Earth Song, by Mark Wandrey
The Earth Song Series has been in the works for many years, and the first book was published some years ago under another title (Avatar’s Overture: Chronicles of the Chosen, Vol. 1). The book has undergone major editing and some restructuring since it’s original publication, so please be sure to check out the new version!
Book 1: Earth Song: Overture was republished August 2012.
In Central Park, a homeless man bears witness to the arrival of a strange device. He founds a cult who believes the device is a portal to a promised land. But is it a gift from the Angels of God, or a way to invade Earth at its most vulnerable moment? Mindy Patoy, a disgraced astronomer working in Portland Oregon, has just learned of an asteroid bearing down on Earth. As word spreads of alien devices appearing around the globe, she is drawn to New York City. There, she finds friends and enemies alike as she struggles to unravel the mystery. Through the portal, a small band of soldiers struggle against monstrous reptiles to carve out a place for the refugees who will follow them. They cannot hold out for long without resupply and there is no retreat. As the asteroid bears down, time is running out and New York City has become a war zone. Civilization is shaking itself to pieces as factions around the globe battle over the portals. Efforts to stop the asteroid are failing. Is the Song of Earth about to end, or is it just beginning?
Book 2: Earth Song: Sonata in Orionis was released September 2012.
It has been 500 years since Earth was destroyed by a rogue asteroid. The centuries have come and gone like the playing of a quiet sonata as mankind struggled to survive on a new world then learned to thrive once more.
The few thousand survivors have grown to millions on their new planet, Bellatrix, forty-five light years from the shattered remnants of their home world. Earth is only a memory taught to school children and remembered in song.
The Tog, a member of the Galactic Concordia, are the aliens responsible for those fortunate few who survived Earth’s demise. But their help comes with a price—a debt owed for continued existence in a galaxy where nothing is free, not even life.
An elite group of humans, the Chosen, are trained to venture forth into a hostile galaxy to do the Tog’s bidding. Ever so slowly over centuries, the Chosen will repay Humanity’s debt
Fifteen-year-old Minu Alma, descendant of the storied Mindy Harper, wishes to follow in her father’s footsteps and become one of the Chosen. As she struggles to survive the Chosen Trials, Minu learns that her father has disappeared into the depths of the galactic frontier, and that other species are beginning to notice the young human upstarts.
Hostile aliens, deadly untamed worlds, and ancient mysteries are but some of the challenges Minu must face. The worst could just be the prejudices of her own people. Humanity is finally moving onto the galactic stage and must begin to fend for themselves. As the song of a long lost Earth echoes in the past, the time of quiet safety is coming to an end for Earth’s children.
Book 3: Earth Song: The Lost Aria was released June 2014.
After more than five centuries of isolation on humanity’s adopted home world, war has come once again. Minu Alma distinguished herself during the Rasa Vendetta and is now charged with creating an army to defend their world. Though the soldiers are untried, she must lead them into battle against a powerful species of the Concordia in the greatest test of her life. Minu must quickly secure victory as she hopes to venture into the galactic frontier. Somewhere out there is an ancient artifact left by a mysterious race called “The Lost” which could unlock all the miracles of Concordian science. She must locate the artifact before time runs out to save her friend, but what she finds will change her life forever. This is The Lost Aria.
Book 4: Earth Song: `Etude to War was released June 2015.
Chosen. Warrior. Detective? Six years after Minu Groves’ return from her galaxy-spanning quest, she has become a member of the Chosen council – but due to conflicts with others on that council, she’s been put into virtual retirement as a university dean. Until one day, when she learns a truth about her long-missing father that shakes her to the core. Is he still alive? Clues lead into the darkness of space, and once more she and her friends have answers to seek out, a trail to follow that he may have left. And in her absence, clouds of war begin to loom…
Book 5: Earth Song: Anthem was released in 2015.
The clouds of war continue to darken for humanity as Gregg and his Ranger forces are forced to fight yet another higher order species, the Mok-Tok, and it is obvious they were set up. Worse, the First Among the Chosen has decided not to rescue the Rangers; they will be left to die.
Minu Groves doesn’t believe in leaving people to die, though, so she embarks on a rescue mission with her friends and the Kaatan-class ship run by her daughter. Before she can bring the war to a conclusion, though, events outside her control force her to turn aside, adding the Mok-Tok to the list of races who want human blood.
The T’Chillen and the Tanam, two other higher order species, are both close to vendetta with humanity, and both have plans to end humanity for good they are actively putting into action.
And, as if more enemies were needed, the alien Grent are acting in the wings, aiding humanity’s enemies, and no one knows what game they are playing—not even the races the Grent are helping.
Beset by enemies on every side, Minu is forced to rely on her friends and her daughter, and only one question remains…will that be enough?
Book 6: Earth Song: Twilight Serenade was released January 2016.
The galaxy is not a safe place. More than five hundred years after Earth’s destruction, the descendants of humanity’s survivors are finally coming into their own under the leadership of First Among the Chosen Minu Groves. They’ve gained allies and slowly built strength, and now Minu has decided that the time has come to bid for freedom from the Tog, long humanity’s sponsors in the interspecies Concordia. The Higher Order species, though, have been proven to possess fleets of starships to enforce their iron will. To leave her species helpless against such a foe is not acceptable to Minu. So she’s about to set off into the deep darkness of space looking for the rumored ghost fleets, remnants of the Lost’s ancient armada from an eons-ago war. Those ships could be the final piece Minu needs to permanently ensure humanity’s freedom. But as her plans develop, the greater mysteries of her own history, her husband’s fate and the very nature of the Concordia may prove to be her own undoing – and with her, all of mankind.
Book 7: Earth Song: Nocturne’s Reckoning will be released eventually. The manuscript is approximately half finished as of November, 2024.
Between 2 and 4 books remain in the series.