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About The EARTHBOUND Series

The EARTHBOUND Series are original, character driven novels in a science fiction setting, featuring an ordinary hero with everyday problems: He has a boss, a job that's a grind, a wife who doesn't understand him (but wants him home for dinner) and a high-maintenance girlfriend on the side. He just happens to hail from another world. A time-warp victim, he falls in love with his own Earth ancestor and thereby risks disrupting future events and jeopardizes his own existence.

These novels transcend their genre and are not just for Sci-Fi or Speculative Fiction (SF) fans. They are for anyone who appreciates a well-told tale.

We offer the EARTHBOUND novels as eBooks for FREE download. You may read them on your Windows or Macintosh desktop, or on your handheld (Palm Pilot, Zire, Tungsten, Sony Clie, pocket PC, PPC Axim, etc) PDA or smartphone (Treo, Blackberry, etc).

eBook Formats include Adobe PDF [.pdf], MS/Reader [.lit], Palm Reader [.pdb], MobiPocket Reader [.prc] and Rich and ASCII text [.txt, .rtf]; or you may read on-line using your Javascript enabled web browser in VIRTUALimprint WebBook format. These electronic editions are complete, unabridged, totally DRM-free and are guaranteed free of advertising, malware or other unpleasant surprises. [more on eBook formats]

The Earthbound Series is also offered as FREE audiobook podcasts, read by the author.

Printed books in hard- or soft-cover also are available at reasonable prices.


Earthbound
Volume I synopsis: [
excerpt | get EARTHBOUND | read online | top ]

    Nykkyo Kyhana is a native of a planet formed when a future Earth space mission fell into a black hole and emerged thousands of years in the past. He finds himself on present-day Earth, sent on a mission to gather plants for his people's food and fibre supplies. There he befriends Sukiko, a lecturer at the university where he is assigned. As their friendship blossoms into a deep love, Nyk learns she is his own distant ancestor, as well as an ancestor to the man who founded his world. He realizes his love for her risks disrupting future events and jeopardizes his own existence and that of his people.

    Nyk blames himself for such a disruption when Sukiko attempts suicide. After intervening to save her life, he decides he must disengage from her, to prevent further interference. But, by now it is too late. Events have been set into motion and Nyk is compelled to intervene again on her behalf -- or face temporal annihilation.

    Seen exclusively through the eyes of a visitor from another world, Earthbound unfolds as Nyk's journey of discovery, as he learns of his past, his purpose and finds the love of his life.


The Altian Plague
Volume II synopsis: [
excerpt | get The Lexal Affair | read online | top ]

    Nykkyo adjusts to life on his adopted world and living with Sukiko. Meanwhile, authorities on his homeworld begin to question the actions of his friend Andra. They believe she is aiding Lexal, a rogue colony, prepare an invasion force. Nyk is asked to travel to Lexal, betray his friendship and bring Andra to justice.

    Arriving on Lexal Nyk discovers things are not as they seem, and he finds himself in the midst of a civil war. As a native of peace-loving planet Floran, he is unprepared for what is in store as he and Andra must run for their lives.

    More of an action-adventure story, this second installment in the Earthbound trilogy retains the humanistic, character-driven tone of all four novels.


Planetbound
Volume III synopsis: [
excerpt | get Planetbound | read online | top ]

    Nykkyo proposes marriage to Sukiko and she accepts. Her due date approaches. Meanwhile, Nyk's vindictive ex-wife Senta informs homeworld authorities of his involvement with an Earth woman -- something expressly forbidden. Nyk is confined to his planet -- planetbound -- and forbidden forever from having contact with Suki. As he tries to vindicate himself, a document surfaces -- family records from the founding days of his world. This document proves his rightful place on Earth as Sukiko's husband and the stepfather of her child.

    However, the same document reveals that Suki has less than a year to live. Can he save the life of the woman he loves? To do so -- would he risk changing the future and perhaps his own existence?

    In this powerful conclusion to the Earthbound Trilogy, Nyk tests the power of his love against Death itself.


The Altian Plague
Volume IV synopsis: [
excerpt | get The Altian Plague | read online | top ]

    Nyk is now a widower living with his mother-in-law and his stepson, and carrying an incredible secret about Suki's death. As New York begins to recover from the September Eleven atack, there is an outbreak of a mysterious and fatal virus on Earth and one of his Floran co-workers succumbs. Nyk begins to believe the virus is of alien origin -- a biological terror weapon developed by a separatist faction on a rogue colony. He teams up with his geneticist ex-wife in a race against time to develop a cure before the separatists can unleash their plague onto an unsuspecting world.


