Book of Stone: James Van Zanger

For April, Stone Soldiers.info is celebrating the A to Z Blog Challenge with daily letter-themed entries. A separate page with a list of all these entries, plus Character Profiles and Book Synopses will appear on the right hand side of the page in coming weeks, detailing the people, places and things of the Stone Soldiers universe.

Born in 1958, James and Norman Van Zanger grew up in middle America, eventually joining the Army and serving in Vietnam. After the war, the brothers returned home, opening a garage and settling down to a simple life. All that changed in 1976 when Norman was abducted on a hunting trip.

An incredulous James watched as his brother was spirited away by otherworldly beings in a gleaming, silver craft. James didn't tell anyone about this. He didn't turn his personal tragedy into a money-making venture nor retreat into isolation. He started a war. A one-man war against the entities that took his brother.

Operating alone for decades, James Van Zanger used hit and run tactics to harass and occassionally kill the dark visitors to Earth. In 2015, his war took on a whole new direction when Van Zanger was tracked down by Detachment 1039 and offered a unique chance to re-enlist and join the military in operations against the same strange invaders that took his brother (SS11: One Dark Step).

Van Zanger was petrified, joining the Stone Soldiers and journeying first to Iceland, then the Moon where he was reunited with his long lost brother.

As a fighter, Jim Van Zanger is a skilled marksman, explosives expert and survivalist. As well as a bit of a hermit. Living alone for decades, he has existed mainly off the grid, operating in the shadows and tracking "alien" sightings around the country and selecting his targets carefully. He has a die-hard, never-give-up personality and a sour disposition.