New Book – Atavist

My new book ‘Atavist’ is now available on Kindle.
The short stories in this collection are set in 16th Century Japan. Each of the tales has been written as a stand-alone vignette, but each also provides a glimpse into the story that follows. Beginning with a pirate’s sea battle, it leads to the birth of a pearl on the sea floor far beneath the carnage. Could an object such as a pearl be ‘evil’? If so, then could it also imbue other objects with malevolence? The stories also touch on the theme of early Christianity in Japan. European traders — particularly the Portuguese and Spanish — introduced guns to Japan, something Japanese warlords couldn’t get enough of. They also introduced Christianity. The new religion originally flourished, but eventually met with strong resistance that resulted in it being banned, resulting in thousands of Christians being persecuted.
The book is illustrated with Japanese artwork depicting the theme of each story. There is also a bonus section which provides more illustrations as well as explanations into the background of each tale.
The word ‘atavist’ refers to the recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typical of an ancestral form.