Vera Nazarian is a two-time Nebula Award Finalist, 2018 Dragon Award Finalist, award-winning artist, and the author of the high-octane adventure YA dystopian apocalyptic science fiction series The Atlantis Grail that has been optioned for film, and is in development as a major motion picture franchise or TV series. Other work includes critically acclaimed novels Dreams of the Compass Rose and Lords of Rainbow, the outrageous parodies Mansfield Park and Mummies, Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons, and Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy's Dreadful Secret in her humorous Supernatural Jane Austen Series, as well as the Renaissance epic dark fantasy trilogy Cobweb Bride.

As a double refugee, after immigrating from the USSR during the Cold War, and then escaping from the Civil War in Lebanon (by way of Greece), she spent 35 years in Los Angeles, California. She now lives with four wacky cats in a small town in Vermont and uses her Armenian sense of humor and her Russian sense of suffering to bake conflicted pirozhki and make art.

Her official author website is veranazarian.com

Fandom website: tag.fan

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Compete - The Atlantis Grail Book 2 by Vera Nazarian

It's one thing to Qualify…

But do you have what it takes to Compete?

With Earth about to be destroyed by an extinction level asteroid, teenage nerd, geek, and awkward smart girl Gwen Lark, and a few of her friends and loved ones, barely Qualified for rescue onboard one of the thousands of ark-ships headed to the ancient colony planet Atlantis. Now faced with a year-long journey in space, life in a wondrously alien environment, and many tough life choices, Gwen must decide who or what she will become. Fleet Cadet or Civilian? Friend or lover? Average or extraordinary? Can she make new friends? Can she trust the old ones, such as Logan Sangre, her sexy high school crush and an Earth special operative?

Time and time again, Gwen's uncanny ability to come up with the best answer in a crisis saves her life and others. And now, her unique Logos voice makes her an extremely valuable commodity to the Atlanteans—so much so that her enigmatic commanding officer Aeson Kassiopei, who is also the Imperial Prince of Atlantis, has taken an increasingly personal interest in her. Before the end of the journey, Gwen must convince him that she has what it takes to compete in the deadly Games of the Atlantis Grail. It's becoming apparent—the life of her family and all of Earth depends on it.

COMPETE is the second book in The Atlantis Grail series.

 

REVIEWS

  • "Every once in awhile, [sic] a story comes along that stays with you long after you've read it for the first time. Even better is when you know the sequel is ready, and it is an equally satisfying read…. Gwen's trials and triumphs aboard the ark ship as it races to her new home made me laugh and cry, and the ending had my jaw dropping to the floor. No real spoilers here, although I could talk all day about the amazing twists and turns in this story. There are Quantum Stream shuttle races, zero-gravity dances, more information about the problems facing Earth (and possibly Atlantis) and new clues as to why Gwen has such a talented voice.

    And if you think this is just a novel for young people, think again. I'm the grandmother of one, not some teenaged fan girl, and to me, a good story is a good story. This one, like Qualify, will appeal to all ages. Gwen is easy to identify with on many levels. I'm not so old in spirit that I can't remember what it was like to be her age. Okay, maybe there is a bit of a fan girl in me when it comes to Aeson, And some of the other hot guys on the ship. Just don't tell anyone, all right?"

    – Amazon Review

  • "Well this is certainly a Sci-Fi book of a different order. It explores and developes [sic] a different answer to several archeological and ancient questions on what happened to Atlantis and the Egyptian empires… it is an entertaining swing into the past, a plausible ride into the future and a mystery of a love story between two characters from an impossible disparity in cultures. 5 Stars without hesitation…"

    – Amazon Review

  • "As I sit here after reading this book for the twentieth time, I am still utterly speechless. I've typed, backspaced and typed again, words that I thought would adequately capture all that is The Atlantis Grail. I realize now, there are none."

    – Amazon Review

  • "A Heinlein for the 21st Century? Maybe. I've been a fan of The Master for, probably, 50 years, and—while giving nothing away—advance the possibly heretical opinion that this, and its precursor, Qualify compare favorably with Space Cadet, Tunnel in the Sky, and even Citizen of the Galaxy."

    – Amazon Review
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

June, 2047.

Today is a day unlike any other, in a whole sequence of unbelievable days.

Today we pass the solar orbit of Mars.

And today, five days after Qualifying for rescue and being admitted onboard the giant interplanetary Atlantean starships, we—all ten million of us, teenagers from the doomed planet Earth—have to make a decision that will determine the rest of our lives.

Fleet Cadet or Civilian.

The choice looms before us, inevitable and irrevocable. We've been given five days to think, to consider carefully, to mull it over, while for the first two days the great ships of Atlantis prepare for the immense journey back to the Constellation of Pegasus—loading supplies and resources, cultural and natural treasures of Earth, and taking the measures necessary for transporting all of us safely to the colony planet Atlantis that will now be our new, permanent home.

On the evening of Qualification, and the day immediately after, the Fleet of Atlantis stayed in Earth orbit. For me that time remains a strange, dead blur. . . .

While the transport shuttles ferried supplies and our belongings, we had the chance to contact our families for the last time and say goodbye to our parents and loved ones—to all those who must now remain on Earth, and die from the impact of the extinction-level asteroid . . . while we, the lucky ones, fly onward to the stars.

The asteroid is going to hit Earth seventeen months from now, on November 18, 2048, and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent the destruction of all life on Earth.