Title : The Last Bastion of the Living
Author : Rhiannon Frater
Publication date : June 12th 2012
Genres : Adult, Horror, Science Fiction
Synopsis:
The Bastion was humanity’s last hope against the fearsome undead creatures known as the Inferi Scourge. A fortified city with a high wall, surrounded by lush land rich with all the resources needed to survive, protected by high mountain summits, and a massive gate to secure the only pass into the valley, the Bastion became the last stronghold of the living on earth. But one fateful day, the gate failed and the Inferi Scourge destroyed the human settlements outside the walls and trapped the survivors inside the city. Now decades later, the last remaining humans are struggling to survive in a dying city as resources and hope dwindle.
Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her whole life within the towering walls of steel. She yearns for a life away from the overcrowded streets, rolling blackouts, and food shortages, but there is no hope for anyone as long as the Inferi Scourge howl outside the high walls. Her only refuge from the daily grind is in the arms of her lover, Dwayne Reichardt, an officer in the Bastion Constabulary. Both are highly-decorated veterans of the last disastrous push against the Inferi Scourge. Their secret affair is her only happiness.
Then one day Maria is summoned to meet with a mysterious representative from the Science Warfare Division and is offered the opportunity to finally destroy the Inferi Scourge in the valley and close the gate. The rewards of success are great, but she will have to sacrifice everything, possibly even her life, to accomplish the ultimate goal of securing the future of humanity and saving it from extinction.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor), as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror novels. Her next novel for Tor, Dead Spots, will be published in 2014. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets). She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes.
You can find her online at:
Website: rhiannonfrater.com & astheworlddies.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/rhiannonfrater
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/
Email: rhiannonfrater at gmail.com
Guest Post :
The Badass Heroine
By
I’m
not going to lie. I need to be honest with you from the start. The honest to
God truth of the matter is that I hate/despise/loathe a lot female characters
that fall under the “badass” heroine banner.
I often have to suppress the deep, dark desire to give them a roundhouse
kick to the face.
Well,
if I could actually manage to do a roundhouse kick. I’m not that limber.
Though
there are plenty of amazing, strong female characters that I absolutely love
with all my heart, there are a smorgasbord of female characters that really rub
me the wrong way. The reason for this is simple. Badass has been confused with
women who are just plain bitchy, self-centered, and mean.
I
didn’t really realize how ingrained the bitchy heroine had become in
entertainment until I saw a script for one of my books. The heroine uttered a
lot of really mean, nasty comments in the first few pages of the script and I
was stunned by how awful she came across. I spoke to the scriptwriter about the
added dialog and he answered, “Oh, I added that because I wanted her to come
across as a strong.”
“Uh,
strong doesn’t mean bitchy,” I said carefully. To my surprise, and relief, he
agreed and those lines were removed.
But after
that event, I realized that was exactly why some heroines really rub me the
wrong way. To make a woman appear strong, a lot of writers have defaulted to
making her really bitchy, egocentric, and often just plain mean. It hurts me
whenever I see this trope in a book, movie, or TV show. A woman doesn’t have to
be a bitch to be strong or badass.
A badass
female character should be someone you can see as a friend. Someone you love, cheer
for, and believe in. You understand they’re flawed, but that’s okay. As they
keep working hard to overcome all their obstacles and achieve a happy ending,
you’re invested in their journey.
Even
when my heroines have something exceptional about them like Vanguard Maria
Martinez in THE LAST BASTION OF THE LIVING, they exist realistically in their
circumstances. Maria’s military training, intelligence, and determination to
accomplish her mission all contribute to her badass factor. But the power that compels her to do
extraordinary things isn’t her anger at an unfair world, but her love for a man
who loves and respects her. Maria not only serves The Bastion, but her own
heart. She struggles with fear, suffers loss, and knows that she may lose her
life in the battle against the Inferi Scourge. But victory means freedom from
the undead hordes and the ability to build her life with Dwayne, the man who
sees beyond her hard veneer to the women she is inside.
My
goal when writing my strong female protagonists is to create realistic women
who have strengths and flaws just like everyone else does. I don’t create perfect people that have
nothing bad happen to them. Or women that all the men want to be with and all
other women hate. I create women who could live in our own world very easily.
They could be your neighbor, friend, or family member.
In
the end, I think Maria Martinez is a badass heroine because her strength
doesn’t come from being bitchy, but from being a woman willing to do her very
best to overcame the most terrible odds.
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