frontiers
and compulsory "Elevation" (a form of spiritual "ascendance")
means that only the Fatherhood lives past 48.
The
protagonist, 16 year old Glendyl Fenderwell has just won the title of
Luckiest. This dubious
honor means she is the annual sacrificial sixteener sent out to Quest
for the possibly mythical Last Nevergate, a quest in which her 249 predecessors
failed, never to be heard from again. Glendyl, however, may have an edge;
some essence of the of the long since Elevated hyperstar Madonna 13 (the
13th clone of the brash contemporary entertainer) has found its way into
her genes.
The Quester quickly discovers that the outside world is far different
from St. Coriander. She becomes a pawn in plots and counterplots aimed
at regaining
control of the most powerful piece of technology on the planet: the long
lost Last Nevergate, which allows instantaneous travel to countless parallax
universes.
Glendyl's discovery of a powerful artifact puts her on a collision course
with Exeter, the charismatic three centuries young Chief Scientist, the
commander of the long-earthbound Castle Ommergard and arch-enemy of the
Clans Dunnigan. She barely survives her trek to North Castle, the vacant
former home of the powerful Clans Dunnigan, inventors of the Nevergates.
Here she is befriended by the Brain, the created intelligence who is
acting as caretaker until the Dunnigans return.
Another character interested in Glendyl's quest is Lysheen, Earth's last
remaining wyvern, an experimental species created by the genemasters
of the controversial Institute for Advanced Lifeform Research. Stranded
for
centuries on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, Lysheem is 8' tall,
bat-winged and beautiful, and has her own reasons for finding the Last
Nevergate.
Realizing she's running out of time, Lysheem commandeers a cargo catamaran
and begins the long voyage from Montserrat to St. Coriander.
Lizbeth Marble, Glendyl's best friend, may just be the long-sought
Wildcard in this game. Lizbeth, seeded with latent wyvern genes, becomes
an unwitting ally of Exeter and gets Castle Ommergard and its aerial
weaponry flying again.
Meanwhile, Glendyl's emerging Madonna 13 brashness is manifesting itself
and helps in her discovery of the Nevergate. This event precipitates
a series of daring and risky activities that ultimately result in her
capture
and imprisonment by Exeter.
Now convinced that the Nevergate is in the vicinity of North Castle,
Exeter decides it's time for a faceoff with the ancient Brain of the
defenseless
North Castle. Exeter believes that if threatened with North Castle's
destruction, the Brain will hand over control of the Last Nevergate.
The tense showdown between the two castles pulls together all the story
threads and characters into a fantastic and climactic battle scene that
rearranges the balance of power, precipitates several personal transformations
and sets the stage for the next book in the Last Nevergate Chronicles.
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