Tourmaline

Description

The Tourmaline Archipelago is a place of wonder and grotesquerie which exists on the other side of our dreams. In our sleep we sail its seas and walk the streets of its cities like phantoms. Sometimes we bring back souls from the other side when we wake. Lost, confused, and possessed of powers which leak through from their home, these exiles are pursued by the mysterious Hegemony, which seeks to enslave them. When a woman appears who exists in both worlds simultaneously, she must run for her life from enemies who will tear apart the boundaries of existence and plunge each into chaos in order to possess her abilities.

After winning a Big Issue short story competition for a 'Modern Midlands Fable', James started work on his debut novel, The Narrows. Tourmaline is his second novel. He works as an English and Media Studies teacher in Worcestershire trying to disprove the idea that 'those who can't, teach'.

There's a natural levity to Tourmaline that brought to mind Neil Gaiman at his most playful ... nestles alongside dark unflinching fantasy violence that wouldn't be out of place in Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Like Christopher Priest, Brogden treats his twin realities as something of a logic puzzle but he isn't afraid to go full cosmic and explore the abstract, at times reminiscent of Gene Wolfe's masterly Book of the New Sun. These are heavyweight comparisons so early in a writer's career; a testament to the kind of talent and imagination on offer here. If you like fantasy and yearn for an intelligent, meaningful new voice, dip your toes into the turquoise waters of Tourmaline. Read more: http://www.denofgeek.com/books-comics/james-brogden/27686/tourmaline-review#ixzz2iXZMFDT9 There's a natural levity to Tourmaline that brought to mind Neil Gaiman at his most playful ... nestles alongside dark unflinching fantasy violence that wouldn't be out of place in Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Like Christopher Priest, Brogden treats his twin realities as something of a logic puzzle but he isn't afraid to go full cosmic and explore the abstract, at times reminiscent of Gene Wolfe's masterly Book of the New Sun. These are heavyweight comparisons so early in a writer's career; a testament to the kind of talent and imagination on offer here. If you like fantasy and yearn for an intelligent, meaningful new voice, dip your toes into the turquoise waters of Tourmaline. Read more: http://www.denofgeek.com/books-comics/james-brogden/27686/tourmaline-review#ixzz2iXZMFDT9 So do yourself a huge favour and just read the book; you will not be sorry. It is one of those novels that challenges at every page but still leads you ever onward, in wonder and, yes, occasional confusion, to its dramatic conclusion. Well worth the reading. So do yourself a huge favour and just read the book; you will not be sorry. It is one of those novels that challenges at every page but still leads you ever onward, in wonder and, yes, occasional confusion, to its dramatic conclusion. Well worth the reading.