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R. A. Meenan
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Shadow Cast: A contemporary fantasy on an alien planet (The Zyearth Chronicles Book 1) Kindle Edition

by R. A. Meenan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

Some risk it all to save a friend. They must risk it all to save an enemy.


All Matt ever wanted was to become a Golden Guardian, like his father before him. With decades of experience in battle and his powerful wind magic, Matt excels in every task given to him. Well, almost everything - Matt struggles to follow orders. But sometimes following the Guardian Oath means violating those orders when it's important. However, Matt isn't a Guardian yet - and he may never be if the Master Guardian has a say in it.


Izzy Gildspine, Matt's partner, is also bidding for Guardianship, but she understands the Master Guardian's worries. After all, how could Izzy be a proper Guardian anyway? Her healing powers can't hold a candle to Matt's wind powers. It didn't matter how good she might be in battle - Making her a Guardian would just be a disgrace to the position if she didn't have elemental magic.


But when their world is invaded, Matt and Izzy have one last chance to prove they deserve the Guardianship. Only their enemy is not what he seems...


Now they have a choice to make - save themselves, their home, and their final chance at Guardianship, or risk it all for the life of an enemy.


This book is for anyone who loves:

- Sonic the Hedgehog

- Elemental magic

- Found family

- Villain redemption

- Deep platonic friendship


Companion Stories: Black Bound and Golden Guardian.


Content Warnings: Mental abuse, body horror, blood and gore, death.

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  1. Book 1 of 5
    The Zyearth Chronicles
  2. Print length
    416 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Starcrest Fox Press
  5. Accessibility
    Learn more
  6. Publication date
    April 10, 2021
  7. File size
    7.9 MB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 5 books in this series.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Zyearth is a very rich and detailed setting. I was particularly impressed with the gem-based magic system and its variations...the interrogation scenes between characters with no familiarity in each other's cultures were an excellent means of conveying worldbuilding to the readers. It is a bit unique in that the male and female leads are very close to one another, but not romantically involved...A rich and detailed worldbuilding and magic system makes for an entertaining novel." Furry Book Review

"This author is seriously talented. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a fantasy book but this has spurred my love once again...The magic, powers, characters and the world all make for a compelling read and I would definitely look for more from this author in the future." Connie Dalton of Reedsy Discovery

"Shadow Cast is a brilliant, fascinating, and thrilling novel that will take its readers on an incredible journey that is fast-paced from the start...R.A. Meenan is not only a phenomenal writer for her flawless ability to capture her reader's attention, but she is also a great writer for her descriptive powers and characterization of characters which will hook her readers!" Aimee Ann of Red Headed Book Lover

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08ZH6FWKF
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Starcrest Fox Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 10, 2021
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7.9 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1736890127
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 5 ‏ : ‎ The Zyearth Chronicles
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

About the author

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R. A. Meenan

R. A. Meenan

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R. A. Meenan was born in London during the golden age of science fiction, and learned from the best and brightest authors of that time (though if you asked her, she'd call this "college" or "getting a degree" or some nonsense).

Now an adult, she uses her incredible imagination to ride-hop intergalactic military spacecraft, comb the outer reaches of space and time, and write science fiction and contemporary fantasy stories based on her experiences. She's also hoping to find the perfect cup of coffee and a better way to grow dinosaurs. Her books tell the experiences of anthropomorphic and furry military personnel and race driver shifters.

She lives with her wonderful husband and the pair have four furry children (which are really cats, but don't tell them that) and one human child named after a video game character. She also spends her spare time teaching essay-writing haters, molding them into people resembling Actual Students and Lovers of English.

