Cover design by Oleg Volk
The future of humanity rests in his hands
– but is he still human?
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 Recovering after months in hospital, he is greatly changed: his skin and hair have been replaced by reptilian scales, and he has acquired an acute sensitivity to other people's nervous systems, plus the ability to affect them.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.
Read or save the entire novel as an e-book FREE!
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Download the podcast interview discussing how Scales was written, from The Writing Show
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Reviews
Updated 30 October 2010
Author's Introduction: 30 October 2010
This novel was written in an entirely different way from my previous work, The Foresight War. That was carefully planned and structured to match the actual cycle of events in World War 2. With Scales, I started with the tag-end of a dream; that reptilian scales had begun to grow across my arm. Half-awake, I wondered how other people would react to that, especially if it was accompanied by some non-human abilities. My imagination played with this idea on and off for a long time before I decided to write a novel about it.
This time I planned nothing: I just started to write and let the ideas flow and carry the story along. The book effectively wrote itself, each scene following naturally out of the previous ones, until I reached an impasse when the main character reached New York. I had no idea where the story should go next, so I shelved it for a year. At that time, I had not worked out any explanation for the character's transformation. Inspiration struck again after reading some more science fiction and I decided to make use of the parallel worlds or multiverse concept both for the rest of the plot and to provide the explanation. This time I did think most of the rest of the story through before I started writing, but it still veered off in various unexpected directions before reaching its conclusion. Interestingly, when I looked back through the first part of the book, I found that I only needed to add or amend a few paragraphs to make it conform with the later part.
Since self-publishing has worked out very well for me with The Foresight War, I unhesitatingly took the same route with Scales. However, it did not turn out to be a commercial success. I spent some time pondering this and realised that it was much less suited to the self-publishing route, for reasons I explore in more detail here. Accordingly, I decided about a year ago that, rather than let all that work go to waste, I would make the electronic version available on-line free of charge (see the link to the download page above). Since then, there have been over 1,500 hits on my download page, which is satisfying. I must confess that as a novel I prefer Scales to The Foresight War, which was more of a technical exercise to explore some ideas about an alternative Second World War. However, there's no point in arguing with the market...
A couple of responses to comments made more than once in the reviews listed below: one is that the book is fairly heavy in driving home the message about the major self-inflicted problems humanity faces today. That wasn't my intention in writing the book, that's just the way it turned out. However, I can't say that I feel very apologetic about it: those problems not only become central to the book's plot as it develops, they are real and I care about them. Another comment is that the saurians (from S1, that is: not the lot from S2!) are just too good to be true. That would certainly be a valid criticism if I were describing a human civilisation. However, the saurians are not only non-human, their civilisation has lasted for 200,000 years, they have no material worries, they have had complete control of their genetic makeup plus full telepathy for thousands of years, they live to be 800, and in order to control their population, births are so rare that children get a huge amount of attention lavished on their upbringing. Taking all of that into account, I think it not unreasonable that they should turn out rather well.
Scales has garnered only a small fraction of the reviews of The Foresight War, but these show the same range between those who really like the book and those who hate it. Fortunately, the former are very much in the majority. I post below all reviews, good and bad, for your information. For copyright reasons, only extracts from the reviews are included here. Follow the links to read the full reviews.
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From Chimeradave on his blog (October 2010)
Most likely you haven’t read this book
because you didn’t know it existed. The novel was published through Authors
Online LTD a British company formed in 1997 which publishes novels online
and can also now print novels on demand.
Before I say anymore, I have to be honest here, I know the author of this
novel through cyberspace. Tony and I have both been active posters at
Yahoo’s Classic Science Fiction Message Board for many years. So, I will
admit that I might have some bias. But those who know me and/or those who
have read some of my reviews, know that I’m not one that minces words or
lets authors off easy.
So you know I am being completely honest when I say that “Scales” is such a
great Science Fiction novel it deserved a Hugo Award nomination.
I’m sure those who haven’t read the book are sort of checking out mentally
or thinking to themselves, “this guy is a really good friend.” But those who
have read the novel understand why it is worthy of such high praise.
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From PHN on the Military Guns & Ammunition site (December 2009)
I finished Scales just an hour ago, and liked it. I had read The Foresight War with great interest; it was a historical novel which resonated with my fascination with Second World War history and technology. In contrast, Scales contains interesting scientific and technological concepts, but the exploration of these elements of the story is secondary to the exploration of the character of the hero.
