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The Stuff of Heroes
Georgia Nullgeben knew privilege inside out.
Daughter of the sector commander, she was destined for the very top, most likely by way of marriage to one of the elite families that made up the new aristocracy in the new Europe.
Until she met Mark Smith, a brilliant but ordinary Englishman serving an indefinite sentence for being on the very fringe of the resistance. No obvious hero, Mark just wanted his freedom.
And Georgia offered him a possible way out.
There had been an oppression upon Britain for a generation, since the disastrous declaration of war in 1939. They fought back but there often seemed little point against such overwhelming superiority.
The resistance took many forms. One of the brightest was the defiance of the Beat Kids; teenagers playing the hateful music from America, the centre of decadence.
Mark was sucked into that resistance. With a sharp mind for strategy, he found himself thrust into a world he could do without.
Through Mark’s struggles, Georgia became involved in things she never would have imagined. It happened at an ancient and dilapidated manor house in deepest Kent; the new home of Barbara Leyland, the jilted mistress of the sector commander. That manor had seen much over the years but looked down now on extraordinary scenes as chaos fought order.
Just as the resistance fought the authorities.
Mark unwittingly built a team around him. How would that team react to an arrogant teenager in their midst? Closing ranks to keep Georgia out was an option, but that would depend on how they came to perceive her.
And ultimately what she could offer them.
If you’re scanning the bookshelves for dystopia, alternative history, love story and thriller all rolled into one, this is a must read for you.
Daughter of the sector commander, she was destined for the very top, most likely by way of marriage to one of the elite families that made up the new aristocracy in the new Europe.
Until she met Mark Smith, a brilliant but ordinary Englishman serving an indefinite sentence for being on the very fringe of the resistance. No obvious hero, Mark just wanted his freedom.
And Georgia offered him a possible way out.
There had been an oppression upon Britain for a generation, since the disastrous declaration of war in 1939. They fought back but there often seemed little point against such overwhelming superiority.
The resistance took many forms. One of the brightest was the defiance of the Beat Kids; teenagers playing the hateful music from America, the centre of decadence.
Mark was sucked into that resistance. With a sharp mind for strategy, he found himself thrust into a world he could do without.
Through Mark’s struggles, Georgia became involved in things she never would have imagined. It happened at an ancient and dilapidated manor house in deepest Kent; the new home of Barbara Leyland, the jilted mistress of the sector commander. That manor had seen much over the years but looked down now on extraordinary scenes as chaos fought order.
Just as the resistance fought the authorities.
Mark unwittingly built a team around him. How would that team react to an arrogant teenager in their midst? Closing ranks to keep Georgia out was an option, but that would depend on how they came to perceive her.
And ultimately what she could offer them.
If you’re scanning the bookshelves for dystopia, alternative history, love story and thriller all rolled into one, this is a must read for you.
328 pages, Paperback
Published October 17, 2018
7 people are currently reading
228 people want to read
About the author
Chris Oswald
11 books15 followersThe Stories that would not Lie Down.
As far back as I can remember, stories have been a major part of my life. At first they were in my head, a whole set of worlds of wonderful make believe. Then they became verbal to wile away long car journeys, rehearsed during boring lessons at school. For the longest time nothing was put into writing except a little poetry and some songs.
Then adulthood came and, with it, responsibility. I tried to put my stories away and concentrate on a career in business. This took me to America where we lived for close to twenty years, also to Scotland where my family comes from. But the stories would not lie down, kept coming back to me. In a fallow period in my thirties I wrote my first book. It was terrible so I wrote another. Then I started ‘2024: A History of the Future’ and things seemed to come together. But it was still little more than ideas and so it remained for a long time until I sold my business and moved to Dorset.
The Dorset Chronicles is historical fiction at its best - local yet national, even international, accurate yet full of imagination, thrilling yet tender, full of description yet full of action.
Each book is a bundle of fiction and fact, entertainment and education.
Other books include 18 Acres of England, a humorous yet serious look into politics and prison life in America and The Stuff of Heroes, first in the Semblance of Order Trilogy, asking what would the 1960s look like if Germany had won the war?
Parallel with my love of stories is an equal love of history. Perhaps it is the millions of different ways things can work out that appeals to me. Or perhaps it is the unknown parts that allow the imagination to play. But my writing is infused with history, mixing and matching ideas and themes that talk of freedom, choices and strong social concepts. But at the end of the day, each book hopes to be a good story with twists, humour and characters that come alive to the reader.
As far back as I can remember, stories have been a major part of my life. At first they were in my head, a whole set of worlds of wonderful make believe. Then they became verbal to wile away long car journeys, rehearsed during boring lessons at school. For the longest time nothing was put into writing except a little poetry and some songs.
Then adulthood came and, with it, responsibility. I tried to put my stories away and concentrate on a career in business. This took me to America where we lived for close to twenty years, also to Scotland where my family comes from. But the stories would not lie down, kept coming back to me. In a fallow period in my thirties I wrote my first book. It was terrible so I wrote another. Then I started ‘2024: A History of the Future’ and things seemed to come together. But it was still little more than ideas and so it remained for a long time until I sold my business and moved to Dorset.
The Dorset Chronicles is historical fiction at its best - local yet national, even international, accurate yet full of imagination, thrilling yet tender, full of description yet full of action.
Each book is a bundle of fiction and fact, entertainment and education.
Other books include 18 Acres of England, a humorous yet serious look into politics and prison life in America and The Stuff of Heroes, first in the Semblance of Order Trilogy, asking what would the 1960s look like if Germany had won the war?
Parallel with my love of stories is an equal love of history. Perhaps it is the millions of different ways things can work out that appeals to me. Or perhaps it is the unknown parts that allow the imagination to play. But my writing is infused with history, mixing and matching ideas and themes that talk of freedom, choices and strong social concepts. But at the end of the day, each book hopes to be a good story with twists, humour and characters that come alive to the reader.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 17, 2019
I think I was a little deceived by the title and cover of this book. I thought it was going to be a slow moving book set in a historical time, turns out once I got through the first couple pages it picked up and I got pulled into the story. I especially liked the story of Georgia and Mark. I liked seeing Georgia evolve, going from her elite family to the resistance, finding people she didn't think she had anything in common with and becoming friends with them. I was glad she found her calling. Very good book.
April 29, 2019
A wild ride of a read a book that combines dystopia love and other genres in the most entertaining way,
February 24, 2020
Wow, this is a must read book. Imagine if we'd just given up and rolled over and let the Nazis win the war, let them invade Britain and take control and make the English a second class citizen, the bring in the resistance and a group of characters who are strong, believable and well written for, characters you can really invest in and want everything for, Yhe Stuff of Heros does that and much more, I cant wait for the next book in the series to come out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews