Okay, so, this is a first for my site. I’m participating in the book tour for the new graphic novel The Birth of Gemini! Unlike everything I learned about tours from Behind the Music (do you remember when that show was a thing??) though, this experience featured no wild bacchanalia, debauchery or explosive in-band fighting. But it DID feature a short story in text and a manga adaptation that introduced me to a world I’m excited to learn more about. Would you like to know more about this too? Well, you’re in luck! Read on my friend, read on.
Welcome to the tour for graphic novel, The Birth of Gemini by C.S Johnson! Make sure to enter for a chance to win a copy of the book!
The Birth of Gemini (The Signs of the Stars #1)
Publication Date: July 2018
Genre: Manga/ Graphic Novel
Length: 42 Pages
Years and light-years away, one father must find the courage to do whatever it takes to protect his children …
As a surgeon for the Mercy Interplanetary Alliance, Micheel Reshi is no stranger to difficult choices. But when his wife, Nabelle, gives brith to their twins, Micheel is horrified to find Callox and Pasher bare the Sign of Gemini on their arms. The bright constellation marks them as carriers of the hidden code Earth’s last generation had engineered into human DNA—and marks them as targets by the Collectors, a group of people determined to wipe out all memory of Old Earth and its existence.
When Count Lux, Nabelle’s cousin and a member of the Collectors, arrives on their starship, Micheel knows he must do something to save his family—even if it means breaking them apart.
THIS IS THE SHORT STORY GRAPHIC NOVEL VERSION OF THE PREQUEL TO “THE SIGNS OF THE STARS”, A SPACE OPERA ADVENTURE SERIES FROM C. S. JOHNSON.
Add to Goodreads
MY THOUGHTS: Reading this short story was both my introduction to C.S. Johson’s work as well as the very first manga I’ve ever read. I know! People have been telling me for ages I need to explore this genre and I haven’t…until now. So, in addition to being my first time on a book tour, this marked a few other fun firsts for me too. Anyway, I’m digressing.
I’m not one for spoilers so you don’t have to worry about that here. But I do want to talk with specifics about the first few lines. Why? I thought it was a brilliant showcase of Johson’s skill as a writer. The story opens with the birth of the twins, Callox and Pasher, who will be the center of her upcoming series. To take something as beautiful and natural as childbirth and set it on a medical starship, thus grounding us in this sci-fi world the story takes place in, but then underscore it’s the birth of these children that brings awe to their father is powerful stuff. As readers, we look to the wild, imaginative, and futuristic worlds and creatures and races and robots of science fiction and fantasy to blow our minds. And yes, that’s all exciting. But Johnson reminds us even the most magical and exotic of landscapes or creatures will always pale in comparison to the power of the birth of a child. It is the children being born not the starship they are on that is the awe-inspiring centerpiece here. That’s brilliant! The intimate majesty of these opening lines had me completely hooked.
What followed was an engaging bit of world building, doing what a prequel/prologue should do. It wet my appetite for more. You get enough of these characters, their world, and the conflict within it to really make you want to know more. And the end? Again, there’s no spoilers but…what?!? Sheesh, you want to talk about an ending that leaves me ready to read “The Signs Of The Stars” to see where this goes? Well played Ms. Johnson, well played. If the rest of the series is half as engaging as this prologue piece, it will be reading time well spent.
Note, the page below is obviously not the ending because what kind of book tour would this be if we spoiled the ending right here especially after I just said I wasn’t going to spoil anything? You’ll just have to read this for yourself to find out what it’s all about…which you totally should do.
Available on Amazon
About the Author
C. S. Johnson is the award-winning, genre-hopping author of several novels, including young adult sci-fi and fantasy adventures such as the Starlight Chronicles, the Once Upon a Princess saga, and the Divine Space Pirates trilogy. With a gift for sarcasm and an apologetic heart, she currently lives in Atlanta with her family. Find out more at http://www.csjohnson.me
CS Johnson | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest
Click the link below to win yourself a copy of The Birth of Gemini!
