Wish You Were Here Instead of Me (Brawl of the Worlds 2) is out now from Audible, performed by the excellent Michael McMahon.
Audible UK https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0HNKMMMLV
Audible .Com https://www.audible.com/pd/B0HNK9F2B4
Eight weeks after first contact, the people of Earth are handling the news of extra-terrestrial life rather well. Sure, there’d been some petty rioting, light stockpiling, and hasty coups, but not more so than during the pandemic-years.
In Oxfordshire, tourists flock to the exclusion zone set up around the crashed battle-station. Nearby, in the newly named RAF Space Command, Harold Godwin has settled into his new job as a liaison between the British government and the friendly alien federation, known as the Valley. Aside from giving occasional tours to visiting dignitaries, the work isn’t arduous until the search for a missing dog leads to the capture of a hostile alien mercenary.
In Ireland, Serene and Tempest are working as liaisons, too. On the outskirts of Cork, an international conference has begun. The diplomats’ task is straightforward enough, select twenty humans to represent Earth on a ceremonial trip to Towan III. After two months of bickering, they’re still arguing over the conference’s seating arrangements.Patience among the Valley leadership is wearing thin.
In the intergalactic borderlands between the Valley and the remains of the old empire, the Voytay, two fleets are in a stand-off. The only hope for peace is to find the remaining enemy agents, both human and alien. That task falls to Sean O’Malley and Greta tol Hakon. Not long into the investigation, a link is found between the recent attack and the discovery of a spaceship on the outskirts of London in 1895, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and a tunnel beneath the ruins of Nineveh that predates any calendar.
Alien anchorites and ancient prophecies collide, on Earth and in the furthest corners of the galaxy, as the race to stop the war continues.
I wrote Brawl of the Worlds in between outings to the hospital, so hadn’t planned to revisit them. However, while recording the audiobook, I changed my mind. There will be a third book, focusing on the looming intergalactic war, but also on Sean’s attempts at organising first contact back in the 1910s. A story about the difficulties, and necessity, of diplomacy seems rather appropriate to our current global situation.
And there’s (hopefully going to be) more!
I’d like to write a standalone story about life after peaceful first contact. No invasion. No rebellion. No scrappy team of misfits defying all odds. What would happen to the stockmarket, to pensions, to house prices? What about A-levels and university admissions? What about tourism and farming? What about health and social care? Forget politics and religion, what would it be like for us?
This book willl be a series of vignettes following different people from different walks of life - a history teacher, a warehouse worker, a government admin assassitant, a sniper, (and some others) - as they adjust to the waves of change. I’d thought of making this a completely separate story, but then realised I could make it a whole lot simpler for myself by just using the same event and same aliens. After all, this story isn’t about them, it’s about us (though I suppose that argument could be made about all fiction.)
But coming first is Learning the Law - The story of Henry Mitchell, and the end of the world. This has turned into a series (I suppose that wasn’t unexpected) the first book, Blackout, will chart the three-day war between the AIs, and is framed as a murder mystery in and around the bunkers beneath London. Book 2 will follow the survivors long walk to the coast. Book 3 will focus on the establishment of a new state and answer the question of who runs Britain. Speaking of, I better get back to my editing. Blackout will be out before Christmas.
In the meantime, keep well and happy listening,
Frank :)