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CITY OF SLAVES
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Outside the realm of Earthly experience, the universe bustles with innumerable aliens on thousands of worlds. All living creatures and territories
belong exclusively to one species: the emotionless
Torth.
These mind readers, cousins to humankind, rule the known universe with technology they've stolen from their countless
alien slaves.
This is Thomas's problem. He telepathically absorbs memories from every person he encounters, experiencing thousands of lifetimes by the age of eleven. When the Torth arrive at Thomas's home on Earth, they welcome him as their missing child. But Thomas has to make a sacrifice. He must allow the Torth to condemn his "inferior" friends to harsh slavery and death. Thomas hopes to use his new Torth knowledge and status to rescue his enslaved friends, but he soon discovers that Torth cannot keep secrets or lie to each other. Thomas must prove himself to be emotionless, merciless, and fully Torth. As he abandons his goal and grows accustomed to owning slaves, his desperate friends seek escape from a city where thoughts can kill. One of them turns out to be a surprising hero. Alexander is the descendent of a human-Torth hybrid with the potential to slaughter mind readers. Before Alexander can rescue himself and his friends, he must learn to rely on himself . . . and then he must find the courage to rescue Thomas from the monster he has become. 
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TORTH is a spacefaring epic in the tradition of Frank Herbert's Dune and Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga, with themes of betrayal and redemption. The story follows a massive slave rebellion that begins in book 1 and ends in book 6. Not your typical villains . . . The Torth believe themselves to be superior to all other life forms, and they're so certain, they've convinced everyone else. Their trillions of slaves view them as gods. They telepathically absorb knowledge from every civilization they encounter, growing stronger as they colonize planets. They're trained from birth to suppress their emotions, to further their Empire through logic and rational thought. But among telepaths, certain thoughts mean death, so they dare not examine their loveless lives or question their own superiority. All they want to do is survive in the most successful way possible. Is that so evil? Not your typical heroes . . . Thomas understands everyone except himself. In his quest to be understood, he switches sides in a war where allegiances cannot be changed, earning the title of Betrayer. He's torn between friendships and personal ambitions, humanity and godhood. Unable to settle on his own nature and unwilling to examine his own mind, he tangles himself in a web of self-deception that might destroy his sanity. Alexander suffers from the low self-esteem that an overprotective mother and a poor body image can bring. No one expects him to be a hero. But when the Torth put him through torture designed to break his spirit, he finds inner strength that he didn't know he had. His simple goal of survival becomes a journey that sparks hope in slaves. As Alexander goes from being a self-loathing doormat to leading a force that threatens the Torth Empire, he casts aside his insecurities and assumes a new role that even Thomas will bow to. |
TORTH and all related materials are written by Abby Goldsmith, and no part of it may be distributed or sold without the author's permission.
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All material Copyright © 2012 Abby Goldsmith, except where otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced or reprinted without prior written permission from the author. Document updated: 10 April 2011 - 01:42:39 |
