The weather's been getting progressively warmer here as we ease closer to summer and when I’m not trying to ignore sparrow porn on the tree outside the window of my office, I’ve ended up spending time in the garden with my tomato plantation.
I’ll have to confess here. I am NOT a gardener. Much to K’s chagrin, I’ve always been of the mind that if you can’t plant with plastic explosives there just isn’t any point. As a result, despite her efforts, I’ve resisted being drawn into the garden (where she spends most of her free time) for years. The only time I venture in there is when some manual labour or ‘donkey work’ is needed.
Last summer, however, was a bit of a Eureka moment for me when we tried – well, ok, it was K who tried – some new Black-Top, heirloom tomatoes. And wow! Was that a success. Some of the tomatoes harvested were ‘steak’ tomatoes. Every morning, we’d carve off a thick slice, slap it on a piece of toast with some pesto and … yum!
This year I was informed that if I wanted those tomatoes, I’d have to grow them myself … so I pretty much have. For about 6-7 weeks now, I’ve grown my tomato plantation from seedlings, fed and watered them, and kept them indoors to survive the spring gales. Based on established best practice, I’ve not only carried them outside for air on a daily basis, but I’ve been talking to them regularly and I’m delighted to say they respond far better to ‘Irish’ than ‘English’.
But I guess that was to be expected.
Anyway, I finally released my babies to the wild (I planted them) so now I have to watch them daily to keep the wild beasts at bay. I’m not just talking ‘porn sparrows’ here. I’ve also got to fight off the local Kaka fraternity (about 16-20 of them usually circle the house).
Here’s a pic of some of them from my mate Morgan’s house. He counted 16 on his front deck a few days ago.
I’m assuming he doesn’t keep tomatoes there.
It’s a tough old world here in the Bronx of Wellington!
Oh!
And welcome to Vóg!
The Coalition Of Chaos
We recently had the national elections in New Zealand and, as always, it was a lot of fun to watch. I’m not a political animal by any means but political impact does occasionally rear its ugly head in the conceptual design work I do and, of course, there’s the whole ‘functioning society’ thing to consider. The quirks of the New Zealand electoral system also means that its always interesting to see how things turn out at a local and a national level (even when you don’t get the result you might prefer).
It’s certainly got limitations but, personally, I quite like the system they use here (mixed member proportional representation or ‘MMP’ for short). It’s very similar to the one used in Ireland, basically a form of proportional representation that allows a far greater proportion of a country’s population to have their voices heard. Certainly, its better than the ‘first past the post’ model where you usually have 2-3 parties (usually, long captured by different vested interests) and no opportunity to bring in new political parties to reflect the changing population.
That said, this time New Zealand’s election delivered an unusually unstable conservative coalition combining a large centre-right party (National) with a business lobby-group (the Act Party) and a nutter anti-woke, anti-vaxxer, anti-indigenous people’s party (NZ First). Even when you don’t get what you want, you have to respect the final result but, I have to admit, given the egos and eccentricities of the various leaders and the hugely damaging policies proposed (their first was to axe a smoking ban designed to stop children picking up the habit), I’m not sure they’ll be around for long.
The New Zealand media have already started referring to the new government as the ‘Coalition of Chaos’. Meanwhile, comedian John Oliver’s public lobbying for the Pūteketeke as part of New Zealand’s ‘Bird of the Century’ vote, has also been seen as further proof of foreign interference in our democratic process.
I’ve pulled out the popcorn for what could prove to be an entertaining season of the New Zealand political show.
The Saxon Stories - Review
In a way, it almost feels superfluous to review The Saxon Stories, given the popularity of the television series (The Last Kingdom - which adapted the first ten novels) and which seem to have been seen by everyone I know. That said, the books are very good and remain different enough from the screen version (in terms of style and, to a degree, in plot) to warrant a read on their own merits.
So what is it about (as if you didn’t already know)?
The Saxon Stories is a series of historical novels (thirteen books in total) written by Bernard Cornwell. Set in the ninth and tenth centuries, the story relates the adventures of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the son of a Saxon Northumbrian lord who was captured as a child and reared by a Dane (Ragnar the Fearless).
Over the course of the series, despite his dual cultural influences, Uthred ends up supporting and fighting for Alfred the Great (a man he doesn’t particularly like) to achieve the latter’s dream of establishing the foundation for modern-day England. The series commences at a time where the country is governed by four major kingdoms (Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia, and Wessex). One by one however, these kingdoms have fallen to the invading Danes until only, Wessex, remains in Saxon hands.
