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Albion Calling
Henry John Bateman is a hospital porter. He drinks too much alcohol, does too much cocaine and has been married too many times.
Yet somehow, he discovers, beneath the staples of an old map, a small piece of land owned by no man, no lord, no council and no government, and he sets out for that land so that he may rest his weary head.
But it was never going to be that easy. Not for Henry John Bateman. Not once he meets Oh Emmylou. Not with that bakery girl he’s left behind who might be alive or she might be dead. And certainly not when Albion comes calling…
Yet somehow, he discovers, beneath the staples of an old map, a small piece of land owned by no man, no lord, no council and no government, and he sets out for that land so that he may rest his weary head.
But it was never going to be that easy. Not for Henry John Bateman. Not once he meets Oh Emmylou. Not with that bakery girl he’s left behind who might be alive or she might be dead. And certainly not when Albion comes calling…
370 pages, Paperback
Published December 5, 2016
About the author
Stuart Ayris
17 books133 followersI was born in the Summer of 1969 in Dagenham, just on the border of East London. School was largely unproductive so his early adult years were spent putting up stalls at Romford Market, working in a record shop, gardening and road sweeping.
After resigning from an insurance company to play in a band, I found myself unemployed for two years in the early nineties. In 1997, I qualified as a psychiatric nurse.
I am the author of the following novels:
Tollesbury Time Forever (2012)
The Bird That Nobody Sees (2012)
I Woke Up This Morning (2013)
The Buddhas of Borneo (2013)
The Magical Tragical Life of Edward Jarvis Huggins (2014)
Elysian Wonderland (2015)
Merzougaville, Baby (2015)
Albion Calling (2016)
Bolivian Rhapsody (2018)
This Awful Small Mercy of Miss Miriam Mallone (2022)
The Truth About Trees (Exp 2024/5)
Catalonia Tryptico Blues (Work in progress)
In terms of writing, my heroes are Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, James Joyce Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.
Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss anything about my novels or if I can be of any help at all!
After resigning from an insurance company to play in a band, I found myself unemployed for two years in the early nineties. In 1997, I qualified as a psychiatric nurse.
I am the author of the following novels:
Tollesbury Time Forever (2012)
The Bird That Nobody Sees (2012)
I Woke Up This Morning (2013)
The Buddhas of Borneo (2013)
The Magical Tragical Life of Edward Jarvis Huggins (2014)
Elysian Wonderland (2015)
Merzougaville, Baby (2015)
Albion Calling (2016)
Bolivian Rhapsody (2018)
This Awful Small Mercy of Miss Miriam Mallone (2022)
The Truth About Trees (Exp 2024/5)
Catalonia Tryptico Blues (Work in progress)
In terms of writing, my heroes are Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, James Joyce Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.
Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss anything about my novels or if I can be of any help at all!
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 5, 2017
Stu Ayris is a truly unique author. I know of absolutely no other author who writes the way he does. His novels live on the genius/lunatic line, and at first glance, Albion Calling appears to have taken up camp in the land of lunacy.
But actually, the clue that this isn't all some mad rambling nonsense is in the chapter titles. You may well recognise what they are, because they all take this form: I I I I IV IV I I V IV I I. If you don't, no problem. It's explained in the book...eventually. ;)
The other point I would make here is that to get the best out of any Stuart Ayris story - and particularly this one - you should read them aloud. The language is lyrical and rhythmic - I dare say hypnotic - and the story follows stream of thought (Henry John Bateman's), not necessarily chronologically.
A bottle of wine might be an idea, too.
But actually, the clue that this isn't all some mad rambling nonsense is in the chapter titles. You may well recognise what they are, because they all take this form: I I I I IV IV I I V IV I I. If you don't, no problem. It's explained in the book...eventually. ;)
The other point I would make here is that to get the best out of any Stuart Ayris story - and particularly this one - you should read them aloud. The language is lyrical and rhythmic - I dare say hypnotic - and the story follows stream of thought (Henry John Bateman's), not necessarily chronologically.
A bottle of wine might be an idea, too.
May 26, 2021
The blurb gives a different expectation
I bought this about four years ago. Goodness knows why I bought it. Perhaps I thought of it as an escape type novel. I read the other review but obviously he can read it and understand it. I initially read the first fifth of the novel expecting it to get better. But this is like trainspotting and I find books like these hard to read. There is a storyline but it jumps about and I find it difficult to assess . Some people may enjoy that but I certainly don't.
I bought this about four years ago. Goodness knows why I bought it. Perhaps I thought of it as an escape type novel. I read the other review but obviously he can read it and understand it. I initially read the first fifth of the novel expecting it to get better. But this is like trainspotting and I find books like these hard to read. There is a storyline but it jumps about and I find it difficult to assess . Some people may enjoy that but I certainly don't.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews