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Scales (Paperback)

by Anthony, G Williams (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Price: £9.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Paperback: 228 pages
  • Publisher: authorsonline.co.uk (11 Jan 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 075520266X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0755202669
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.6 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 939,257 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Book Description
Englishman Matthew Johnson suffers massive burns in a
mysterious explosion and fire at his home. Recovering after months in
hospital, he is greatly changed: his skin and hair have been replaced by
reptilian scales, and he has acquired an acute sensitivity to other
people's nervous systems, plus the ability to affect them. After initially
spending time using his new ability to cure patients of nervous diseases,
he is drawn into the dangerous world of counter-terrorism with tragic
results. On restarting his life, he discovers the startling truth about
his transformation - which includes parallel worlds, non-human societies
and a threat to the existence of human civilisation. Only he can avert
disaster, but time is running out.


About the Author
Anthony G Williams is a military technology historian. He is the
author of 'Rapid Fire: The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine
Guns and their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces', and the
co-author of 'Assault Rifle: the Development of the Modern Military Rifle
and its Ammunition' (with Maxim Popenker) and the three-volume series
'Flying Guns: Development of Aircraft Guns, Ammunition and Installations'
(with Emmanuel Gustin).

'The Foresight War', set in an alternate Second World War, was his first
novel, published in 2004. His second novel, 'Scales', was published in
2007.

He lives in England, and maintains a website at quarry.nildram.co.uk

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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4.0 out of 5 stars A peep into a future, 24 Aug 2008
A review of Scales by Anthony G. Williams
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher Authors OnLine
ISBN-10: 075520266X
ISBN-13: 978-0755202669

A major delight for me in science fiction is when one attribute of a common feature is changed and we explore the logical ramifications. A good example is in Death of Grass (1956) Samuel Youd, in which the title says it all. Any brain storming session would come up with what ifs such as gravity acting sideways; water won't freeze; or if you wake up with abnormal superpowers. The last kind of happens in Scales, and what an intriguing hook for a novel it is.
After an explosion in Matthew Johnson's home, the result of which puts him into a six-month coma, the main character discovers that his skin has morphed into lizard-like scales with chameleon ability to change colour with changing emotions. Another new feature when he recovers is ESP ability. He finds he can tune into people's nervous system and even change them to heal many medical problems. He can also create pain and twist minds at a distance. This is enhanced when the truth behind his uniqueness is discovered. The revelation involves parallel universes in which other Earths exist. They followed different paths of development at key moments in history such as extinction events. Although we know little about his pre-accident life, Matthew Johnson feels he has changed too much to use his old name and now uses Cade, his middle name to help him and others cope with his changing identity.
The first person narrative is strong because the protagonist, Cade, has a fully developed character in which he has definite opinions on the environment, social and political issues that beset our world today. He also has ideas on how to resolve those issues and is not slow to see how contact with the parallel, different multiverse Earth, with their superior technology and quasi-telepathic abilities could and must be used to rescue his home planet. His new `other dimension' friends are too naïve in their trust in communicating with other Earths but Cade is able to demonstrate how, sadly, it is necessary to use force to defend a way of life.
Cade isn't the only character that is well-crafted in Scales. He has women friends, and secret service type contacts that come over well. A good touch is his brother, who initially is quite different in character to Cade, but as the novel unfolds the points of common interest intersect more. There is a lot of information imparted in this novel. This is to be expected as it like a manual of what to do to avoid an eco-disaster on this planet in the context of a very readable novel. Cade too felt that he'd become a kind of tool to rescue humans and a well-written passage has him saying that he had `become a package, a commodity.' This doesn't mean that he doesn't enjoy his function and the reader can feel engaged with his exuberance of his discoveries, even though some are desperately dangerous.
For any reader thirsting for another take on what might have happened to our planet if the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs 65 million years ago, missed the Earth, then Scales will give them an enjoyable read and nourish geopolitical alternatives.

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Would have made a great trilogy, 12 Oct 2007
By True Percula (Exeter UK) - See all my reviews
I did enjoy this book a lot, the author clearly has great ideas.

I think putting all the ideas into one book meant that it was too rushed, it would have made a great trilogy.
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5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting idea..................., 16 Jun 2007
By T. Walker (Bedfordshire, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Anthony Williams is perhaps better known as a military historian and an expert on firearms and ammunition, so a science fiction novel is something of a departure from his usual work, which is acknowledged as being well researched and difinitive.
Scales is a story of change. Matthew Johnson has just finished an article and is sitting down feeling good about it when bang! - there's an explosion. He knows no more until he wakes up from a coma. He can't see. He's suffered 100% burns and should not be alive. As the scabs slough away, he discovers he's been changed - his skin is reptilian, his eyes are different and he has a remarkable sensitivity to other people's nervous systems. What follows is a mix of social comment on how the world would treat such a person and a good SF rattling yarn. It has a twist to the tail.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and had considerable difficulty putting it down. I'm waiting for a couple of weeks until I've forgotten some of the detail and I can re-read it. I suspect it will give me as much pleasure as the first time around.
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