Exiled On Unium: An Introduction

 Exiled On Unium: 

  An Introduction

By

James Michael Moody

Just got off the phone with the folks at Lifrich Publishing. I paid shipping & handling for six copies of my newly published Sci-Fi adventure, Exiled On Unium, which was included in my publishing package. I then proceeded to order 100 additional copies for book signings.

James Michael Moody

Everything is going great to date. The manuscript has been submitted and has been formatted. During the conversation, we discovered my 50-word corrections had not been applied. The corrections are now being resubmitted and reprocessed. That is the good news. The bad news is that it has stalled book shipments to customers for a couple more weeks until those corrections have been applied. However, you can still pre-order Exiled On Unium today on the publisher's website and never be aware of the slight delay.

Exiled On Unium

The e-Book version is not listed on the publisher's website as of this writing. Sometimes it can take up to two weeks for it to be posted. That is not the norm and let us hope it appears sooner.

 

Exiled On Unium

The cover design we sparred over. Liferich book cover designers offered their cover version, but I felt it was more like a stand-alone book cover, instead of a series look similar to the cover I wanted. The following is a picture of the cover of the 1st book of the Unium series.

Pioneers On Unium

The following is the first proposed cover for Exiled On Unium as presented by Liferich book cover makers. As you can see it has no visual connection to the first cover, so I was concerned that the reader would not visually connect the two together as series components.

Exiled On Unium Cover Proposal One

The following representation is more what I was searching for. This version resembles Pioneers On Unium and is easily visually connected to the first book. That is exactly what you want in a series in my opinion. Was I right, or was I wrong?

                    

Exiled On Unium

Book two of the Unium series, Exiled On Unium, takes up where book one, Pioneers On Unium, leaves off. Greg Vancover, the series' lead character, has been found guilty of the forceable rape of Sally Swift, the fort’s nurse. After a failed hanging attempt, the young hunter’s death sentence was reduced to life banishment from Fort America, the name given to their new settlement. If the excommunicated criminal was caught within a day's march of the young town, he was to be killed upon where he was found.

Greg Vancover

Thanks to past service, the town council voted to provide the outcast with a light bark canoe, food provisions, and weapons. Saying farewell to his closest friends, the exiled earthman paddled downstream through the grassy savanna into the shadowy forest miles away. continuing his way down the ever-broadening river, the cautious canoeist made his way to a locality no human had gone to before.       

                                                                   

Chapter One: Trip Down River

When the watery highway broadened into a small lake, the vagabond located a lake bank spot to construct a new home. After weeks of construction and surviving the denizens of the forest, the isolated society reject was attacked by a severe case of loneliness. The friendless desolate was homesick for his own kind. 

Chapter One: Trip Down River

In a bold, but very unwise move, the lonely journeyman made his way upriver back to Fort America. Taking advantage of the dark, the desperate youth crept over the wooden palisade walls and made his way to his former cabin. There he rendezvoused with his lover, Laura Richardson, the woman carrying his child. After a night of reuniting, the daring intruder exited the primitive community just before daylight. 

Greg Vancover

Their inner spirit revitalized, and the canoeist made his way back to his lake bank tree home. There he resumed construction activities. A few days later the boredom and lonesomeness overcome him once again. To help ward off this nagging gloomy depression, the excommunicated earthman decided to go exploring. While examining a swampy patch the trailblazer happened upon a big foot-like being. The hominid was the same species that had kidnapped Sally Swift, but much younger. The struggling man-creature was marred up in quicksand with a ferocious cat threatening. The astonished boater tried to save the teen Sasquatch, but both the hairy anthropoid and cat sank to their death in the soupy sludge.

 Gon-pa

On the way out of the swamp, a quick traveling storm forced the boater to shore. During the unexpected drenching, a strong wind gust broke off an upper limb, and it tumbled to the turf below. The falling limb miraculously fell on a second spying beast man, pinning it to the ground. Upon discovery, Greg freed the hairy forest man and learned it was searching for the teen devoured by the quicksand. 

Mon-ta

Because of the high and dangerous waters, the boater decided to camp where he was and continue the journey home tomorrow. The bigfoot upon learning of his partner’s death, was no longer traveling in urgency. Needing a break from days of strenuous hiking, the ape-like forest man decided to sleep over also. Safety lay in numbers, and it was good for both travelers. 

