Small Beginnings: A free dystopian sci fi first in series

M T McGuire

Nov 2019 · Hamgee University Press

About this ebook

Enjoy this humorous sci-fi dystopian first in series to read for free.

When trouble comes knocking meet the one man dumb enough to answer the door ...

When your very existence is treason, employment opportunities are thin on the ground. But when one of the biggest crime lords in the city makes The Pan of Hamgee a job offer he can’t refuse, it’s hard to tell what the dumbest move is: accepting the offer or saying no to Big Merv. Neither will do much for The Pan’s life expectancy.

Written in British English with a dash of light swearing. Suitable for any reader of any age from 10 up - younger readers who have read all the Harry Potter books without any worries will be fine with the Hamgeean Misfit stories.

Suggested cinema rating, PG.

Small Beginnings is the free first book in the Hamgeen Misfit, series. Despite being set in a contemporary dystopia it is a light comedy story featuring futuristic technology in a parallel reality. There is some dark humour and some very light swearing

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INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

Q – So, tell us about K'Barthan Extras. What made you write them? What makes this book special?

A – If you want the honest answer I wrote it for me. As a reader, I love dystopia but I like it upbeat. I enjoy British satire and humor (or humour). I love wit; funny epic fantasy series like the Discworld novels and comedic sci fi like Douglas Adams, humorous science fiction reads, or fantasy stories. I like sff and speculative fiction but the best science fiction and fantasy stories, for me, are funny, I like adventure and action and a gripping tale that zips along quickly. And of course, I like genre fiction mashups; Douglas Adams meets StarTrek and James Bond - with a smidgeon of Dr Who and a dash of romance (but no squelchy bits). Think Father Ted meets Red Dwarf or then again ... maybe don't. I wanted a fast paced story, a gripping tale but at the same time a funny one. Comedy in the tradition of all the great humorous British authors, something light and witty and clever. I like to aim high. I wanted protagonists people could love and empathise with, mavericks, misfit characters, real people ... except they're not all people obviously, some of them are other alien (ish) species. The K'Barthan series about misfit heroes and heroines winning the day, it’s about good versus evil even when the good guys are on different sides. It's a science fiction fantasy action adventure in a dystopian setting - it's planet based, so it's a bit of a blend. It's pure comedic portal fantasy, except it's comedy sci fi too. You'll find all sorts of quirky characters and interesting alien species: from 6ft Swamp Things with antennae to cute furry creatures like the Blurpons, with their fluffy ears, big button eyes and penchant for extreme violence.

Oh ... and did I mention the flying car chases?

Q – Do you have a target reader?

A – Officially it’s young adults and teenagers. The series is certainly proving popular with ya readers and I had my nephew in mind when I wrote them, who was a teenager at the time. 

However, I firmly believe that all the best sci fi books should hold a universal appeal, so I also wrote it for me. I wanted an epic read and ... yeh well ... this was the best I could do. Thus far – if the people who contact me are anything to go by – my dystopian light reading appeals to a certain type of person across the board. The oldest fan of the my books I know about was in his 90s and the youngest,10. The kind of readers who review my stuff often compare it to Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Douglas Adams, Harry Potter and Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series (but don't expect this to be as good as any of those). People who like my stuff also enjoy Barry Hutchieson's Space Team books but again, while mine are good science fiction fantasy books, don't expect them to as good as all this stuff I've mentioned whatever the reviews might say! This is just to give you a flavour of the kind of tone you might expect.

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Fans of these other sci fi and fantasy authors may also enjoy this series:

Robert Rankin, C Gockel, Patty Jansen, JJ Greene, FJ Savage, Heide Goodey, EM Foner, Robert Asprin, the Stainless Steel Rat and Space Team series.

KEYWORDS:

dystopian, dystopia, parallel universe, young adult literature, best science fiction, light novella, sci fi, coming of age, dry sarcastic humour, gallows humor, adventure stories, humorous books, epic reading, British humour, ya fantasy, funny comedy books, comedic short science fiction stories, sci fi books that are free, read ebooks for free, stories to read online free, google books free to read.

Ratings and reviews

I found this book a good read. It seemed not to be as heavy going as some of the books as I have been reading recently. Made a welcome change.

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About the author

M T McGuire enjoys the real world but wouldn’t want to live there full time. That’s why she writes books. She grew up, or at least got bigger, halfway up a windy down in Sussex. Her home was also the first location choice for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films, so maybe it’s not so strange that she’s ended up writing spec-fic. Perhaps there’s something in the water up there, apart from chalk.

M T tried stand up at one point, but sat down many years ago. She now lives in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, with a McOther, a McMini and a selection of very silly cars. She hasn’t found a way to make any of the cars fly, and none of them are fitted with ordnance, but she and her team of evil scientists are working on that.

Despite being over fifty now and supposedly an adult, M T checks all unfamiliar wardrobes for a gateway to Narnia. She hasn’t found one so far but lives in hope.