Novels should immerse the reader in new experiences and new worlds. My latest, The Immigrant Queen, explores what it was really like to be the leading woman in the greatest city in the world, but all too aware that as a woman no man would take you seriously and that as an immigrant you had no rights. Yet Aspasia was a thinker, respected by Socrates and a member of his circle. She published philosophical treatises and wrote speeches for her husband, Pericles, and advised him on policy. And she loved him.
The Immigrant Queen shows what I want to do as a writer - to convey the truth about a time very different from ours but to help my readers feel what it was like to live in that world. I hope you enjoy it.
NetGalley Five-star Review: "This is a brilliant book. Anyone who has ever felt wronged by big business, has ever dealt with chauvinistic men who think you owe them something because you have breasts and they don't, should read this book. A beacon of hope in a world gone dark, this book is what the world needs right now." A new review on Amazon: 4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking and an interesting, entertaining read. By Linda's Book Bag TOP 1000 REVIEWER on 28 Feb. 2017 Format: Kindle Edition Ade audits big business accounts, but when she encounters Webster, her life is dramatically changed. What a thought provoking read Ardent Justice is, especially as, by the end, I'm not convinced justice has really been severed morally. I've been thinking hard about the issues raised and have had to reassess my own views about society as a result. In Ade's place I'm still not sure what I would do and some of my assumptions about what is morally right have been challenged by reading Ardent Justice. One response that reading Ardent Justice raised in me quite acutely was a feeling of ignorance. I wondered just how much of the story could really be happening right under our noses. Truth is, after all, stranger than fiction. Whist potential readers may feel they will be getting a somewhat dry read in a book described as having a strong social message, they would be wrong. Certainly there are uncomfortable themes of abuse, corruption at all levels and violent behaviour, but these are all presented within dramatic scenes, in a well plotted narrative and offset by friendship and romance so that there is much to enjoy as a very entertaining story too. The sociological aspects are well blended in the narrative so I didn't feel I was being preached to. I only had one small issue with the characterisation. With Ade's education and position in the city, occasionally I found her grammar incongruous. However, this may well have been deliberate with Ade modulating her language better to fit in with those around her. I found Ade feisty and convincing otherwise. Peter Taylor-Gooby's style is a pleasure to read. He manages to balance complex compound sentences that build description or Ade's thoughts, for example, with simple phrases that add a drama that almost startles the reader. There's a poetic feel in some of the phrasing too and I really enjoyed this aspect. I thought the appeal to the reader's senses was especially good. Part thriller, part sociological tract, Ardent Justice is, above all else, a really good story and an entertaining read.
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