Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. I guess you have landed here because you have either read or seen my book, Ambroscus, in the Amazon book store and want to know more. If you have read it, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it.
I began the novel shortly after I retired; I needed something to keep me occupied during the long winter months. It had, in any case, been a long-held ambition to write a book, something I had added to my bucket list of things to do before I shuffle off this mortal coil. I won’t give away any spoilers in case you haven’t yet read it, but here’s a little background information behind the novel:
The book is set in a period around thirty years from now with a back story spanning from the beginning of the millennium. In the tradition of the hard science fiction genre, I reference several real scientific and technological facts. Quantum computing and nanotechnology feature as a significant part of the story. Both are areas of active research, quantum computing being investigated not only by a number of top universities, but also by large tech companies such as IBM and Google. Small scale special purpose quantum computers do exist for research purposes, but a scalable, stable general-purpose machine has yet to be developed. Current predictions vary from eighteen months to decades before a commercially viable quantum computer is available on the market. Nano technology, too, is a reality right now with many applications already delivering benefits in the medical, energy, electronics and environment sectors. Research and development in this area continues apace with huge potential and I speculate some future applications in the novel. I have, of course, taken many liberties and stretched current scientific and medical facts hopefully in a way that feels plausible, even though experts in these fields may well roll their eyes if they happen upon my novel.
I have long been fascinated by science and technology, and it has been a great privilege to have spent my career at the forefront of the mind-blowingly fast pace at which information technology has progressed. I had a vast range of choice when it came to deciding which science fiction theme to adopt for my story, but in the end, I chose to stick to the subject matter I know most about, computer technology, and in particular, my experience in the world of datacentres. The advice I find everywhere in self-publishing is to write about what you know, particularly for a first novel! My pre-publish draft reviewers, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude, believe it works, and I hope you find the story and revelations revealed in the book no less dramatic for my choice of backdrop.
With regard to the title, you may have already Googled Ambroscus and discovered that it means immortality. Whilst many sci fi novels have been written on this subject, particular aspects have always fascinated me. If immortality became a reality for the human race, what would we actually do with it? How would we cope with a life without end? Would we even want it? What happens if some in society can’t have it? I try to tackle these imponderables in the book and I imagine there are as many opinions as there are people who care to think about it. Just to add a little spice into the mix, the novel is set in an increasingly dystopian world where I make some pessimistic assumptions about global warming. The scenario is actually inspired by a worse-case scenario taken from a genuine World Economic Forum report on global risks.
If all this seems a bit deep and depressing, I hope it won’t put you off. In the end, my goal was to write an entertaining yarn of survival against adversity with good guys, bad guys, and one or two you will have to decide for yourself; a page turner with an engaging plot. There was no intent to make any particular political or ideological points, and such controversial matters mentioned in the novel are there purely to create tension, jeopardy and conflict for the characters involved.
A final comment on the ending: I included an epilogue as I hope to expand the work to a trilogy. The epilogue is in effect an introduction to the second book; a taste of more drama to come. If feedback on Ambroscus is positive I will put pen to paper (or more accurately finger to keyboard) and begin work on the second novel. I’m really looking forward to that; I can think of much worse ways to pass the time during the long winter days.
I hope this short blog has whetted your appetite or helped satisfy your curiosity. Feel free to contact me if you want to share thoughts on this or indeed on other novels you have read of a similar genre, and please do leave a review on Amazon if you enjoyed the book. Keep checking in on my blog for future updates.