DAVID CALLINAN

High end YA fantasy with not a vampire in sight

We seem to have several definitions of YA or young adult fiction. To some, it is romantic, edgy sexy, coming of age, spots, pimples and first love sprinkled with jealousy, erotic daydreams, and heartache.To others, it's the same except with vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters or other ethereal beings who all manage to look a bit like Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie.
Surprisingly, for someone who is probably older than most Wattpad members, this stuff is not that new. I can remember reading lovelorn romances set in out-of-season beach resorts and tales of impossible love affairs with magical creatures back in days before computers, cell phones or social networking.
Can you imagine what your life would be like without a computer of any kind? You wouldn't be reading this, that's for sure.
But it was also a time when I read science fiction (of the old school) voraciously. And  I suppose this influenced me along with magical realism, spirituality and metaphysics when I conceived the high end magical/scientific fantasy trilogy The Creation Game. This trilogy probably ranks alongside works such as Lord Of The Rings and the Mortal Engines series in terms of scope and breadth of vision.
It is set in a contemporary world where science and magic are about to go fifteen rounds together. If features a 15-year-old boy from the UK with a superhuman memory, a Chinese-American girl with the gift of prophecy and a pet orangutan transformed by science and magic into a genius with the power of speech - the real missing link.The first book, The Vanishing , is a rollicking adventure that sees all animal life vanish from the planet to be replaced by nanosaurs (think dinosaurs transformed using nanotechnology) - all kinds of weird, wonderful and terrifying creatures.
It's also about Morgan's mission (this is where the vision comes in). He has to memorise The Cosmic Algorithm (this is the source code of all creation - the true 'God' particle) and transport it to the edge of time, to the Continuum, and reprogram creation. 
Along the way, there are battles, adventure, impossible situations, love and fellowship.It's where magic meets science. It's where angels meet artificial intelligence. It's about bringing the animals back to a new Earth with a new, sustainable future and mankind living the way it was supposed to live.In harmony with both science and spirituality.