New Sci-Fi Thriller Inspired by Pasadena’s Colorado Street Bridge

Author James Brandon adds a new title to the growing genre of Pasadena-inspired science fiction with the publication of his first novel Season of Mists, a fictional account of revolution, conspiracy, and the shifting elements of truth that connect all realities.

Pasadena has cultivated and attracted science fiction writers since the early development of the genre. Authors such as Pasadena native and MacArthur Fellowship winner Octavia E. Butler and Art Center College of Design “visionary in residence” Bruce Sterling pushed the boundaries in this field of limitless possibilities and set the bar for authors, like Brandon, who are following in their footsteps.

Brandon’s commute affords him a daily snapshot of Pasadena’s Colorado Street Bridge, analogous to one of the central themes of Season of Mists: “I live in a beautiful but disparate city with so many who exist consumed by their individual circumstances and situations, but linked as if connected by that iconic bridge,” he explains. “I wrote a novel of people connected by causality and yet living in different worlds. Those worlds may be closer to our own reality than what is apparent at our first encounter.”

Situated at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, Pasadena’s international reputation for the annual New Year’s Tournament of Roses® Parade and Rose Bowl Game may not always highlight the amazing diversity across all spectrums that is part of everyday life in the city. Neighborhoods continue to be defined by the composition of their residents, who can be insular and reluctant to leave their comfort zone. These hyper-local communities can exist with little interaction with adjacent neighborhoods that may even share fences with each other.

Season of Mists’s fictional account may reach across time and space and explore concepts that initially seem inconceivable, but the comparisons to the world we currently exist in are apparent. This tie to our present reality, in conjunction with the protagonists’ personalities and the dangers they face, will keep readers engaged until the last page.

Season of Mists was published October 22, 2014 and is available in paperback and as an electronic download for Amazon Kindle, or in EPUB and MOBI formats, Sony LRF, among others.

The Novel: Synopsis

Viscount is an agent of the Kronos: professional detective, traveler, and occasional reluctant hit man. Dispatched to investigate a critical ‘ripple’ in the fabric of his HomeTime’s existence, he is dragged into a murderous conspiracy embedded in our modern-day society.

Pulled into this conflict is Pillar, renegade former statesman and bodyguard elect to the Banns of Leadership. Outcast for his loyalty to a crumbling regime, he believes this mystery holds the key to restoring peace and order.

Finally there is Claire Kinlan. How is she the key piece of this puzzle? Why are assassins trying to kill her, a minimum wage security guard? How does she fit in with a mysterious hole in time? What does she possess that makes some willing to risk everything?

Our reality is the battleground where the future will be decided.

About James Brandon

James Brandon is an English gentleman who was first warmed by the California sunshine twenty years ago and recently decided to make Pasadena his permanent home. Besides his literary pursuits, Brandon is a musician, businessman, and former President of a non-profit orchestra. This Southern California transplant enjoys the good life immersed in the rich local culture with his beautiful wife, two amazing children, and a fish named Charlie.

For more information, email seasonofmistsnovel@gmail.com, (626) 269-8432 or visit seasonofmistsnovel.wordpress.com .