Colin McGill: Showdown at Thunder Hollow

By Odell Scott

Seventeen-year-old Colin McGill's is a week away from graduating High School, his dream of attending college is shattered when his uncle gambles away his tuition money - a blow that leaves him disillusioned and angry.
Colin's frustration reaches a boiling point the next day at school. While walking to class he sees Angus Lithgow and his crew pulling a younger kid into a vacant classroom, he would be next. Angus humiliated him all year by forcing him to complete his homework and mocking his oddly formed left hand in front of other students.
Colin confronted Angus and a fight ensues leading to Angus being hospitalized and Colin being expelled and arrested. Colin is faced with the daunting process of court and prison.
Detectives pressure Colin to plead guilty. Barron Graycroft representing Thunder Hollow enters with a proposition for Colin. He offers Colin an alternative to jail: one year of house arrest at Thunder Hollow, a secluded estate on the Island of Iona Scotland. Colin is puzzled; he has no known connection to Iona and has never seen the lawyer. But prison is unthinkable, Colin agrees to the deal and decided that as soon as is possible he will change his identity and start a new life in London.
Colin arrived at the estate on Iona and is greeted by Jinling the caretaker and Gim a boy his age. Gim shows him around the estate where Colin marvels at Galvani's handy work genetically producing beautiful flowers and perfect veggies.
Gim asks Colin questions about his life in Glasgow. Gim tells Colin what it's like to live here and mentions that when Galvani, the owner dies, all this will all be his. Colin does not care but asks about Gim's left foot and is surprised to find it looks like Colin's left hand.
After dinner, the inventor Galvani talks to Colin. Gim is angry about not being included. Galvani reveals that Colin was born at Thunder Hollow, his mother died a few days later and his uncle appeared and adopted Colin to collect his monthly stipend. And lastly that his hand has been genetically modified and is the key to unlock the secrets of an alien intelligence called OLAP who has been held in confinement for hundreds of years.
Colin will meet the alien the next day. Gim is working on his website featuring ancient history of Iona. Colin is a tech expert and helps Gim.
Early the next morning Galvani stumbles up to Colins door and dies before he can pass any information about how to connect and manage the alien. He tells Colin OLAP killed him because he will not release it from Earth and dies saying Robert Burns is the key. Gim and Jinling are both suspicious that Colin might have had something to do with Galvani's death.
Galvani leaves Colin everything including his bedroom. Gim and Jinling are angry at Colin.
Colin remembers Galvani's reference to Robert Burns and tries to pull the book from the shelf. It opens and reveals a staircase leading to an underground room with the alien in the center.
Colin quickly realized the alien intelligence can design and produce anything he can dream up. Colin keeps the discoveries to himself. Olap immediately see's that Colin can be manipulated and devises a plan to free itself from Earth.
Colin gets texts from his uncle, who wants money and Angus who while in the hospital because of Colin found a tumor in his brain. Angus wants to thank Colin and apologize for his treatment of him. Colin assumes the outreach is a trick.
Colin helps Gim with his website hoping to build trust. He asks Olap if it has any visuals showing Iona hundreds of years ago. OLAP tells Colin that it does, and Colin chooses a handful. Olap asks if Colin wants to see an actual girl from that period. Her name is Elfwina, and she is in suspended animation, but her organs are beginning to fail. If Colin does not want her to die he needs to revive her now.
Colin views her and is attracted but decided it is too dangerous to reanim

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FQ1BMXF6
• ISBN13: 9798317810702
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Bookbaby
• Length: 348 Pages
• Age Range: 13 years and up