Bøger af Jason Heppenstall

Hell-bent on preserving the privileges of the wealthy in the face of a looming resource crisis, the British government executes a false flag terrorist attack and shuts down the national electricity grid with the explicit goal of causing rapid population reduction. In the ensuing turmoil, a shadowy cabal of globalists watches with interest from a bunker buried deep beneath frozen Arctic wastes and readies to roll out "the experiment" across the world. Seat of Mars follows the fortunes of a handful of ordinary people flung into extraordinary times. These include Rose, a teenage astrophysics prodigy and a Goth, who finds herself pulled into a web of intrigue within a fortified and ethnically cleansed London; Jack and Cat, a city couple who find themselves stranded on a makeshift commune; and the resourceful, self-educated prepper Art Gwavas who sees the mayhem as a chance to take back what is rightfully his. The story poses the wider question of how well any of us would fare if the magic carpet of industrial civilisation were suddenly pulled out from under us, and whether something beautiful can emerge from the glowing embers of chaos.

Ex-newspaper editor Jason Heppenstall, worn down by the constant drumbeat of dire news in the world, decides to set out on a journey in search of some answers. With not much more than some walking boots, a notebook and a wooden staff, he sets off from his old home in Copenhagen with a vague idea to "head north". It isn't long before a series of bizarre coincidences leads him to believe that his journey is being guided towards an ancient lake in Sweden where the Norse god Odin was once worshipped. Along the way he falls foul of the authorities, endures the wettest weather in living memory and meets a peculiar man of the forest who gives him a special gift. He discovers a modern day Sweden caught between a desire to do good in the world and one struggling to come to terms with the refugees from war-torn Syria and beyond. The writers of the two books in his pack become his two travel companions: one - Marcus Aurelius - is a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, the other - Bill Plotkin - is a modern-day American soul-quester, and the two of them together act as inner guides on this most unusual journey. A mixture of travel story, meditation, psychedelic adventure and spiritual quest The Path to Odin's Lake ponders the deeper meaning of being alive in a chaotic world and - ultimately - offers a vision of hope.

Into the Ruins returns with a new slate of fascinating and compelling stories exploring futures defined by natural limits, energy and resource depletion, industrial decline, climate change, and other consequences stemming from our shortsighted and reckless exploitation of our only world. These are the sort of futures, set right here on earth, that we're likely to get, as opposed to shiny fantasies set amongst the stars. You'll find within a fantastic new story from Jason Heppenstall in which a mysterious old man cultivates a garden on the dusty outskirts of a desert town, Catherine McGuire exploring one woman's fight against cruelty and exploitation, a tale from Matthew Griffiths set in the world of John Michael Greer's Star's Reach, a meditative snapshot of our post-oil future from Ian O'Reilly, and a lovely new tale from Rachel White that captures the mythic dimensions of our future. Not to mention, a new "Deindustrial Futures Past" column from John Michael Greer, Justin Patrick Moore's survey of characters from James Howard Kunstler's World Made By Hand series, and a thought-provoking, rollicking, filled-to-the-brim letters section.