This novel is a right-wing satirical fantasy set in the near future. Imagine:
Our own modern England – a land of disarmed and moronised citizen-serfs, tyrannised over by a crumbling police state – has been lifted straight out of the present and dropped into the world of 1065.
In mainland Great Britain and three hundred yards all about, it’s business as usual. Or it’s business as usual if you ignore the third of the population that has starved to death or been murdered by the authorities; and if you overlook endemic shortages, and trigger-happy police, and omnipresent propaganda. Oh, but this is the new business as usual – the business as usual arguably deserved by the sheeple who have survived.
Outside this happy zone, it’s 1065. Normans. Lords in their castles. The Catholic Church. Everyone is watching. Everyone is mindful of the vast new power dropped unaccountably where the land of King Edward had been. Though with weaker firepower, everyone is more intelligent and resourceful than the enfeebled slaves dropped into this new world.
The story is told through the eyes of two main characters. There is Jennifer, a young English girl whose parents were running a smuggling racket into France before they were lifted. There is Michael, part of a Byzantine diplomatic mission sent over to spy out any help for their crumbling empire. They are brought together by apparently chance events. Together, they must stay alive while taking on an insanely villainous British Government.
It’s an odd sort of novel, no doubt. And it was written before Brexit or the Coronavirus panic or the Ukraine War. Even so, there are enough reviews underneath this blurb for you to decide for yourselves if this is the sort of novel you’ll enjoy. All I can add is this comment from some swinish agent who refused to offer the book to one of the increasingly useless publishers: “I’ll never pass through Oxford Circus again without a shudder.”
Praise for Other Novels by Sean Gabb (Writing as “Richard Blake��)
“Fascinating to read, very well written, an intriguing plot and I enjoyed it very much.” (Derek Jacobi, star of I Claudius and Gladiator)
“Vivid characters, devious plotting and buckets of gore are enhanced by his unfamiliar choice of period…. Nasty, fun and educational.” (The Daily Telegraph)
“He knows how to deliver a fast-paced story and his grasp of the period is impressively detailed.” (The Mail on Sunday)
“A rollicking and raunchy read . . . Anyone who enjoys their history with large dollops of action, sex, intrigue and, above all, fun will absolutely love this novel.” (Historical Novels)
“It would be hard to over-praise this extraordinary series, a near-perfect blend of historical detail and atmosphere with the plot of a conspiracy thriller, vivid characters, high philosophy and vulgar comedy.” (The Morning Star)
Sean Gabb is a writer and Classics teacher. He lives in Kent with his wife and daughter.
Genre: Science Fiction
Our own modern England – a land of disarmed and moronised citizen-serfs, tyrannised over by a crumbling police state – has been lifted straight out of the present and dropped into the world of 1065.
In mainland Great Britain and three hundred yards all about, it’s business as usual. Or it’s business as usual if you ignore the third of the population that has starved to death or been murdered by the authorities; and if you overlook endemic shortages, and trigger-happy police, and omnipresent propaganda. Oh, but this is the new business as usual – the business as usual arguably deserved by the sheeple who have survived.
Outside this happy zone, it’s 1065. Normans. Lords in their castles. The Catholic Church. Everyone is watching. Everyone is mindful of the vast new power dropped unaccountably where the land of King Edward had been. Though with weaker firepower, everyone is more intelligent and resourceful than the enfeebled slaves dropped into this new world.
The story is told through the eyes of two main characters. There is Jennifer, a young English girl whose parents were running a smuggling racket into France before they were lifted. There is Michael, part of a Byzantine diplomatic mission sent over to spy out any help for their crumbling empire. They are brought together by apparently chance events. Together, they must stay alive while taking on an insanely villainous British Government.
It’s an odd sort of novel, no doubt. And it was written before Brexit or the Coronavirus panic or the Ukraine War. Even so, there are enough reviews underneath this blurb for you to decide for yourselves if this is the sort of novel you’ll enjoy. All I can add is this comment from some swinish agent who refused to offer the book to one of the increasingly useless publishers: “I’ll never pass through Oxford Circus again without a shudder.”
Praise for Other Novels by Sean Gabb (Writing as “Richard Blake��)
“Fascinating to read, very well written, an intriguing plot and I enjoyed it very much.” (Derek Jacobi, star of I Claudius and Gladiator)
“Vivid characters, devious plotting and buckets of gore are enhanced by his unfamiliar choice of period…. Nasty, fun and educational.” (The Daily Telegraph)
“He knows how to deliver a fast-paced story and his grasp of the period is impressively detailed.” (The Mail on Sunday)
“A rollicking and raunchy read . . . Anyone who enjoys their history with large dollops of action, sex, intrigue and, above all, fun will absolutely love this novel.” (Historical Novels)
“It would be hard to over-praise this extraordinary series, a near-perfect blend of historical detail and atmosphere with the plot of a conspiracy thriller, vivid characters, high philosophy and vulgar comedy.” (The Morning Star)
Sean Gabb is a writer and Classics teacher. He lives in Kent with his wife and daughter.
Genre: Science Fiction
Used availability for Sean Gabb's The Break