From M. B. Zucker, award-winning author of "The Eisenhower Chronicles"
Liopleurodon ferox was the deadliest sea predator of all time, the king of the Jurassic ocean. This whale-sized reptile's return to the early twentieth century triggers a geopolitical crisis in this new historical science fiction thriller. Former President Theodore Roosevelt foresees the threat the Liopleurodon would pose if it falls into the wrong hands. The race is on as Roosevelt leads the American effort to destroy it before the Kaiser's Germany can turn it into a weapon.
Fans
of Jurassic Park and Steve Alten's Meg series will not want to
miss this adventure filled with action, political intrigue, and characters that
readers will remember long after finishing this novel.
Advance
Praise for Liopleurodon: The Master of the Deep
“The
storyline itself was superb ---- A Jaws/Jurassic Park thriller and a bit of a
spy novel all in one - and compelling.” - The Historical Fiction Company
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EXCERPT
The opening scene of Chapter 1 introduces Teddy Roosevelt through a conversation with his daughter, Alice. The novel is set in early 1911.
Alice winced as the carriage rolled over a chunk of ice, disrupting her breathing and hurting her throat. She coughed and peered from behind the curtain to increase the air circulation. She blinked multiple times, frustrated and jittery from keeping still in a confined environment for so long, glancing at the brick and brimstone architecture that reflected older Queen Anne and Richardson Romanesque styles along with newer Georgian Revival ones. Massachusetts Avenue was grand by DC standards and less reflective of the patchwork look found elsewhere.
She opened her purse, eyeing her garden snake, coiled and passive, among her other items. Alice was careful not to touch the snake as she retrieved a cigarette and match. She lit the match on the carriage’s interior wall. Her eyes closed as she inhaled the smoke and relaxed. The smoke stayed within the carriage when she exhaled.
“Must you smoke in here?” Theodore asked, sitting beside her.
“I’ll do as I like, Father.”
Theodore snorted and considered opening his curtain. “Still the same girl who smoked on the White House roof. My same bunny.”
“Please don’t call me that. I’m a married woman.”
“And?” Theodore asked as he glanced at her. “That doesn’t change the fact that I’ll always be the big bear to my bunnies. Including you.”
The carriage shook again.
“Blasted ice,” Alice muttered. She squeezed her purse tighter so as to keep her snake still and calm.
“Be grateful we’ve come in the winter and the snow and ice are with us,” Theodore said. “Summer brings horrid humidity to this city. Why President Washington opted to place the capital in a swamp makes me question the great man’s judgment.”
“I just wish we could have walked. I understand we’d be mobbed, but nonetheless. I would think you would feel similarly, Father, given your near-death experience when the Pittsfield streetcar—”
“On the contrary, I relish such brushes with—”
“Ah, yes. How could I forget?”
“Why are you in a mood? Surely, this can’t just be about the weather?”
“Of course it isn’t.”
“Then what?”
“You know my feelings about Senator Lodge. He’s a snob.”
“No, he isn’t. He’s a warm boy.”
“That opinion is unique to you.”
“Then you needn’t speak to him for more than a few moments.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll spend time with Constance when we get there.”
“I will not! I’ll sit in on the meeting!”
“You’ll do no such thing.”
“Then why am I here? I could have spent the day with Nicholas.”
“You’re excellent at social occasions. You know that.”
“Then allow me to give you my opinion,” Alice declared as she looked her father in the eye. “I know you’ve decided to challenge the President next year.” Theodore did not respond. “I don’t believe you’ll achieve your desired outcome. You’ll upset the party bosses and poison your chance to win the nomination in less controversial circumstances in ‘16.”
“Nonsense,” Theodore said. “I was the most popular President since Lincoln. And Lincoln had the war helping him. Think of the reception we received upon my return from the African safari last summer. The acclaim.”
“And then you were held responsible for the Republican defeat in the midterms,” Alice replied. Theodore’s jaw clenched and he broke eye contact. “Your political fortunes are at a low ebb, Father.”
“What will Nicholas do?” he asked softly.
“He’ll play it safe—”
The carriage shook more violently than before. Alice gripped her purse and her seat as she briefly feared they might tip over.
“All right, back there?” James Amos, their African American valet, shouted from the driver’s seat.
“We’re fine, James!” Theodore replied. He looked to Alice, turning his head 90-degrees. His left eye was blind from a boxing match as President. “You were saying?”
“Nicholas will play it safe, like usual. Mr. Taft is his political mentor,” Alice said. “He’ll stand with him.”
“And what will you do?”
“I’ll do as I believe. Even if it costs me my marriage.”
“It would come to that?”
“He already tells me to ‘shut up’ for defending you.”
“You believe in me that much?”
“Of course I do, Father.” Alice smiled. “Besides, how could I side with the family who banned me from the White House?”
“Did you ever receive an explanation for that action?”
Alice’s grin grew wider. “They must have discovered the voodoo doll I buried of the First Lady.”
“Alice...”
Alice smirked. Theodore sighed and thought of the estrangement between his family and the Tafts. Why hadn’t Taft, or a member of the President’s staff, greeted him upon his emergence from Khartoum in Africa? Theodore’s friends and the press did. That was just one of a series of escalating events that built awkwardness and eventually—
The carriage stopped. The curtain on Alice’s side opened after a moment.
“Ma’am?” Amos asked, offering his hand.
“Thank you, James,” she replied as she took his hand and climbed out.
“I’ll come get you in a moment, Colonel.”
“That’s quite all right!” Theodore announced. “I’m as fit as a bull moose!”
M. B. Zucker has been interested in storytelling for as long as he can remember. He discovered his love of history at fifteen and studied Dwight Eisenhower for over ten years.
Mr. Zucker earned his B.A. at
Occidental College and his J.D. at Case Western Reserve University School of
Law. He lives in Virginia with his wife.
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Thank you for hosting M. B. Zucker today. Much appreciated. x
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