Aurona [Paperback]

Exploring the jungle in the caldera of an extinct volcano, a boy and his grandfather discover the entrance to an alien outpost. A spiral staircase leads to an enormous vault lined with gold, and a star map is imbedded in a blue glass floor. Its infrared tracery points the way to another world...

Written with a movie in mind, Aurona is stunningly visual, rich with detailed illustrations and a quickly developing, suspenseful storyline. A technological feast for ages 12 and up, it feeds the universal human quest for the New and Different. Our present space telescopes beg these questions: Is there another planet out there in far better shape than the Earth? Can the atmosphere be in pristine condition with a carefully managed, yet untouched wilderness? Aurona, far more technologically advanced the Earth, offers the possibility that this might actually be possible. A paradise? Utopia? The story unfolds…

While exploring the jungle in the caldera of an extinct volcano, a boy and his grandfather discover the entrance to an alien outpost. A tripwire triggers a huge block of stone to roll back into a wall, revealing a spiral staircase that leads down into an underground vault. As they enter, they’re shocked to find an enormous dome lined with heavily embossed sheets of gold. More importantly, a star map is imbedded into a stunning, blue glass floor, its infrared tracery pointing the way to another world. Unfortunately, the chamber’s fusion reactor has reawakened after thousands of years and the room is about to self-destruct. In a burst of speed, they gather all the gold they can carry, shove it into their knapsacks and dive out of the entrance just as the great vault implodes.

Years pass. Out of college, the teenager gets some unexpected news: his extravagantly wealthy grandfather has died, and the TV and Internet coverage reveals there’ll be an elaborate funeral for him in the Capitol Rotunda. Through a daringly clever ruse, the boy recl“+