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Did You Know This, Too? By Reverend Neville Barker Cryer, Lewis Masonic (01455 254450), £9.99.
ISBN 0-85318-241-8.
The third in a series of short talks about aspects of Freemasonry, the author is a good storyteller and for that “daily advancement in Masonic knowledge” this, like its two predecessors, is easy reading for the novice
as well as experienced Mason.
It includes chapters on two controversial topics – the involvement of the churches with Freemasonry and women and the Craft, and a fascinating look at the differences between Scottish and English masonry.
The author also has a very informative chapter on the Royal Arch – it is good to
see this wonderful Order receiving the coverage it richly deserves in the minds
of all Freemasons. Perhaps it will encourage more to join!
Finally, there is a chapter entitled “Is there anything more to research?” The answer,
of course, is “yes”. But the author’s twist in the tail is that the reader needs to do his own research. This entertaining little volume shows how to do it well.
John Jackson
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Ray Hammond –
Author of the Quarter
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What prompted you to write the novel Extinction?
I always set my stories in the future
and I decided that I wanted to try and envision the world 50 years from now.
I decided that global warming is probably going to be the most pressing issue of the time, and so I developed an apocalyptic thriller in which a series of cataclysmic events stem from mankind’s failure to tackle climate change. I took my ideas further and produced a form
of Armageddon that has a distinctly biblical metaphor.
How did you research the book?
Apart from the usual copious amounts
of reading of scientific tomes and background material, I actually went
to the South Pacific to see for myself the effects of climate change. On Samoa and other islands in the South Seas, village elders took me to the water’s edge and pointed out to sea, to show me where the shoreline had been when they were children. I was left in no doubt that the oceans have risen dramatically.
Did the results of this research
surprise you?
Yes – I discovered that while experts in the developed world argue about the extent of climate change and how much of it is natural and how much man-made, millions of people are already suffering its effects. The situation was far worse than I imagined.
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What is your next project?
I’ve already completed my next novel. It’s called The Cloud and is set in 2066. Thirty years after unmistakable radio signals from extra-terrestrials were
first received on Earth, astronomers discover that a giant cloud of space gas is heading towards the solar system at high speed. At first the cloud is no more than a curiosity, but then it becomes apparent that it is on a heading that
will cause it to collide with Earth. If it were to do so, it would strip all of the atmosphere away from the planet.
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When writing a book, have you got a preferred place of work and a favoured writing routine?
I can jot down plot ideas or fragments of language anywhere, but when I am in mainstream production I need to be at my own desk between 9am-12.30pm and 2pm-`3.30pm everyday.
How do you relax between projects?
Tennis, swimming, theatre and socialising.
Who is your favourite author?
Gregory Benford.
What are you reading at the moment?
In The Rose Garden of The Martyrs by Christopher de Bellaigue – its research for my next book, Angels of Death,
in which my leading characters
are Muslim.
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Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
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