27 - Life Goes On

Time is of The Essence

by Aldo Paredes

Science Fiction. Mystery. Crime. Intrigue. Conspiracy. Time is of the Essence by Aldo Paredes has it all. Disguised as a successful businessman in 1931, Aldric Cronique is a 2,000 year-old extra-terrestrial on a mission to record the history of life on Earth.

In the midst of an interesting and eventful life, chronicling historical events as they occur, Aldric and his savvy wife, Victoria, unwittingly possess secret information that a malevolent enemy so desperately seeks. Aldric and Victoria enter the fight for good vs. evil with help from Anthony, Aldric’s loyal valet and confidant, along with a few of their other rare and trusted friends.

Enter the villain, Jean Froissart--an even older extra-terrestrial who is on an evil mission. Not only has he created a sinister alliance with the Vatican and Hitler, but he has also been the evil architect of many pivotal moments throughout history.

Why has Froissart been hunting them down for so many years and what does he want from them? Why is the secret so explosive that both Aldric and Victoria have to fight off multiple enemies to get to the truth? Will Froissart succeed in destroying New York City? These are some of the questions the pair needs to answer, and fast.

Sprinkled throughout the book are glimpses into Aldric’s valuable collection of private journals, in which he has recorded 2,000 years worth of historical events from all over the world. Set in the post-World War I era, Time is of the Essence is a splendid history lesson, and Paredes keeps the suspense taut and engaging.

From the absorbing start to the explosive finish, Time is of the Essence is one satisfying thriller. Its ingenious clues and escapes, and sharp intelligence make it perfect for a long flight home--you’ll never know where the time went!

Time is of the Essence is available through:

iUniverse Publishing (www.iuniverse.com) and Amazon.com.

Review by: Todd Rutherford, AskthePublishingGuru.com

I hope you will read my new novel, I know you will enjoy and come back for more. But don't worry, the sequel is in the works. See below a small excerpt of - Time Is Of the Essence.

Aldric began to address them, solemnly. “My friends, it appears that it is over. I must admit, it looked bleak for a while, but some of our suggestions to the Allies began to produce results. I am very sad Japan did not respond appropriately. I was hoping the specter of total destruction would have been enough and it would not have been necessary to go so far. President Truman would not listen to reason – he wanted to end the war once and for all and decisively. So, our objective should now be to help our friends at the different agencies learn from past mistakes. We must make them understand that by unleashing this new power the whole human race is at risk, from within and from an external source. This one event has made our cause all the more difficult. Remember, I’m not the only one watching.

We should not allow one mistake be multiplied into others culminating in the annihilation of humankind. Our trip to the Vatican yielded no good results, other than, discovering that the Pope is under Froissart's influence and somehow he was able to block my probe. We still need to find Froissart and deal with him.

To Froissart this is all a game of chess – he places his pieces in the right position. If you know how to play, his moves force the opponent to give up their advantage and fall into his trap. The strategy is to control the center, which can be done from the outer edges of the board – invisible. The Vatican was just a Bishop that he used in one of his moves. The Vatican could have stopped, or at least minimized the damage Germany caused, but because of her unswerving loyalty, Germany acted with impunity. The Vatican was not moved by the outcries of the persecuted. Only a blinded mind could act this way.

His use of the Vatican helped Germany gain international acceptance and created solidarity with other countries of like mind. Even more incriminating is the fact that the Vatican set up an organization to smuggle and protect SS Soldiers in other friendly countries. The secret operation was uncovered by a young reporter. The name of the organization is Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen or Organization of Former Members of the SS.

Just as the events after the first Great War ignited an escalation of political unrest leading to this Great War so, too, the most significant change of events over the long term, after this conflict, is the balance of power, against political entropy. Britain, France, Germany, and Japan ceased to be great powers in the traditional military sense, leaving only two, the United States and the Soviet Union. What will they do with their strength?”

Aldric stared at all his friends with a look of dismay. “Maybe we should resolve ourselves to the fact that Froissart was right. Those events could not have been stopped no matter how hard we tried. Evil has no bounds; it will blind the minds of good men, caring men, governments and religion, even the Vatican. Maybe, good doesn’t ultimately triumph over evil, because evil proliferates.”

The End


Back to our story:

There came a time when choices had to be made; because now her struggle would embrace two additional souls that for the time being couldn’t fend for them selves. She would try and rely as much as possible on family. By now most of her brothers were married or in the Armed Service so their opportunities to help would be limited. She would come to rely considerably on Jacinto, Uncle Roberto and Uncle Ismael. Uncle Roberto was married by this time to a wonderful woman my Aunt Mora. She would take care of my sister on numerous occasions while my mother took my brother to the doctors. My Uncle Roberto and Aunt Mora had one daughter that was born in Cuba before they immigrated to the United States; her name is Sunilda and we commonly know her as Suny. My Uncle Ismael lent a hand as best as he could. He would come over and take my brother at times to the doctor’s instead of my mother, so that she could hold down a job.

The story starts to get a little fuzzy at this point and even a little incestuous. As you have conclude by now my father is not Ruben. He was my sister and brothers father during my mothers first marriage. During the time that my mother was married to Ruben, his sister Rosita was married to a man by the name of Anibal, whom I just recently introduced. Together they have a son, whose name is Anibal but everyone calls him Pupi. That, of course, makes him my half brother on my father’s side but cousin to my sister Regla and my Brother Ruben on my mother’s side. Are you, my discerned reader, following this? So he too was deep into his relationship with the Lima family, as you could well imagine.

Some say that my mother intentionally broke up that marriage so that she could marry Anibal. It may sound plausible, it may sound provocative and it may even sound alarming but consider the circumstances and consider the man. My father for as long as I have known him never had the fortitude or the resolve to be there when he was needed the most. Whatever was new, younger and prettier that’s the direction he went in. So in hindsight he saw a woman that was in need and available so he made the opportunity. I know that I have said I was not going to pass judgment during the course of this book, unfortunately I couldn’t described this and allow room for disparaging thoughts about my mother. Don’t misunderstand, she’ll be the first to admit that she was no saint, however I believe my mother to be of descent moral fiber. Also too consider the circumstances she found her self in, economically depressed no home or a place to raise her children. She took what became available to her. So now imagine, that’s twice my mother has interfered in the Lima family composition. Disdain would rain upon her as if sent by god himself.

Matrimonial separation has always been the same, it does not matter time or place. Spouses
become disgruntled and the children become ping pong balls in a never ending match. The only difference between now and than is that there were no attorneys involved. The same occurred when my mother separated from Ruben. My sister and my brother were ferried from Havana City to Martin Perez. The mental anguish that children suffer is also the same. Especially was this true, as I recall when my sister or my brother would get out of hand. When my mother felt that they needed a strong hand, she would ship them to their fathers in the hopes that he could do better.