Author Archives: James - Page 21
Themself Giveaway – 100 ebooks via Goodreads
As an experiment I'm running a Themself giveaway using the new e-book giveaway service on Goodreads. This is only available to people with Kindles registered with so do please share it with people you know living in North America. Also my apologies for not making the Themself giveaway available in the UK. I'll run a UK giveaway in the comments section below. If you want an e-book version leave me a comment before 21 March and I'll email you the e-book in return for an honest review. 100 e-book copies of Themself are available between now and the 21st March for users using the link above (or the button below). Themself Giveaway Themself is a collection of contemporary fiction, poetry and life writing reflecting on James Kemp's life experiences as a part-time student, father, cub scout leader, school governor…
Telepaths in Hard Science Fiction?
Science fiction television (Photo credit: Wikipedia) My NaNoWriMo 2017 novel, Lit By Another Star, features a telepath as the main point of view character. It also claims to be hard science fiction. How can this be? Aren't Telepaths magic rather than science, shouldn't it be a fantasy story? That's a good question, and I'm glad that you asked. Here's my take on it. Let's remember Clarke's Third Law, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Defining Hardness in Science Fiction Hard science fiction requires that there's a sound explanation in our current understanding of the universe for the story. We don't have to have exploited that science yet, and there can be an element of handwavium provided the results are consistent with science as we currently understand it. The hardness of science fiction is a scalar thing rather than…
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone [Book Review]
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by Rowling My rating: 4 of 5 stars Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is possibly the book that I have read more than any other (the only other contenders are either The Silver Sword or The Facts Factory by Giles Brandreth - both of which fell apart in my primary school bag). It starts a fantastic world that I could happily live in, and that both I and my children love. If you haven't read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone then you haven't lived. I started reading Harry Potter when there were only two sequels out, and have re-read each of the books before the next one was published. I've also re-read them after watching the movies. So I've re-read this one at least six times. It's an awesome universe with loads…
Dark State by Charles Stross [Book Review]
Dark State by Charles Stross My rating: 4 of 5 stars Dark State is the middle book in a trilogy, and leaves us on a multi-threaded set of cliffhangers waiting for the final instalment in January 2019. Dark State The story continues from where Empire Games left off, with nary a beat missed. Paranoia is set to eleventy one and everyone is watching everybody else. We have four major threads to follow. Rita and her official mission with the US Dept of Homeland Security. Rita's girlfriend and grandfather and the Wolf Orchestra trying to save Rita from DHS. Major Hulius Hjorth who is engineering Elizabeth Hanover's defection from the old monarchy the Commonwealth. The remnants of the Clan in the Commonwealth and their plans for the imminent succession crisis when the First Citizen dies. Through all of these there are…
Vera Atkins: A Life in Secrets by Sarah Helm [Book Review]
A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII. by Sarah Helm My rating: 5 of 5 stars A Life in Secrets has been on my shelf for a few years. I've had an interest in SOE since I read Carve Her Name With Pride when I was about 11. Since writing Hunting Nazis I've collected more and more material about SOE with the background thought that I might write some more historical fiction with the same characters. Vera Atkins: A Life in Secrets Vera Atkins in 1945 as a WAAF officer (but still serving with SOE) I found A Life in Secrets a very thorough piece of investigation by Sarah Helm. It builds on what has come before, especially the work of Jean Overton Fuller and adds to it using primary research with documents, interviews and…