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Neil’s 2025 Year in Books

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Neil MacDonald

Goodreads Author

Born

in Dundee, The United Kingdom

April 25

Website

https://neilmacdonaldauthor.com/

Genre

Nonfiction, Contemporary, Thriller

Member Since

March 2014

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I was born in Dundee, Scotland and raised in Jamaica. I have a PhD in genetics and started my working life as a scientist. From there, I moved through journalism (the last profession of the gentleman) and publishing to working for international aid organisations.

I have always written, one way or another, and am the author of five current affairs books on Latin America and the Caribbean, and most recently, in 2013, Cautionary Tales for Development Workers, a collection of stories about international aid.

Over the last several years I have been serving my apprenticeship in fiction and my debut literary thriller,The Tears of Boabdil, is out in September 2020. My historical fantasy novel A Prize of Sovereigns. was serialised on BigWorldNework ...more

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Combine Editions
Neil MacDonald’s books

Average rating: 4.3 · 50 ratings · 45 reviews · 16 distinct works

	The Tears of Boabdil 4.35 avg rating — 46 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cautionary Tales for Development Folk 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Caribbean: Making Our Own Choices really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Andes (Oxfam Country Profiles Series) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1992	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Central America: Options for the Poor 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hard Lessons: Report of a N.U.T./W.U.S.Delegation to El Salvador 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	With Full Conviction 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Western Way 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eachunn agus an Tarbh: Hector and the Bull 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Palliative Medicine: A case-based manual by Neil MacDonald (2012-05-04) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Neil MacDonald's Blog

Friday Fictioneers – Storyline

PHOTO PROMPT © Lori Wilson

I must be in a story. The narrative drive is obvious—the call to adventure, the first plot point, and the second. Who’s writing me? Do I have any say in it? I mean, for instance, couldn’t we make this a romance instead of an actioner? Begone, wizards and elves! Bring on the girls.

It’s lovely to be the hero, though. Thanks, I appreciate that. Not a bit player.

Oi! What’s th

Neil is Currently Reading

Neil MacDonald is currently reading

Red Mars (Mars Trilogy, #1)

by Kim Stanley Robinson

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May 05, 2026 07:55AM

Neil MacDonald is currently reading

The Tears of Boabdil

by Neil MacDonald (Goodreads Author)

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Jul 30, 2024 05:26PM

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Neil MacDonald rated a book really liked it The Language of Liars by S.L. Huang (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Ro is a trainee linguist of the Orro people, gifted but lazy—an endearing protagonist. Despite his bumptiousness, he succeeds in doing what few others can—jumping into the body of an alien Star Eater. The Star Eaters are the only species that can det ...more
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Neil MacDonald rated a book really liked it The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley breaks all the rules of fiction. The voice is inconstant, shifting between the third person for the protagonist, Mary Murphy, first person accounts by unnamed characters, and substantial info dumps. Robison ...more
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