Exiled On Unium

The earthman later learned the two beast men were on a mission to scale, what they called “The Great Cliffs,” in search of a race comparable to their own. Since the glass slick cliff walls were unclimbable, the voyagers intended to ascend by a gargantuan tree named Ri-ga. The woody giant grew up the cliff walls and extended miles above. The intrigued boater asked the prehistoric troglodyte if he knew of any beings that resembled him. 

Exiled On Unium

"None that lived below Ri-ga," but ancient tales hinted of the possibility above The Great Cliffs. After a sleepless night of apprehensive thinking, the distraught human decided to join the anthropoid in the ascension of the humongous woody plant. This was not an easy decision to make, for there was a possibility the desperate youth may never get the opportunity to return. He was putting everything on the line, for this one long-shot attempt to discover humankind. 

Exiled On Unium

Greg and Mon-ta, the beast man’s name, exited their lake location the following morning. The unlikely pair traveled inland for days before coming upon The Great Cliffs, and Ri-ga the gargantuan tree which towered even higher. Facing much hardship and ferocious wildlife, the two scrambled up the wet base of Ri-ga. Once, they were trailed by a group of hunting snake men, called Sinlu. The slithering constrictors did not give up the pursuit and followed the fleers into the drier mid-section. 

Sinlu

While dodging the deadly reptiles, the excursionist came across a long-tailed monkey man. The treed anthropoid was frantically fending off a ruthless panther-like cat with a wooden cudgel. The passersby came to the hairy primate’s liberation. In appreciation, the simian took the wayfarers to his village for rest and lodging. The outsiders spent several days at the primitive settlement hunting and socializing.

X-tung

During that visit, X-tung the monkey man convinced the visiting star child to teach his village defenders how to fabricate spears, bows, and arrows to combat the ever-pressuring snake men. The human was glad to help his new friends. He spent days tutoring them in the use of the alien-designed weapons.

X-tung's Village

The village guest got to witness one of the ancient customs of these unsophisticated tree folk. A tournament of love. The two helplessly watched as their primordial companion, X-tung, fought for and won his soul mate in a tournament designed around combative skills. 

Le-on

After the ceremony was completed, it was time for the two wayfarers to once again continue the climb up Ri-ga. Leaving the safety of X-tung's community, the pair followed home returning contestants of the tournament upwards to their respective villages. Pick up your copy of Exiled On Unium today, available in Soft Cover large print, and eBook. Find out if Greg and Mon-ta made it successfully to the top of The Great Cliffs, or does life take them in an unexpected direction neither expected.

Climbing Ri-ga

Exiled On Unium: A Review By Gordon Chaffins

This is what Gordon Chaffins had to say about Exiled On Unium.

October 6, 2025

Dear James,

I recently came across Exiled On Unium, and I was struck by how you continue the Unium saga with such  depth and daring. It's rare to see science fiction blend fronter-style world-building with such a personal moral thred, Greg Vancover's exile feels both raw and reflective, almost  mythic. Your writing carries that old-school  classic sci-fi spirit, the kind where isolation becomes both punishment and path to discovery. Yet there's a modern edge to it, an emotional honesty that keeps the story from drifting  into pure adventure, That combination makes the Unium world feel lived-in and emotionally charged.

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Exiled On Unium 

Exiled On Unium: Book Two

Exiled On Unium is the second book in James Michael Moody's Unium series, continuing the story of Greg Vancover after he is banished from Fort America. The novel follows Greg as he is exiled into the wilderness, where he must survive on his own while facing the dangers of the new world and the possibility of encountering a massive, prehistoric-like creature. The book is available in various formats, including eBooks, large print softcover, and hardcover.

Exiled On Unium 

Plot summary

Banishment: After a failed hanging, Greg's death sentence is commuted to banishment from the settlement.

Exiled: He is given a canoe and provisions and sent downriver into the unknown wilderness.

Survival: Alone, Greg must find a way to feed himself and protect himself from the savage denizens of the forest. 

Encounter: He has a terrifying encounter with a gigantic, reptile-like creature named La-mar.

Uncertain fate: The story leaves the reader to wonder if Greg will survive and if he will ever see his friends again. 

Themes: 

Survival: The book explores the challenges of surviving in a hostile environment. 

Isolation: it delves into the psychological effects of being completely alone. 

Discovery: Greg's exile becomes a journey of discovery,  both of the world and of himself.

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Exiled On Unium