I’m the author of the fantasy novel, Imperial Visions, published in June 2010 by Vanguard Press and available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format.
I’m also the author of the set of short stories, Fragments of a Vision, self-published in August 2012 and available from Amazon in Kindle format.
Imperial Visions
The book is a fantasy novel set in a colonial era world, technologically and sociologically similar to our own Age of Enlightenment:
“Thomas Maynard was just another junior attache of the Triune Empire. That is, until the day his embassy is burned to the ground by an enemy mob and he is forced to flee for his life. Plagued by new and terrifying visions, Thomas soon learns that he is a prize that his pursuers will stop at nothing to control.
Hunted north across the plains, his only refuge is in the hill kingdom of Elaran, where the young queen Rianda fights to keep her people free. As their enemies close in, it becomes clear that far more than the fate of Elaran rests upon Thomas mastering his visions.”
Please feel free to download and share chapter samples of Chapter Three and Chapter Six. These chapters have been chosen because they introduce us to two of the main characters and are relatively spoiler-free.
If you decide to read the book, I’d love to hear about it. And if you have a blog or website on which you’d like to review it, I’d be even more delighted. Read on to find out out more.
Buy a paperback copy of the book.
Buy the book for Kindle:
Reviews
Excerpts from reviews on Amazon (average rating 4.5 stars):
“”Imperial Visions” is a great book. A real page-turner as well as very well written and rich in imagination.”
“Its range is huge covering geo-political intrigue, diplomacy, economics, fantasy, romance, theology… woven together with supreme elegance.”
“It is a highly unusual blend of believable diplomacy and fantasy – I’ve never felt quite so in tune with the hypothetical etiquette of dancing with different species at state balls! If you like scholarly, continent-spanning fantasy such as Tolkien and Katherine Kerr I would strongly recommend this book.”
Imperial Visions has also been reviewed on the Read and Find Out website. See the excerpt below and read the full review.
“Overall, however, this is a very good book, and it was a breeze to read. There were times when I felt a little bit nervous about what was coming next because I was so immersed in the action. It’s a solid first book, both for a writer and for a series, and I look forward to the next one.”
Fragments of a Vision
Fragments of a Vision is a collection of some of my early short stories. Whilst it is not the sequel to Imperial Visions, the stories do give strong indications of how the ideas for that novel arose: many of them are set in variants of the world of Edrith, whilst others explore themes or elements that would make an appearance in the final novel.
The stories themselves vary considerably, though all are fantasy or science fiction. I’ll be interested to find out which ones other people like most. And although some are set in what appears to be the world of Imperial Visions, all are decidedly non-canon.
Of course, if you haven’t yet tried Imperial Visions, I recommend doing that first.
- The Face of Treason. An exploration of the culture and history of the Zechen-Rotliegendish Commonwealth, told almost through the thoughts and main actions of the protagonist, an Imperial spy.
- Through an Eastern Gate. My only foray into science-fiction, this story was inspired by C.S. Lewis’s ‘Cosmic Trilogy’.
- Asculum. My first attempt at writing a battle scene, it is very likely that large elements of this story will make an appearance in Visions in Exile. Featuring the first appearance of Kieralhion the gryphon.
- Where There’s a Will. My only attempt at a romance, as well as my only short story to feature a female protagonist, ‘Where There’s a Will’ was heavily influenced by both Gwen Raverat’s ‘Period Piece’ and the history of Newnham College, Cambridge.
- Atonement’s End. An atmospheric story of dreams and visions. Some elements would make their appearance in Imperial Visions, in Rianda’s dream of the desolation of Hyrakos and in the religious orders of St. Velnery and St. Senren.
- Melantar. Growing out of a creative writing exercise for GCSE English, this is an exploration of a hill-people, though not one that would bear much relationship to the eventual nation of Elaran.
- Alchemy. A ‘man in a pub’ type story, in the nature of Arthur C. Clarke’s ‘Tales from the White Hart’.
- Terrakrakenosis. Inspired by discovering a collection of Foreign Office telegrams from the early twentieth century in my college library when revising, Terrakrakenosis’ is the only story to be set in our own world, as well as one where I let the more ridiculous side of my imagination run unchecked.
If you read and enjoy the book, please do repost, link, write a review (on Amazon or your blog), let me know and so forth.