TimeStorm
GENRE
ADVENTURE ROMANCE SCI-FI TIME TRAVEL
Core Theme
STAYING IN TOUCH WITH ONE'S SENSE OF DUTY IN A FOREIGN ENVIRONMENT.
TIME PERIOD
17th Century or Earlier,Contemporary
COMPARABLE TITLES
MANIFEST, MASTER AND COMMANDER, THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT, BLACK SAILS
CHARACTER LIST
• CHRISTOPHER BLANEY: 28. LEAD. NAVY LIEUTENANT. CONFIDENT, HONOURABLE
AND CAPABLE.
• KAREN JAMISON: 25. LOGICAL. ROMANTIC INTEREST. SKILLFUL,ADVENTUROUS.
• RUFUS REDMOND: 34. ANTAGONIST. VILLAINOUS, AGGRESSIVE, CRIMINAL.
Logline
In 1795 a convict ship leaves England for New South Wales in Australia. Nearing its destination, it encounters a savage storm but, miraculously, their battered ship stays afloat and limps into Sydney Harbour. Here, the convicts rebel, overpower the crew and make their escape, destroying the ship in the process. Fleeing the sinking vessel with only the clothes on their backs, the survivors struggle ashore. Among the escaped convicts, seething resentments fuel an appetite for brutal revenge against their former captors while, for their part, the crew attempts to track down and kill or recapture the escapees. However, it soon becomes apparent that both convicts and crew have more to concern them than shipwreck and a ruthless fight for survival; they have arrived in Sydney in 2017. TimeStorm is a thrilling epic adventure story of revenge, survival and honour set in a strange new world of unfamiliar technology and equally unfathomable social norms. In the literary footsteps of Hornblower, comes Lieutenant Christopher 'Kit' Blaney, an old-fashioned hero, a man of honour, duty and principle, dragged into the 21st century… literally. A great fan of the grand seafaring adventure fiction of CS Forester, Patrick O’Brien and Alexander Kent, and modern action thriller writers such as Lee Child, Steve Harrison combines several genres in his debut novel. The book was inspired by a replica 18th century sailing ship on Sydney Harbour and a question from Steve’s brother, Tony: “What if that was a real convict ship?” TimeStorm explores that question in a fast-paced story as a group of desperate men from the 1700s clash in modern-day Sydney. TimeStorm was Highly Commended in the 2013 Jim Hamilton Award fantasy/science fiction category of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) National Literary Awards
Target Audiences
Age: 18-34,35-54,55+
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
Sydney, Australia
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: with a Publisher
Publisher: Elsewhen Press
Year Published: 2014
Starting Description
In 1795 a convict ship leaves England for New South Wales in Australia. Nearing its destination, it encounters a savage storm but, miraculously, their battered ship stays afloat and limps into Sydney Harbour. But they have arrived in Sydney in 2017.
Ending Description
With the convicts dead, the surviving crew of the ship manage to sail out of Sydney harbour hoping to find the timestorm and return to their own time, with Karen and Blaney onboard. An epilogue reveals that Karen and Blaney returned to Sydney in the 19th century.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
Yes
ISBN
9781908168443
Mature Audience Themes
Extreme Violence, Language/Profanity
Plot - Other Elements
Twist
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain
Main Character Details
Name: Lieutenant Christopher 'Kit' Blaney
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Decisive, Honorable, Leader, Strong Moral Code, Confident, Charming, Faithful, Heroic, Adventurous,Leader
Additional Character Details
Name: Karen Jamison
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Romantic, Skillful, Adventurous, Aspiring, Complex, Perseverance
Additional Character Details
Name: Rufus Redmond
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Role: antagonist
Key Traits: Villainous, Aggressive, Criminal, Manipulative, Masculine, Unapologetic, Badass, Confident, Desperate, Greedy,Unapologetic
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Brief
In 1795, a convict ship leaves England for New South Wales in Australia. Nearing its destination, it
encounters a savage storm but, miraculously, stays afloat and limps into Sydney Harbour. However, it
soon becomes apparent that both convicts and crew have a bigger problem in their hands: they have
arrived in Sydney... in 2017.
What We Liked
TimeStorm is a thrilling, epic story of revenge, survival, and honour set in a strange new world of
unfamiliar technology and equally unfathomable social norms. There's a lot of adventure to be had on
the seas, and being transported to a different time really cranks up the action - and the “fish out of
water” factor makes for interesting humor. With honorable navy men and dishonorable criminals in
constant battle - against the backdrop of a completely foreign city, hundreds of years in the future -
there is no shortage of elements to function both as a feature film or a TV series. The rich visuals of
old seafaring vessels, the ocean, and the charismatic characters inside - who are all at very critical
points in their lives - is an excellent draw. Time travel, of course, is also a great hook - there is a strong
"need to know" element about how everyone involved will ever make it back to their own time.
Key points: Action; Murder; Crime and punishment; Time travel; Once in a lifetime adventure.
Synopsis
British Lieutenant Christopher Blaney has a boat full of sailors and convicts he is transporting to the
new colony in Australia. They barely survived one storm, and are swept up in an even worse one. The
ship is caught in a whirlpool but somehow survives. They’re now close to shore. There are lights of a
colony visible, even though their readings say they are a thousand miles from New South Wales. As
they sail into the harbour, they are dazzled, confused, and frightened by the amount of lights and tall
buildings. Something is clearly wrong - instead of a new dirt-poor colony, it's a gleaming city. The
convicts escape and revolt, and their ship explodes in the conflict, leaving every man for himself as
they try to make it to shore alive.
When they get to shore, the convicts go on a crime spree to survive, while trying to evade the navy
men from the ship who want them back into custody. Led by a big brute named Redmond, the
convicts, naturally, have no intention of being recaptured. They pillage and murder their way through
Sydney and are wanted by the cops immediately. With the help of a journalist named Karen, Blaney
wants his men to find their sister ship, the Fortune, which may have travelled with them - and
hopefully can take them back to the time where they belong. A romantic relationship between the two
ensues. Karen calls her boss, media mogul Decker, to borrow his boat and take the crew back into the
harbour. Redmond sneaks aboard and hides. They notice that a big navy ship is now pursuing them,
alerted by Decker. They also - finally - see the Fortune ahead. Karen and Blaney say their goodbyes -
both declining each other’s offer to come along. Redmond is able to grab Blaney, and they swing from
the rope - until Blaney is able to knock Redmond into a railing and jump into the sea. The navy boat
fires on the yacht and blows it apart, Redmond included. Karen holds on to an unconscious Blaney in
the water until a small boat from the Fortune hauls him aboard. Karen changes her mind and gets on
the Fortune with Blaney. It disappears throughout the fog.
In the present, a gravestone says “Karen Blaney, born December 22, 1822”, next to the grave of
Christopher Blaney. Both died in the late 1800s, together.