Goodreaders discussion

I've just completed my second draft of a compelling YA fantasy novel, and I'm itching to get some feedback outside of my immediate group. What follows is my current agent query, which covers both the manuscript and me.

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Locked away long ago by the gods of Order, Chaos calls for its disciples to free it. Two childhood rivals answer: the storyteller and the sadist.

Galen, a starry-eyed fisherman’s son, just wants to figure out his own story, so long as it avoids fishing. But like his mother before him, his path doesn’t lead to riches or adventure; it brings him to the forbidden vault of Chaos where Order has set a lethal trap. He escapes and rescues his mother from years of magical imprisonment, but doing so reveals his imagination is more powerful and dangerous than he realized. And it can talk to him.

Horace, a whip-smart, orphaned bully, subverts Order’s rules to take control of one of its temples. Convinced Chaos can resurrect his mother, he hatches a plan to open the vault—heedless of the consequences. Horace razes other temples to collect what he needs, leaving death and destruction in his wake.

Order is powerless against Horace, so it falls to Galen to thwart him. But are either the Child of Chaos? Only the true Child can choose if Chaos will bring about destruction or unleash unlimited possibilities.

THE CHILD OF CHAOS is a 115K-word young adult fantasy novel. It builds on my two and a half decades as a writer, designer, director, and executive producer of award-winning, narrative-driven computer games.

I've had the honor to create new fantasy and science-fiction storylines that take established literary worlds into interactive games. I've collaborated with celebrated authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (The Death Gate Cycle), Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time), Frederik Pohl (Heechee saga), Terry Brooks (Shannara), and Piers Anthony (Xanth) to bring their creations to life. In addition, I've crafted licensor-approved fiction for the Star Trek franchise as well as Stan Sakai's epic graphic novel series, Usagi Yojimbo. Now I am expanding my narrative writing into my own original fantasy world.

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If you're interested in reading and commenting, please respond here or contact me at gdahlgren1@comcast.net.

Thank you for your help!