Speaker of the Shakk

Speaker of the Shakk – Action-Adventure Science Fiction

On planet Yellowsand, Theophilus Merlan courageously saves an alien boy’s life and acquires some of the youngster’s DNA. The boy is royalty…and the present though currently dying leader of the boy’s people, the Speaker of the Shakk, must leave him in Merlan’s care. He tells Merlan that he is now part Shakk himself and must be the next Speaker of the Shakk people, a position he feels certain that an admirable man like Merlan is well-suited for. It’s hardly the future a shy geologist aspired to, but what choice does Merlan have?

Hour by hour, Merlan finds himself changing mentally and physically, from human to Shakk. Even more terrifying is the Speaker’s revelation that the Shakk’s two vile and vicious alien enemies, the Xanteans and the Merotox, are about to visit Yellowsand. These invaders seek to conquer Yellowsand and enslave the Shakk, and only Merlan can save his new people. But to do so, he has to use all his wits and courage. As if Merlan doesn’t have enough to deal with, the old Speaker’s grandson vows to kill him, because his grandfather has chosen a human to be the next Speaker in his place.

Merlan finds he must do more than just keep himself alive, hold onto his sanity, stop a war and adjust to his changing abilities and perceptions. He must also be a father to an alien boy and cope with his growing love for Ann Benson, the mission’s navigator. As he becomes increasingly alien, Merlan wonders if they have any chance at happiness. His task of saving the Shakk race seems hopeless, yet he feels he must try…even if it costs him his life.