Over the course of the books, Uthred and Alfred (and their successors) battle and negotiate the delicate balance of political power to achieve Alfred’s aim. Uhtred, however, retains an ambition of his own - to take back Bebbanburg, the fortress stolen from him by his uncle after his father's death, and claim it as his own.
To read the series in order, you can follow this sequence:
The Last Kingdom
The Pale Horseman
Lords of the North
Sword Song
The Burning Land
The Pagan Lord
Death of Kings
The Empty Throne
Warriors of the Storm
The Flame Bearer
War of the Wolf
Sword of Kings
War Lord
So are they any good?
Yes, absolutely. They’re an excellent read although, judging from comments from friends and family, over the years, they seem to be most popular with male readers. One of the reasons for this may be Cornwell’s narrative style, which is quite straightforward and not overly flourished, but which effectively captures Uthred’s gruff character and way of speaking.
Cornwell paces the individual stories of each book well. He also writes very realistic and exciting battle scenes, ranging from minor skirmishes to brutal land and sea battles. You can actually see the influence of his combat writing in terms of how contemporary ‘Viking’-style battle scenes are staged on screen or described in later, derivative ‘Viking’ novels (particularly anything involving the mythical ‘shield wall’).
In my opinion, one of Cornwell’s more ingenious ideas (for the initial books) was to portray Alfred the Great, one of the United Kingdom’s key national heroes, as a sickly, somewhat overearnest and pious individual. When we first meet Alfred, he’s actually something of a hypocritical creep, vomiting outside a tent and grovelling in spiritual torment to seek forgiveness for having had sex with a servant girl. Over the first five books, Alfred learns to restrict his more negative qualities and blossoms into more of a ‘hero’ (a somewhat sanctimoniously religious one) but Cornwell ensures we never forget the hypocrisy of the religious propaganda being pushed by the church during that period.
Another aspect that resonates through the books, is the ‘cultural identity crisis’ experienced by Uthred. Born a Northumbrian and raised a Dane, Uthred wrestles with his own sense of identify and although he throws his hand in with Alfred and the Saxons, it’s clear his heart lies firmly with the Danes. In that regard, there’s a distinct contrast with how the brash, loud, always fighting or feasting, Danes are represented compared with the pious, generally joyless, and ‘leek-eating’ Saxons. This “Saxon versus Dane” shapes Uthred’s life, and eventually affects the fate and makeup of the future country of England.
With so many books, the series does get a little ‘old’ after a bit, with the newer plots concerning yet another Danish warlord seeking to conquer Wessex (and who needs to be foiled … again). To be fair, Cornwell slips in various twists and surprises over the subsequent books to help keep things interesting and, to be honest, if you really enjoyed the first books, you’ll enjoy the later ones.
I read the first seven books in the series but, a few years back, I lost track and didn’t have time to keep up with the burgeoning book count (and body count). That’s not a negative reflection on the books of course, rather on my own limited free time. I look forward to the day when I can actually return to 9th/10th century Wessex.
What’s the background to the characters?
The major historical character in The Saxon Stories is Alfred the Great, of course, and Cornwell’s (sickly and sinful) depiction of him effectively matches the description provided in The Life of King Alfred, a biography believed to have been written in 893 A.D. by the Bishop Asser (this would have been shortly after Alfred’s reign). If you’re interested, you can find that on Project Guttenberg by clicking the image below:
Another early source on the life of Alfred the Great is a ninth-century manuscript known as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which lists a series of different events over the history of the Anglo Saxons. You can find that below.
Cornwell appears to use the latter to guide his own stories in terms of the timeline of various treaties, family successions, and major battles that take place through The Saxon Stories. As with all such ‘historical’ documents however, there’s always plenty of room for narrative licence when it comes to characters and side plots.
Uthred, meanwhile, despite being a figure of Cornwell’s invention, actually has a basis in reality. Cornwell’s personal story – which I won’t get into here – is actually quite an interesting one. Adopted as a child, when he was 58 years old, Cornwell was visiting Vancouver on a book tour when he met up with his biological father (a man called ‘William Outhred’ - note the last name). That meeting led to an interest in family genealogy and, on researching it further, Cornwell subsequently learned of his own potential link to Saxons based in the fortress of Bebbanburg (Bamburgh Castle). This group included a historical character known as Uhtred the Bold.
And, thus, was The Last Kingdom sparked into being.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for an historical adventure read, I’d highly recommend The Saxon Stories. I certainly enjoyed reading them and they’re far better than the later, fantasy-style Viking books that came out on the market (although there are, of course, exceptions).
