Vijaya Schartz Award-winning Sci-Fi and Romance with a kick Prologue  |  Blurb  |  Full Reviews  |  Review Excerpts

Archangel Checkmate

In the cold shadows of space, a Nefarious Lord awakens,
seeking revenge...

"Wickedly insightful" *****
Curled up with a good book

"...fantasy that will endure. Funny and sad and very intelligent."
The Book Reader

BLUE PLANET BOOKS
ISBN 1-930501-04-8 
Trade paperback- 320 pages-US $19.95

To quench his vengeful lust for the Archangel who scattered his remains at the edge of the universe, the Reptilian ruler orders the sacrificial death of Michael's teenage daughter.  Half human and a full-fledged Archangel on his father's home world, Michael must return to Earth to save his daughter from fiendish claws, and his native planet from enslavement or worse...  But the way home is fraught with dangers, some more insidious than others.  Nothing prepared Michael for the kind of trial he must face, when his rambunctious past catches up with him at the worst possible time...
 
 

The scream awakens the senses in the fierce Lord of the Reptilian's memories. Many have suffered his wrath. He is embodied cruelty waiting for the unsuspecting. Then the ripple arrives. The being follows the path to his victim. Jennifer, the daughter of the Archangel, feels Lufriec enter her mind. Terror fills the teenager. Terrified but afraid to show weakness, she makes contact with her father, Michael. Knowing her father on his way, Jennifer tries to relax, only to learn of another gruesome crime against teenage girls. Even with her extraordinary powers, unease fills Jennifer as she realizes every girl killed fits within her sleek profile. Someone, somewhere, wants her dead, but why?

Meanwhile, light years away but mind-linked to his daughter, Michael is filled with unease. It was his destiny to live within the immortal world of his father. Yet he still wishes to see his daughter grow through her teenage years. Now, when she needs him most, he would return to combat the evil threatening his little girl.

Michael's path is rife with nuances of alternate universes and evil reptiles. Unprepared to face his past, Michael lands within the alternate reality that would have been his life if he hadn't destroyed the Reptilian Lord years ago. Only after the battle will Michael be able to understand that he will never be totally free until he can free his human counterparts from the evil silently invading their world.This deadly mission can only be accomplished with help from those who wish to form a rebellion, they who sincerely claim to be one with "The Secret Order of Saint Michael." With their help, Michael regains his powers to claw his way back into the real world and save their world from utter destruction.

Only the real world holds more surprises. Michael finds his daughter violated yet comforted by a friend who truly cares, Tori hurt but bravely facing the evil interrupting their lives, and his life-mate missing.

Sorcery abounds in this true-to-life tale. Schartz digs deep in grabbing the hearts of each character bringing them to life. Archangel Checkmate shows the brutality of human nature through the eyes of a Reptilian overlord and Michael's equally tormented daughter. To complete the picture, Schartz allows healing to overcome and conquer the Reptilians who wish to do this family harm.

Wickedly insightful. Grab this today along with the prequel, Archangel Crusader.

 

Schartz writes unusual fantasy novels with full-paced action and characters that leap off the page. The prologue hits the ground running - a treacherous entity at the edge of the universe slowly gains consciousness, regrouping memories, preparing for revenge against Archangel Michael. The entity is Lufriec, the unhallowed name of Lord of the Reptilians, who is about to return to reclaim his evil empire. But Lufriec wants revenge against Michael, who destroyed him into the fringes of the universe - and he wants revenge against Jennifer, the daughter of his archenemy - "He would make her pay for her father's reckless deed."

To counter this plot, Michael must return to Earth and save Jennifer, but he runs into difficulties, and must come to a final decision about killing the woman he loves above all. "The great reptile hisses, then slithered up the altar stone and proceeded to curve languorously along Jennifer's body, leaving no part of the skin untouched, except for the back, pinned to the altar."

This sword-and-shield adventure contains aliens and angels and dreams truer than life and depraved shapeshifters and evil sorcerers and parallel universes. There is an exciting battle scene between Michael and Lufriec (who inhabits a woman).  Archangel Checkmate transcends its many wonderful moments to become that most special of all things, a fantasy that will endure. Funny and sad and very intelligent.

 

Really, this one is among the most pleasurable
Writer's Digest - 2002:

"ARCHANGEL CHECKMATE is a wild and wooly fantasy that whirls together metaphysics, old-fashioned science fiction tropes, far-fringe UFO alien beliefs, Edenic mythology, and a winking sense of humor.  The author clearly had a good time crafting this cosmic free-for-all that works as a loving spoof and a crackerjack fun read.  It's a shame that the earlier novel introducing biblical Archangel Michael wasn't available for this review, but Archangel Checkmate stands up well on its own andd a solid work in its own right.