Blog Tour Schedule
June 10th
Reads & Reels (Excerpt) http://readsandreels.com
The Cozy Pages (Excerpt) http://thecozypages.wordpress.com/
Where Dragons Reside (Review) https://kernerangelina.live/
The Magic of Wor(l)ds (Review) http://themagicofworlds.wordpress.com
The Faerie Review (Review) http://www.thefaeriereview.com
June 11th
Triquetra Reviews (Excerpt) http://www.triquetrareviews.blogspot.com
Breakeven Books (Excerpt) https://breakevenbooks.com
Didi Oviatt (Excerpt) https://didioviatt.wordpress.com
Misty’s Book Space (Excerpt) http://mistysbookspace.wordpress.com
June 12th
Touch My Spine Book Reviews (Excerpt) https://touchmyspinebookreviews.com
Gwendalyn’s Books (Excerpt) http://gwendalynbooks.wordpress.com
The Hufflepuff Nerdette (Review) https://thehufflepuffnerdette.wordpress.com
The Reading Chemist (Excerpt) https://thereadingchemist.com/
June 13th
I’m Into Books (Excerpt) https://imintobooks.com
Reviews and Promos by Nyx (Excerpt) https://nyxblogs.wordpress.com/
My Comic Relief (Review) https://mycomicrelief.wordpress.com/
Tsarina Press (Review) https://www.tsarinapress.com
On the Shelf Reviews (Excerpt) https://ontheshelfreviews.wordpress.com
June 14th
B is for Book Review (Interview) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
J Bronder Book Reviews (Review) https://jbronderbookreviews.com/
Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.wordpress.com
Sophril Reads (Review) http://sophrilreads.wordpress.com
Sawdust and Spoons (Excerpt) http://sawdustandspoons.com/
Blog Tour Organized By:
My Comic Relief 
I was expecting a brilliant review so I’m not surprised and I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks so much for taking part and sharing this on your blog today! You’re the best!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was so much fun! Thanks for the invite too. I’m looking forward to the next one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just read it back to myself and realized it could be misconstrued. I meant I was expecting a brilliantly written review lol 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
I got that but it’s still fun to read it again. I’ll always take extra compliments XD.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great review! I don’t really read manga. I’m never sure where to start, I don’t want to get invested in a 60-title series that is ongoing, and I’m afraid of encountering weird stuff (like oversized female anatomy and creepy “titillating” scenes). Part of me knows not all manga is creepy. But part of me whispers, “How do you know which ones aren’t?” Even some of the series for teens that I’ve looked at will have a bunch of five-star reviews and then one that’s all, “Ew, the way that man looks up that girl’s skirt!” and I’m there thinking, “Huh, why did no one else mention this? Is this normal for manga so that no one finds it disturbing??”
I understand you probably cannot answer all my manga fear as you don’t really read manga, either. But that is the (possibly overly dramatic) story of why manga and I have not been good friends.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally understand this! In fact, it’s part of why I’ve kept my distance from it for awhile. I grant the sexual norms/taboos I’m used to in my narratives aren’t universal BUT there’s some things that do feel disturbing. There’s one guy at my local comic shop who loves to talk to me about reading manga and, sadly, the only thing he talks about/titles he recommends fit the bill of “oversized female anatomy and creepy ‘titillating’ scenes.” It’s uncomfortable and I try to get out of those conversations quickly. Thankfully we don’t often tend to shop on the same schedule and I don’t run into him too much.
So yeah, my perception of the genre is part of what keeps me at a distance with it. Also, when it comes to comics, I’m pretty comfortable in the superhero genre. I know there are so many types of comics/graphic novels and so many types of stories they tell but when I think romance or historical fiction or horror or fantasy any genre without a superhero flare woven through, I tend to think novel first. Sure, that is certainly limiting the comics I read but it is what it is.
That was part of why I really liked this! It was an engaging story. It was a short read. And it was the beginning of something. So, as a total manga newbie, it was a really easy way to test the waters, as it were. But I appreciate the intimidation that comes with starting a series of that size. It’s all I can do to manage that in my superhero comic reading life, it’s extra intimidating to think of adding that struggle inside a new genre.
Also, I found nothing overly dramatic about the story (if anything I’d say it had just the right amount of drama!) and that’s part of why I think you’re awesome. Because I feel this too XD.
LikeLike