She may not win the hearts of stiff military men or students who want good grades for no effort, but she certainly captures the spirit and imagination of time travelers, magic users, nerds, Students-In-Training, and fantasy lovers.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
20 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Zollner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great World Building
    Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This is some of the best world building I've seen in a long time.
    One person found this helpful
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  • MARK J ENGELS
    4.0 out of 5 stars Slow-starting story sweeps readers away with a heart-pounding, cataclysmic finale
    Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Fans of anthropomorphic characters and military magic users will surely enjoy this often heart wrenching chronicle of trial and tribulation facing Zyearth's likeliest--and yet decidedly *unlikeliest*--heroes. Matt and Izzy, reared to replace their fathers as Guardians following their deaths in battle years before, grapple with eminently relatable anxiety trying to hold up under the crushing expectations each has placed upon themselves and upon each other. Flawed and faltering, their trials under fire lay bare the graphic horrors of war, manifesting in a cruel and ruthless supernatural invader and his nearly invincible army of Shadow Cast. Yet Matt and Izzy persist, their world's very survival in the balance, if only to save each other, their fellow "Black Bound." Through it all, these two embody a message for us all...to paraphrase Kamina from the epic anime classic Gurren Lagann: "Believe in the me who believes in you!"

    This reader believes he has a lot of company looking forward with him to reading more in this series.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Jason
    3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings
    Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Mixed feelings. Liked the world, liked the characters, didn’t like this current story arc.

    The time travel and the summons were annoying as time traveling was meaningless and the summons didn’t really help at all.

    The disjointed defenders lost battles over and over again easily....massacred and mine controlled.

    Characters were very good and so was the world, but just didn’t care for the plot story flow.
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  • Vic
    5.0 out of 5 stars Strong World Building, Empathetic Characters, Engaging Storyline
    Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2021
    Shadow Cast opens on Zyearth, where two quilar—golden-brown Izzy Gildspine and white-furred, blue-tipped Matthew Azure—are running off their anxiety. This day of the Defenders Advancement Ceremony holds particular drama for them both. Each is a descendant of a father and grandfather who were members of the elite Golden Guardianship, the third highest rank in the Defender military. And both deserve to follow in their progenitors footsteps. Yet for years, they have been denied their rightful place by Master Guardian Lance Tox. Why?

    Izzy believes that Tox fears losing them. He had lost their parents in battle with red quilar, called Omnirs, and seems unable to forgive himself. Though Matt’s sister, Charlotte, would like Matt to stay away from military service, Matt knows he was born to Guardianship.

    Both Izzy and Matt have lifelong trauma from seeing their parents die, but also have special magical powers connected to their experience. Both are sympathetic. Izzy’s powers reside largely in healing, and Matt controls wind. As they await the advancement ceremony, a shocking attack delivers an opportunity for them to prove their mettle. But as they defend both civilians and military personnel, a strange twist creates questions for Matt.

    Ouranos, a tall, black quilar from the planet Athánatos (planet), is not simply an enemy. If he finds Matt, with whom he seems to have a strange psychic connection, he may free himself from his villainous father's control. But not without pain and damage to them both.

    I don’t like reviews to give away too much of the action, but there are a lot of crazy fun battle scenes here—the magic is on, with both sides using their gems and power to bring forth tornadoes, fireballs, ice shards and more. Enjoy the tension and root for the ‘good guys’—Matt, Izzy and their friends Cix (a wolf), Roscoe and Darvin (stags), and Sami (an arctic fox).
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Zarpaulus
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rich setting, complex characters
    Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2022
    Zyearth is a very rich and detailed setting, I am particularly impressed with the gem-based magic system and its variations. However, I was a bit lost before I found the author’s website (zyearth.com), very little about the setting is explained until almost halfway through the novel. But when the world exposition appeared it did not feel like an infodump, the interrogation scenes between characters with no familiarity in each other’s cultures were an excellent means of conveying worldbuilding to the readers. It is a bit unique in that the male and female leads are very close to one another, but not romantically involved. Izzy is actually married, though her husband gets turned into a near-mindless goo monster (the titular shadow casts) with no known means of recovery, which makes him feel almost like a “disposable love interest.'' **spoiler alert**The Basileus almost comes across as a stock cartoon villain who uses proxies to do horrific things while remaining distant from the action himself, and makes sure the reader feels no sympathy for him since he removed his own son’s soul in order to mind control him. But it does make his children more complex antagonists, the son who doesn’t want to turn Zyfaunos into shadow casts but is helpless to resist, and the daughter who would do anything to free her brother’s soul, whether he wants it or not.**spoiler end**

    Shadow Cast in and of itself is an entertaining enough YA novel. Though I would suggest looking through the lore section of the website or reading the first couple novelettes first if you want to truly appreciate it.
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