Native American Manteo must negotiate an uneasy settlement of Roanoke Island between English colonists and his tribe.
WINNER of a Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association's National Contest under Published Novella.
July, 1587. Days after the English colonists of Sir Walter Raleigh's Third Expedition to America are stranded at Roanoke Island, one of them is murdered. Faced with starvation, hostile natives, and a land they have little knowledge of, their American liaison, Manteo, is all that stands between them and certain death. Can Manteo reconcile his loyalty to his people with his desire for the benefits the colonizing English bring with them before one side destroys the other? 'Manteo' follows the historical events of the second English colonization of Roanoke through the viewpoint of Manteo and a near-immortal alien, Prometheus, up until the departure from Roanoke of Governor John White. After his leave taking, the story becomes pure speculation and allows Prometheus compassionate action, a consequence of his constantly developing humanity. 'Manteo' provides a speculative answer to why the colonists abandoned Roanoke and when, with a direction for their future provided by current real-life investigation.
A short story from The Prometheus Saga.
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Q - What is The Prometheus Saga?
A - In The Prometheus Saga, twelve authors unite to interpret how an alien presence would interact with the human condition over a time period that spans from the dawn of man to the present. The stories cross genres and genders, allowing for entirely different narratives and insights on historical events and the human experience.
Q - Where should a reader start when selecting a short story to read in The Prometheus Saga?
A - Each story is self-contained and can be read in any order. The reader is free to select any of the stories at random to begin their experience. Each short story has a different setting in history. The book description will explain the time period setting for each particular story.
Q - What is this alien probe?
A - An alien civilization landed a probe on Earth at the dawn of mankind. This probe, a form of artificial intelligence, can morph into any human form, take on any human identity, either male or female. Its life spans hundreds of thousands of years. Its mission is to report everything it can about us to its home planet. What this humanoid observes and learns over centuries of human existence will be interpreted through each short story in the saga. The alien probe is as mythic as Prometheus, the Greek Titan who was said to have brought fire to mankind.
