The Conscientious Objector

by Stephen Palmer

1914.

With the outbreak of war on the Continent, Erasmus Darwin finds himself caught up in a jingoistic fervour for which he feels no sympathy. Yet soon he is on the Western Front: frightened, appalled, and alone apart from a few pals who don't understand his pacifism.

Soon however he finds himself entangled in a secret mission the like of which has never been attempted, one which stretches his pacifism to the limit...

A unique and thought-provoking alternative history of the First World War from the author of Beautiful Intelligence and the Factory Girl trilogy.

437 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 23, 2019

About the author

Stephen Palmer is the author of numerous narrative nonfiction and genre fiction books, published by various publishers since 1996. His most recent directions are into music books, and anthropology/psychology with his critically lauded work 'I Am Taurus.' His fiction has been in the fields of steampunk, SF, and near-future AI novels.
His main area of interest is the evolution of consciousness, about which he writes on his Substack. A materialist, he emphasises the evolutionary description of our minds and of the human condition itself.
Stephen was raised in Shropshire, U.K., where he now lives with his partner, a large number of world music instruments, and more than one teapot. His CD collection contains albums by The Stranglers, Tangerine Dream and Mike Oldfield.
You can catch up with him via his Substack, his blog at stephenpalmer.co.uk, or via his Facebook page.

Reviews

[James Dickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this based on a newspaper review because I was between books. I enjoyed the premise of the story but in honesty found the language and the characters irritating. At times it felt like a childs story set in / around WWI but then there would be odd sex scenes. I finished it but I didn't enjoy it.