The Piper

by David Boyle

It is the summer of 1990. The first Gulf War looms, the satanic abuse panic rages, and one strange market town, unchanged for decades, suddenly and disastrously runs out of money. The crisis brings together the mayor and the man he wronged four decades before. This is a haunting tale of passing time, and a Pied Piper story for our own era, of the Blitz, the explosion of money, of clone towns, the Wright Brothers and growing up – and local currencies. And above it all, stands the ancient landscape of Dragon Hill.

418 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 22, 2015

About the author

David Courtney Boyle was a British author and journalist who wrote mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business, and culture. He lived in Steyning in West Sussex.
He conducted an independent review for the Treasury and the Cabinet Office on public demand for choice in public services which reported in 2013. Boyle was a co-founder and policy director of Radix, which he characterized in 2017 as a radical centrist think tank. He was also co-director of the mutual think tank New Weather Institute.

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a unique tale of how things change over the passage of time: of families torn apart by WWII; the explosion of money and clone towns; growing up, and buried secrets and psychological trauma caused by them. It is also a Pied Piper story for our own times, examining the frailties of the modern economy and the unique phenomena of local currencies.

It is a well written and engrossing read that crosses decades and touches on many issues that affect our society today such as the state of the economy, community spirit, greed, family dynamics and the impact of mental health problems.

[David Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review by Tracy A. Fischer for Readers' Favourite;

In an interesting and well written look at our world in 1990, The Piper by author David Boyle is a book that will give readers a great deal to think about. This tale examines how things change over time, tells stories of families that are ripped apart during WWII, and the secrets that people keep that tear them to pieces. When money explodes due to the war, much is changed and unlikely to ever go back to the way it was before. So many things are examined in this book, both in the historical context and in a way that has impact on our modern lives. Economies, the way that money affects everyday life, communities, families, and mental health are all things that are touched upon.

I so enjoyed The Piper. Author David Boyle has written a book that does more than entertain, although it certainly does that as well. The Piper is a book that will make a reader think and process the effects of money and the history of currency, and how those things continue to make an impact on our daily lives even today. This book is extremely well written and readable, well edited, and will keep readers engrossed from the start through to the finish. I very highly recommend The Piper to any reader interested in a great work of fiction with a historical context that will also make them think. I certainly hope that the very talented author, David Boyle, is already hard at work on his next book. I, for one, will be anxiously waiting for its arrival!