Author Archives: James - Page 6
The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown [Book Review]
The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown My rating: 5 of 5 stars An awesome mix of documentary history and archaeology, to bring a character to life. Even though we can't be sure hat Gudrid was a real woman that actually existed the combination of the sagas and the archaeology give a great understanding of life in the viking period, and particularly from a female perspective. This is not a tale of warriors and raiders, but one of persuasion and influence and a hard life on the very frontiers of where humans could exist. Gudrid was born in Iceland, and went to America with Erik the Red. Later in life she went to Rome. Far Traveler I read this last year, the Far Traveler was the first book that I read in 2020 but for…
The Mother’s Dream [Write Club] [Fantasy]
The Mother's Dream is my story for the January 2021 meeting of Write Club Surrey, which had dreams as its theme. I chose to write a creation myth for Skyss, the world that I've my fantasy novel is set in. One inspiration for The Mother's Dream is my love as a child of a book of Australian aborigine myths called Dreamtime Heritage. The stories are how the world was formed and shaped in the dreams of the early people. The idea has stuck with me, even if I can no longer find the book on my shelves. Troll head and fist in the woods atop Mount Floyen, Bergen, Norway. An inspiration for The Mother's Dream. (Photo: James Kemp) Another source of inspiration for The Mother's Dream was me thinking about how to describe the trolls in Fierce. I read quite…
Sonny’s Gift [Write Club]
Sonny's Gift was written for the September meeting of Write Club Surrey. The theme was mysteries, and I drew on some African folklore and religion, and also riffed off Neil Gaiman's American Gods. There was also a little bit of inspiration from the Black Lives Matter protests too. Shipping container being unloaded (Image by Hessel Visser from Pixabay) The mystery in the story revolves around a shipping container, which has been delivered to the front door of the local police station. There's a couple of competing points of view in Sonny's Gift, and perhaps the real mystery of Sonny's Gift is not who sent it, but how they knew what was needed months before Sonny even had his epiphany! The title character of Sonny's Gift is a black ex-cop. He rescued a woman from drowning when on patrol, and as…
On Resolutions, 2020 and 2021
For a number of years I've posted new year's resolutions on the Themself, along with reflections on how I've got on with them. I didn't do that last year, even though I was sure that I had. Making Resolutions There's been a theme to previous resolutions, they've covered reading, writing and being healthier. The theme is about being a better person, although there's a level of subjectivity about what constitutes 'better'. On the whole being happier with who I am is probably the thing I should have 'm not going to make retrospective resolutions for 2020, the whole point of making new year resolutions is setting yourself some aspirations for the future. As I write 2020 is a few days from being history. Thankfully. Reflections on 2020 Global pandemic and massive recession aside, things haven't been all bad about 2020.…
Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow [Book Review]
Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow My rating: 4 of 5 stars Attack Surface is the third in a loose trilogy that started with Little Brother. I've only read the first, Homeland passed me by. Attack Surface was readable and it stood well on its own as a story. Like the others, Attack Surface is a cautionary tale on how technology is being misused. Attack Surface The protagonist is Masha, a tech savvy woman from the bay area. She sold out and joined the DHS in Little Brother. Since then she's worked for private contractors providing surveillance know-how for governments. When we first meet her she's working both ends in Slovstakia, a semi-fictional former Soviet satellite state with a repressive regime. Her employer is giving the government technology to spy on its protesting citizens. Masha has adopted some of the protestors…