Ms Schartz's prose is refreshingly Space Opera of the "old school" and that serves her story well. Rather like a hefty comic book, Archangel Checkmate is free of padding and rollicks right along at a good clip. Michael's relationship with his daughter, Jennifer, is nicely realized and touching. Sandalfon, Zebulon (the Blue Angel sidekicks) and the Nefarious Reptilian Lord are real kicks. It's a fun concoction and a fast, zippy read that benefits from its author not taking her material too seriously.  And that's what's most impressive here - that such a thick, diverse stew can go down so tasty.  Really, this one is among the most pleasurable."

 

You will be hooked!  A good read from start to finish
Bookviews, June 2001

You will be hooked!  You enter a world of fantasy with Archangel Checkmate by Vijaya Schartz. This is her third release and a companion to Archangel Crusader. A reptilian ruler orders the sacrificial death of the Archangel's teenage daughter. He must return to save her and save the planet from enslavement. This is a good read from start to finish.

 

A charm that keeps you reading
Rapport Magazine

This novel has a degree of charm that keeps you reading.

Archangel Michael once lived on Earth as a mere mortal, although his father is the Blue Angel Amrah from the golden planet Varga. While living on Earth, Michael thought he had brought about the demise of his arch-rival, the evil serpent Lufriec. Michael also sired a daughter, Jennifer, who lives in Paris and tries to pass as human, since no one on Earth believes in aliens.

Michael thought his warrior days were over, but when Jennifer's Japanese ninja boyfriend inadvertently brings her to a Lufriec hideaway, she is raped and impregnated with a serpentine Princess.

Being an honorable archangel, Michael, of course, has to both rescue his daughter and slaughter his enemy, and he does so in grand style. The reptilian empire is strong, crafty and evil, and the battle is on.

A fun piece of pure escapism, this novel will provide you with hours of sheer entertainment.

In Vijaya Schartz's Archangel Checkmate, biblical figures such as Archangel Michael, Lilith and the serpent from Eden descend on the earth from their outer space strongholds in another battle in the war between good and evil. Michael must save his earthbound human daughter and all humankind from the "Nefarious Reptilian Lord" who seeks vengeance on the Archangel.

 

 

REVIEW   EXCERPTS

CURLED UP WITH A GOOD BOOK *****
"Wickedly insightful. Grab this today along with the prequel, Archangel Crusader." 

RAPPORT MAGAZINE - The Modern Guide to Books, Music & More (Dec. 2001):
"...charm that keeps you reading... A fun piece of escapism... hours of sheer entertainment."

Alan Caruba - BookViews:
"You will be hooked... a good read from start to finish."

The Book Reader
"full-paced action and characters that leap off the page...  Archangel Checkmate transcends its many wonderful moments to become that most special of all things, a fantasy that will endure.  Funny and sad and very intelligent."

Writer's Digest
"Rollicks right along at a good clip... a fun concoction and a fast, zippy read that benefits from its author not taking her material too seriously.  And that's what's most impressive here - that such a thick, diverse stew can go down so tasty.  Really, this one is among the most pleasurable."

Publishers Weekly
(May 28, 2001 issue - PWforecast - Fantasy/horror/Science Fiction - P.56)
...biblical figures such as Archangel Michael, Lilith and the serpent from Eden descend on the earth from their outer space strongholds in another battle in the war between good and evil. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

 
 

Archangel  Checkmate

Prologue

      If only it could remember its name... Haunting the cold shadows at the fringe of the universe, the entity lurked in the great void. Unlucky the casual traveler, for no one escaped its bloodthirsty claw.  Far it had seen and much it had known, but it couldn’t quite remember what. It wandered aimlessly, forgotten in limbo, its cruelty wasted on minor prey.
     The dark soul lusted for a body...a handsome snake-face with fangs and scales, and maybe a forked tongue to speak. Above all, it craved power, conquests, its empire of old... Its name had been its might, a sound that made every soul cringe, a corrupting force that had crushed entire worlds...  but what was its unholy name?
     A ripple across space caught the predator's attention, a thought on a journey, a slight disturbance. The evil one pounced on the current of energy to feed. A scream, then a familiar memory.
     The screamer’s name was Jennifer! The dark entity savored the bit of remembrance. A frightened teenage face filled the black void.  How the evil one loathed the innocent girl with large green eyes and long chestnut hair. Wherever she hid in the cosmos, she would suffer the entity’s wrath.
     “LUFRIEC!” The name exploded on Jennifer’s lips, and the terror in her clear eyes filled the dark one with pride. Lufriec!  That was his unhallowed name, the power of which triggered all memories.  The dark one remembered everything now...  He was Nefarious Lord of the Reptilians, free to return home and reclaim his empire. Lufriec would soon have his revenge. He knew where to find Jennifer, the daughter of his archenemy, and he would make her pay for her father’s reckless deed...