The York Deviation

De: Sean Gabb

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Tom Sharpe meets H. P. Lovecraft at a 1980s British university, with Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and lizard gods from beyond the Void all fighting over the future.

Edward Parker is a fat, elderly, right-wing barrister with a tendency to depression and hypochondria. One ordinary night he goes to bed in the 2000s and wakes up in his old student room at the University of York in 1981 – fat, young, and less confused than he ought to be.

At first he assumes it is a dream. The tutors, the buildings, the dreadful food in the college dining hall: everything is exactly as he remembers. Then the differences start to show. Old friends have vanished. New, disturbingly zealous societies have appeared. There are rumours of rituals beneath the Temple of Isis being excavated near the main library. A professor with very odd dietary habits is desperate to tap whatever sleeps under the campus.

Meanwhile, in the wider world, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan face enemies who are not merely socialist, and certainly not human. An army of hungry lizards-from-beyond-the-Void is stirring, guided by Tory-boy Satanists and deranged anti-American scientists who would quite cheerfully end civilisation if that put England back on top.

Edward finds himself dragged into a plot in which his younger self may be a pawn, a sacrifice, or something worse. Is he here to change history, to watch it go wrong in a different way, or simply to be eaten? Can he save his new old friends and still ensure that the Iron Lady becomes all-powerful? And what exactly does “The Undertaker” have planned for York?

The York Deviation is a darkly comic blend of campus novel, alternate history and occult horror. It will appeal to anyone who remembers – or wishes they could visit – a Britain of Thatcher, Reagan, three TV channels, and rather too many things buried under pleasant university lawns.

Praise for other novels by Sean Gabb (writing as Richard Blake):

“Fascinating to read, very well written, an intriguing plot and I enjoyed it very much.” – Derek Jacobi, star of I, Claudius and Gladiator

“Vivid characters, devious plotting and buckets of gore are enhanced by his unfamiliar choice of period…. Nasty, fun and educational.” – The Daily Telegraph

“He knows how to deliver a fast-paced story and his grasp of the period is impressively detailed.” – The Mail on Sunday

“A rollicking and raunchy read… Anyone who enjoys their history with large dollops of action, sex, intrigue and, above all, fun will absolutely love this novel.” – Historical Novels Review

“It would be hard to over-praise this extraordinary series, a near-perfect blend of historical detail and atmosphere with the plot of a conspiracy thriller, vivid characters, high philosophy and vulgar comedy.” – The Morning Star

Sean Gabb is an historian, broadcaster and university lecturer. His other novels, written under the pen-name “Richard Blake”, have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Greek, Slovak, Hungarian, Chinese and Indonesian. He lives in Kent with his wife and daughter.