Voyagers
is a set of short stories around a theme of travel. They are set in a variety of
locations, with all, apart from one, taking place in recent decades. Some of
these stories,
Strangers,
Protesters,
Initiates and
Victims,
for example, have been available since mid-2008 as free downloads from article
sites. I
have therefore decided not to publish Voyagers in book form. Voyagers is book
length at just over 80,000 words.
The complete set is now available as a free downloadable pdf ebook. I
request no payment, but would appreciate a token 1 euro donation per download. Please
do have it for free if you wish.
Voyagers is a set of ten short stories,
musings on contemporary themes. All are loosely based on the experience of
travel. They are written with grown-ups in mind.
Discoverers is
set in Brunei. An expatriate biology teacher sets off with a group of
students on a field-trip into the rain forest. Their purpose is to develop
an appreciation for the environment, learning by discovery. It is on the
trip and during its short aftermath that the teacher, Mr Tony, discovers
much about himself and his prospects.
Assessors
is set in a distant future, but was
inspired by two news reports on a single day. On the day that a new Heathrow
Airport terminal could not match baggage with travellers, a professor of
Physics described just how close we are to being able to tele-transport
whole molecules. Let's hope it's only the luggage that gets lost...
Initiates is
another story set in Brunei. An Australian couple feel privileged to receive
an invitation to a wedding. They, amongst others, are initiated into a
culture that feels far from their own.
Predators begins
and ends in a Spanish bar. Three bar-flies muse on their past and one of
them decides to write a piece recalling a visit to Vietnam. It was on a
holiday to Nya Trang with his Filipina girlfriend that the story-teller
shared a hotel corridor with an unsavoury fellow guest. People are preying
on others and, years later, the story-teller interprets things anew.
Protesters is
set in the United Kingdom, overlooking Parliament Square, Westminster, to be
precise. An aged writer with a complex past has been invited to share a
speaker's platform with a recently-elected president. Protestations are
examined. The story is based upon a meeting between two very well-known
figures. I know the meeting actually took place in the location where
Protesters is set. This is my version of what may have transpired.
Seers takes
place in a bar in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in an era when it was still called
Yugoslavia. Austrailian adventurers, having free-wheeled their way
across Europe, meet Pavel over their meal. As Pavel reveals more about
himself, the travellers grow more uneasy. Their chance encounter courts
danger. Or does it?
Strangers
is a simple story set on the Devon
coast in England. A young couple visit an idyllic village on a break from
city life. They find that life for the locals is less than perfect. It is
always easier to be open with strangers.
Victims
is a series of emails. An aid worker is in Sri Lanka in the early 1990s. Her
visits take her to poor places in the north that are wracked and wrecked by
war. An acquaintance is hurt. She visits him in hospital. But he has other
visitors besides her.
Wonderers
wanders its way along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, from Bodrum to Efes
and Ephesus. A lifetime ambition to visit the wonders of the world uncovers
some of the less obvious wonders of people.
Worshippers takes
place in Florence, Italy, in the 1970s. Two culture vultures, a young artist
and a not-so-young actor are absorbing the works of Renaissance painters.
They have much in common, it seems, especially in examining the motives of
those who paint, act, write. It seems that they worship the act of creation,
until aesthetics get in the way.
When the file has downloaded into Adobe
Acrobat, click the disk icon in the top left of the window to save a copy of
Voyagers on your own computer.
If you would like to donate 1 euro as a
payment to the author, please click the Buy Now button below. This is entirely
voluntary, but much appreciated.
