Amir stepped into the circle of light, disappearing and reappearing on the desolate sands of the Barrens. The air in the high mountain desert was chill and growing colder by the moment as the wind sucked the warmth of the day from the sand. In the distance he could see a bonfire, its dull orange glow a beacon in the darkness. Two figures moved around the fire; but it was the third, lying in sleep, that interested him the most. He called out a challenge to the wind and waited.
About the Author: The Short
(Not-So-Boring) Bio
Absolutes, Silence is Golden, and August Rains are among the earliest stories Robert Stanek wrote. Robert is an award-winning, international best-selling author of more than 65 books for young people and adults. He lives with his wife and children in the Pacific Northwest in the United States, and is intensely fascinated with our natural world. He loves the outdoors and frequently takes his family on short trips to see the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest, including Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, the Columbia River Gorge, and Puget Sound.
About the Author: The Long
(Possibly Kind of Boring) Bio
Robert Stanek has written numerous best-selling, awardwinning books for young people and adults. Robert was born in Burlington Wisconsin. He is the second youngest of five children. In 1985 he enlisted in the Air Force and entered a 2-year training program in Intelligence and Linguistics at the Defense Language Institute. After graduation he served in various field operations duties in Asia and Europe. In 1990 he won an appointment to Air Combat School and shortly after graduation served in the Persian Gulf War as a combat crewmember on an electronic warfare aircraft. During his two tours in the Persian Gulf War, Robert flew numerous combat and combat support missions, logging over two hundred combat flight hours. His distinguished accomplishments during the war earned him nine medals, including the United States of America’s highest flying honor, the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal. He earned 29 decorations in his 11-year military career.
Born into a family of readers, Robert was always reading and creating stories. Even before he started school, he read classics like Treasure Island, The Swiss Family Robinson, Kidnapped, Robinson Crusoe, and The Three Musketeers. Later in his childhood, he started reading Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Herman Melville, Jack London, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe. Of that he says, "Edgar Allan Poe can be pretty bleak and dark, especially when you’re ten years old. But I remember being fascinated with his stories."
Robert completed his first novel in 1986 when he was stationed in Japan but it wasn’t until nearly a decade later that his first book was published. After writing his master’s thesis on the Internet and electronic publishing revolution, his professor encouraged him to get it published and that is exactly what he set out to do. His first book became a bestseller as did his next two books. Since then, he has written and had published more than 65 books.
Robert has won many awards from his colleagues and the publishing industry. Currently, he resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and children. For fun he used to spend a lot of time mountain biking and hiking, but now his adventures in the great outdoors are mostly restricted to short treks around the Pacific Northwest.
Learn more at
www.robertstanek.com
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
SILENCE IS GOLDEN
AUGUST RAINS
ABSOLUTES
CHAPTER ONE: CRYOTERRAFORM
CHAPTER TWO: STORMRISE
CHAPTER THREE: STRUGGLE AGAINST TIME
CHAPTER FOUR: FADING MEMORIES
CHAPTER FIVE: FINAL SALUTE
BONUS EXCERPT FROM: IN THE SERVICE OF DRAGONS
Absolutes & Other Stories Page 6