Taste of Cyn

Extinction And Making Viewers Uneasy

By Cynthia Sax on July 4, 2020

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I recently watched the Netflix SciFi movie Extinction.

I almost didn’t stick with this movie. Yes, there were awesome explosions and great invasion scenes but when I watched the main characters, I was uncomfortable.

Everything was a bit…off. The timing of their responses was slightly delayed. The emotions weren’t quite right. The kids seemed determined to put themselves in the most vulnerable positions possible, having to be saved by the parents again and again.

What I believed were annoying ticks or instances of surprisingly bad acting were, in reality, brilliant storytelling decisions. I was supposed to feel that way. I was meant to pick up on all of that.

Those small irritations were all, as I call them, breadcrumbs. The uneasiness I felt was gifted foreshadowing, something I aspire to in my own stories.

I love dropping clues about the big plot twist, giving reading buddies who pay close attention the opportunity to guess what comes next. I love when reading buddies re-read a story to pick up hints they might not have noticed during the first read. That makes me happy.

Does every reader ‘get’ what I am trying to do? No. Does every attempt I make to do this work? Again, no. And it didn’t work for all viewers of Extinction. That’s why there are so many bad reviews for this movie.

But when it works for a reader, for a viewer…stars, it is magical.

(Also, I LOVED that Lizzy Caplan was one of the stars in this movie. I loved her in Cloverfield and the subconscious coupling with that movie made Extinction even more enjoyable for me. It helped guide me in the absolute wrong direction. – grins)

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Other Chameles view him as the enemy.

She sees the warrior hero he never believed he could be.

* * *

Tolui is a Warlord in search of a planet to rule. He has been leading his fellow clones in a stealth battle, fighting for both control of the Chamele sector and the right to exist. The brave warriors he commands warrant respect, and they deserve the best.

That best isn’t the barren, dangerous terrain on Chamele 4. When Tolui crashes on that planet’s surface, he’s determined to leave it as soon as possible. The tiny human female rescuing him might be as beautiful and as wild as the land she inhabits, but her flowing words, trusting gaze, and enthralling submission won’t stop him from rejoining the war.

After many solar cycles of living alone, Lea is overjoyed when a tall, scarred, muscular warrior falls from the sky. Her savage stranger is strong and severe, and he makes her feel safe, an emotion she hasn’t experienced in a long, long time.

He also insists they must part. Before they do, she’ll show him the splendor of her home, and she’ll enjoy his big form, collecting passionate moments she can revisit when she’s solitary once more.

Every additional moment Lea and Tolui spend together increases the chance they’ll both die. Lea is being chased by female-hating fiends. Tolui is being hunted by the best bounty hunters in the universe. War will soon arrive on their threshold, and the blood spilled might be their own.

* * *

Warlord’s Mercy is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.

It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a villain turned hero and a brave, chatty heroine set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.

Warlord’s Mercy is the fifth of six core stories in the Chamele Barbarian Warlord series.

Book 1: Warlord Sky

Book 2: Warlord’s Bounty

Book 3: Warlord Unarmed

Book 4: Warlord Reunited

Book 5: Warlord’s Mercy

Book 6: Warlord’s Return

Buy Now:

Amazon US:
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Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon AUS:
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Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlords-mercy/id1511995733