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From Max Popenker (by email)
Yesterday I finished an e-copy of the "Scales" on my handheld PC. In short - very, very well done! Good plot, good characters - I liked it much, and saved it on the flash card for re-reading.
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From Karen Burnham on the Spiral Galaxy Reviews site (February 2008)
The different phases that Cade's story goes through makes this feel like a fix-up of several short stories, and the story may have worked better were it structured that way. I can certainly see a story series derived from this book doing great in the pages of Analog magazine. Williams' style fits theirs perfectly: the attention to detail, the solid attempt at sf explanations, the rather stilted dialog, the action and problem-solving parts of the plot and Williams' smooth, transparent prose style. He even shares editor Stan Schmidt's political concern with overpopulation. Williams extrapolates how today's society would deal with a phenomenon like Cade very well: the press, the media, the religious zealots, the UN, etc. It's only at the end that he falls into some traps of heavy-handedness and stereotypical characterization. This is an enjoyable read, especially if you don't look too far beneath the surface. It fits in well with the super-hero/thriller plots common to both sf and comic books, and can easily be enjoyed on that level.
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From Nathan Brazil on the SF Site (December 2007)
(A brief extract from a Featured Review):
Narrated in the first person, the very readable story suggests inspiration from Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land, the TV series Sliders, David Icke and a smattering of Harry Turtledove's Worldwar novels. I found it entertaining throughout, and finished keen to read more.
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From Adam Shardlow on the publisher's website (24 November 2007)
The novel skips along at a good pace and though the
premise sounds ridiculous, Matt's character appears sincere, if somewhat
vague. The last third of the novel concerns Matt's trip to meet the Saurians.
It feels as if this part was merely added to increase the page count,
leaving the fate of Earth unresolved and novel lacking a conclusive end.
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From Luciano on my discussion forum HERE (10 October 2007)
I did like the approach to a narrative book that is
closed and complete in itself. It's a welcome way to tell a tale, in respect
to the trilogies of trilogies so loved in these days.
And it's a book that one can like to read more than once.
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From Laura Stamps on the 'Book Reviews and Discussions' site HERE (27 July 2007)
If you’ve been searching for a science fiction novel
with a touch of fantasy and the pace of a thriller, look no more. SCALES is
the story of Matt Johnson, a man whose home mysteriously explodes one
evening. Engulfed in flames, Johnson is rushed to the hospital, his entire
body badly burned. When he recovers against all odds, doctors discover his
skin is now covered with a fine layer of scales, which change color
according to his moods.
Thus begins one man’s journey to discover not only what happened to him but
also what he has become...
In an effort to adjust to his startling new
appearance, Matt changes his name to Cade, and soon realizes he has also
acquired the ability to heal certain diseases. Cade’s quest leads him from
one mission to the next, from healer to world diplomat to harbinger. I can’t
say too much, because there are so many twists and turns in this ingenious
plot I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises. However, this is such an
original and unusual story I wouldn’t be surprised if a filmmaker snapped it
up one day. Hollywood, are you listening?
This well-written novel was a pleasure to read, and I
look forward to enjoying future efforts from this incredibly talented
novelist. Highly recommended.
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Reader reviews from amazon.co.uk
Average Customer Review (3 reviews):
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A peep into a
future, 24 Aug 2008
Reviewer Geoff Nelder (Chester, UK)
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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Would have made a
great trilogy, 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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An
interesting idea..................., 16 Jun 2007
Reviewer T. Walker (Bedfordshire, UK)
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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Reader reviews from amazon.com
Average Customer Review (2 reviews):
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A
fast-paced sci-fi adventure!, April 12, 2007
Reviewer: K. Trout "Kaye" (Pagosa Springs, CO USA)
It's a fast-paced read by a knowledgeable writer, and I enjoyed Williams's style of writing. If you like science fiction which deals with contemporary problems, you may also enjoy this book.
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Interesting
plot, but not much else, April 5, 2007
Reviewer: Andrea Johnson (for Multiverse Reviews)
This could have been an interesting book. The plot is
interesting and has some creative twists. I do wish Williams had spent more
time focusing on what he wanted to tell his readers than on writing a 200
page meandering essay on everything that's wrong with modern culture and
some vague ideas on how to fix it.
[Author's comment: Oh dear! Oh well, you can't please everybody. Ms Johnson obviously didn't like the book (her privilege) although I have to say that I'm baffled by some of the specific criticisms in her review; a few of them made me wonder just how carefully she had read it...]