The Lost Colony
Volume V synopsis: [
excerpt | get The Lost Colony | read online | top ]

    A mere few hundred years after the founding of Nyk's homeworld, Florans had returned to space to extend their presence to other, more hospitable worlds. One such world was the colony of Varada, founded on an Earth-like planet.

    After losing too many vessels in the dangerous Varadan approach, the Florans decided to abandon the colony. However, a stalwart band of colonists refused to leave. Now, after thousands of years of isolation, the Varadans desire contact with their planet of origin.

    Because of his talent with languages, Nykkyo is asked to accompany the delegation to Varada and to serve as interpreter. There, he learns a terrible secret about Varadan society; and he discovers the sinister motive a behind a certain Floran faction's interest in the forsaken world.

TESTIMONIALS
Unsolicited comments from readers:

  • "... the combination of sci-fi, fantasy, and romance is astounding..." -- R.K.

  • ...the product of a vivid and sophisticated imagination... --P.B. San Diego

  • WOW -- I have got to say it again, WOW, the trilogy was awesome. Loved the details, the characters, everything. -- K.L,Ithaca NY

  • I am thoroughly enjoying The Altian Plague. I love the way you write your books and hope you continue to add to the Earthbound series. I can honestly say that this is by far the best series I EVER read. -- A.G, Richboro, PA

  • ...you are an excellent writer, very skilled in the craft ... It's rare that a writer places such trust his reader... --M.K, Kansas

  • I just finished your Earthbound Trilogy, and I am deeply moved. I was so engrossed in your work that I read all three books over the past 7 days. I look forward to reading more of your stories. I think you're a very talented writer and I admire your work. -- B.S., Rochester NY

  • I thought you did an exceptional job combining mystical worlds of fiction (Floran, Lexal) with real world situations and customs on Earth and its history. This includes, but it not limited to your use of the non-fiction September 11th events. Well done! -- M.M., Salt Lake City

  • I ... enjoyed The Lexal Affair very much, I found it quite hard to put down. I followed on straight away with Planetbound and it was then I discovered the Earthbound was the first book in the series, my own fault for not reading the web site carefully. I then went on to enjoy Earthbound ... All in all I found the three books a very good read and eagerly await a possible fourth book. -- B.R.M, London

  • ... very well written i congratulate you on some very fine work, and i hope you continue to keep writing in this Genre because your good at it lol simple... keep writing your good at it. nice work mate -- J.L, UK

  • It was a great pleasure to read the first volume of Earthbound and I had much sympathy for your characters. -- P.C., Toulon, France

  • I just wanted to let you know that I finished reading your Earthbound trilogy. I instantly became interested in Nykkyo's character and I fell in love with Suki as his relationship developed with her. I really appreciate the life you gave your characters -- you paid so much attention to detail in describing their daily lives and their interactions on and off world ... You have a great story to tell about love overcoming all in the universe. Your characters are easy to identify with and there is rich interaction between them ... Thanks again for the riveting, breathtaking, exciting story you've created in the Earthbound trilogy --D.E, St Louis

  • "OOOOO, I'm just loving this series..." -A.H.

Suitability:

    The Earthbound Series contains scenes of moderately explicit hetero- and homo- sexuality, a rape, and scenes of moderate violence. They are suitable for older, mature teens and adults.

    The Morally Righteous may find the Earthbound series objectionable as the stories

    • contain favorable representations of homosexuals.
    • include scenes of extra-marital sex.
    • advocate open relationships practicing free love.
    • question the existence of a Supreme Deity
Copyright and Disclaimer:

    Even though the Earthbound series is distributed electronically free of charge, it is not in the public domain. All material on this website remains the intellectual property of the author, who reserves all rights.

    Unless otherwise noted, all content on this site is Copyright (C) 2002 - 2006 by D M Arnold. All rights reserved. The material contained herein may not be reproduced in part or whole, incorporated into databases, or otherwise circulated in any print, electronic, or other medium without the author's expressed, written permission. This includes but is not limited to file sharing on P2P networks. Blanket permission to perform format conversion (e.g. to create an eBook file from a text edition) is granted, provided that the converted formats are not distributed.

    If you'd like to share this material with a friend, please do not copy files. Rather, send your friend a link to this site so he/she may download his/her own copy.

    Content is subject to change without notice.

    All characters and events are fictitious, and resemblance to any real persons is strictly coincidence and wholly within the imagination of the beholder.

    The EARTHBOUND Series is in no way related to the Nintendo game (aka MOTHER) of the same name.

-- D M Arnold


Page updated 13mar2006