Bellosio: An Age of Miracles received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author John Shekleton.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Bellosio: An Age of Miracles
October 14, 2024
What’s the book’s first line?
Following the creation of life on terrestrial planet Bellosio, the juvenile Cognoscens Wayfarer turned its attention to establishing a resilient civilization
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
A fight for power and scientific enlightenment plagues a planet’s inhabitants in the intricate fantasy novel Bellosio. Foreword Reviews (Four Stars)
John F. Shekleton’s BELLOSIO: An Age of Miracles is a deeply imagined work of sci-fantasy that boasts effortless pacing, lush details, and very little hand-holding. -Jeff Somers for IndieReader (5/19/2025)
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Bellosio is a product of the Covid epidemic. During that isolating time, I had taken up reading epic fantasies. Among my favorite authors was Guy Gavriel Kay who wrote fantasies that were like historical novels based in the Mediterranean but with the names of countries and land masses changed and the gods re-imagined and assigned to celestial objects. I also watched several lengthy Chinese TV series that portrayed the fascinating histories of the early Han dynasties.
Along with my background in philosophy and theology, I wrote a story that delves into philosophical and religious issues while telling a riveting tale.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Bellosio tells a intriguing story of different societies with different beliefs struggling to live together. A reader can stop and ponder a philosophical idea and quickly plunge back into a well-paced, well-written plot.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
For me, the main character is Undiro, the abbot. Readers don’t meet him until much of the struggle for power has begun. Throughout the action, he defends what he believes to be the bedrock of society which includes venerating his deity, the Cog. His inner struggle is to accept the fact that the Cog itself has unleashed a terrible change. This central struggle remains with him to the finish: What is the Cog’s goal? His response is continued belief despite the damage done.
Undiro might be comparable to Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books or Job in the Bible.
Danaba, the princess who wants to be empress, would be akin to Elizabeth I of England.
Bordor, the head of the secularists, is like Lenin or Mao.