Occasionally, I find my own books get compared to, or listed alongside Cornwell’s works but, to be honest, that’s probably down to the fact that we both write historical, regionally defined, adventure novels. Otherwise, I think we both have very different styles and very different cultural interests. All the same, I think that having read many of Cornwell’s The Saxon Stories before I started writing, they must have had some influence on my own books.
To be honest, what those might have been in terms of literary input, or indeed how influential they actually were, I’m not entirely sure. I am certain however that I started including "Historical and Creative Notes" at the end of my books directly as a result of Cornwell’s ‘Historical Notes’ (also at the end of his works). In his ‘Historical Notes’, Cornwell took the time to explain and clarify which of his characters and events were based on actual history and what liberties he took with them. I really appreciated that as I found it added immensely to the overall reading experience.
As a result, when I started publishing my own books, I decided to something similar, particularly as I always aim to add a little cultural instruction to everything I do. I haven’t received any complaints about them thus far, so I’m assuming people like them.
Interestingly, back in 2020/21, I was contacted by Carnival Film and Television (the producers of The Last Kingdom television series) who’d heard that Graisland Entertainment were looking at setting up a production of ‘Liath Luachra’ in Ireland. For a time, they were interested in acquiring the rights for the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series (given that the Liath Luachra books were already optioned). Sadly, that deal never went anywhere.
Ah, well! Always the bridesmaid … etc. etc.
Irish Stew Interview
This is an interview I had a few months back with the ‘Irish Stew Podcast’ - a podcast which focuses on interviewing Irish personalities, creatives, and business figures figures around the world. There’s a link in the image to the blah, blah, blah.
I’m not really a podcast listener. I don’t tend to give many interviews either but I like Martin Nutty and John Lee’s conversational style, and they’ve had some fascinating people on their show over the years, so I said ‘yes’.
The interview is quite long (an hour) so you can use the ‘chapters time points’ to avoid the topics you’re not interested in.
Episode Chapters
Introduction (0:01)
Favorite Irish Place (2:55)
The Meaning of O'Sullivan (4:37)
Beara Origins (6:07)
Moving Statues of Ballinspittle (8:07)
Microbiology and Migration (12:19)
Sense of Irishness (14:41)
Being Irish in New Zealand (15:57)
Irish Imbas (19:10)
Irish Cultural Knowledge Gap (22:49)
The Problem With Irish Mythology (24:42)
Mythology and the Irish Language (28:53)
Liath Luachra (31:07)
Imagining Prehistoric Ireland (33:54)
Ancient Irish Landscapes (37:37)
What Makes Liath Luachra Work? (41:02)
The Business Model (46:58)
Towards Understanding Ancient Ireland (50:17)
Seamus Plug (54:32)
John and Martin Recap (56.58)
Credits (58:04)
Star Wars 1920s and New Technology
Some of you may have come across the black and white film versions of Star Wars that have been turning up online recently. Generated with AI, it’s a good example of just how powerful the AI tools are, and what impact they can have on the creative sector (both good and bad). You can find one of those videos here:
There’s been a pattern forming with the introduction of new technology over the previous decades - that’s to say, the pattern has become far more perceptible over recent decades due to the heightened impacts its had on society (these are the kind of impacts I tend to look at as part of my non-creative work-life ). At a very basic level, the essential pattern goes as follows:
A new disruptive technology is introduced by commercial interests (for example, computers, the internet, mass marketing, mobile phones, social media etc.)
Commercial interests link with national interests to drive the uptake of the new technology, avoiding any form of pre-emptive regulation or assessment
The new technology is pushed onto society through huge mass-marketing programmes
The mid- to long-term impacts start to appear and get recorded (e.g. online bullying, increased mental health disorders, undermining of democratic institutions etc. etc.)
Governments belatedly start looking at regulation of tech (usually 20+ years later)
As mentioned, above this is a very simplistic outline of how the new tech introductions work and its by no means the same for all new tech. It does, however, ring some alarm bells with respect to the need for some pre-emptive assessment and regulation of new tech as powerful as AI tools before its released on the world. Fortunately, those discussions have started but only time will tell how effective they’ve been (or not).
Paid Content
This month, despite my efforts with audio tech, I’ve been unable to develop what I wanted to insert in the paid content section. For this reason, this section now includes the final version of Chapter One for FIONN: The Betrayal.
The End
That’s it for 2023 (for me at least). As usual, there’ll be no newsletter in December and Vóg will be back at the end of January 2024. Hopefully, at that point, I can let you know when FIONN: The Betrayal will be released and, potentially, say a little more on a new project I want to release with that book.
In the meantime, don’t forget that Liath Luachra: The Great Wild is currently available at half -price in the following stores:
Otherwise, have a a relaxing Christmas and New Year.
See you in 2024.
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