Bad Ideas \ Chemicals
Bad Ideas \ Chemicals
Shortlisted for the 2018 Wales Book of the Year Award | Shortlisted for the 2018 Betty Trask Award
Cassandra Fish cleans her bright-orange spacesuit. She must be ready when the window of lunar transfer opens for her parents, whom she has never known, to come to fetch her home to the distant planet which she is sure is her real home. But she still has time for a night out with her old school friends, Billy and Fox, in their decaying post-industrial town on the Welsh borders. Plagued by huge predatory insects which emerge from the nearby forest, and corrupted by GOTE, the local drug of choice, which slowly kills its addicts, the inhabitants of Goregree struggle to survive, in dead-end jobs or harried by the benefits system into shifts at the euthanasia clinic. The background to their lives in this disadvantaged and disempowered society, gradually emerge as we follow the three friends from bar to club and on to the beckoning, dangerous forest.
Set in a dystopian, not-too distant future, this extraordinary novel takes the traditional south Wales novel of urban decay into completely new territory. Lloyd Markham, in this remarkable début, brings his flawed characters to life with warmth and delicacy. Beautifully crafted and written, from its very first page the novel draws the reader into a bizarre but strangely believable world.
-
Parthian (2017)
133pp
-
Parthian (2017)
Richard Davies
Parthian Books
The Old Surgery
Napier St, Cardigan
SA43 1ED, Wales / UKinfo@parthianbooks.com
www.parthianbooks.com
Egypt - Al Arabi
Videos
Watch Author discuss and read from Meet the Author: Manon Steffan Ros
Watch Author discuss and read from Poetry Connections on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Jasmine Donahaye on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Translating Minority Languages in the Literary Translation Centre
Watch Author discuss and read from Digwyddiad Diwrnod Rhyngwladol Mamiaith 2021
Watch Author discuss and read from Alun Davies | Ar Lwybr Dial (Pursuit of Vengeance)
Watch Author discuss and read from Cyfnewid Anrhegion
Watch Author discuss and read from Iaith y Nefoedd (The Language of Heaven) | Llwyd Owen
Watch Author discuss and read from Mari Strachan on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Aled Islwyn on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from The Party Wall | Stevie Davies
Watch Author discuss and read from The Jeweller | Caryl Lewis, translated by Gwen Davies
Watch Author discuss and read from We Could Be Anywhere By Now | Katherine Stansfield
Watch Author discuss and read from Footnotes to Water | Zoë Skoulding
Watch Author discuss and read from Gwirionedd | Elinor Wyn Reynolds
Watch Author discuss and read from Stillicide | Cynan Jones
Watch Author discuss and read from The Mission House | Carys Davies
Watch Author discuss and read from Wing | Matthew Francis
Watch Author discuss and read from Filò | Siân Melangell Dafydd
Watch Author discuss and read from Cymdeithas Cyfieithwyr Cymru yn cyflwyno Ffon yr Her Gyfieithu i Grug Muse yng Nghricieth on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Her Gyfieithu 2020 Translation Challenge
Watch Author discuss and read from Zafer Şenocak 'Nahaufnahmen’
Watch Author discuss and read from Grug Muse 'Craffu' on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Eleoma Bodammer 'Close ups' on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Tony Bianchi on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Damian Walford Davies on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Owen Martell on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Fflur Dafydd on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Wiliam Owen Roberts on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Deborah Kay Davies on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Lloyd Jones on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Stevie Davies on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Owen Sheers on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Jasmine Donahaye on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Siân Melangell Dafydd on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Lloyd Markham on Bad Ideas/Chemicals
Watch Author discuss and read from Llŷr Gwyn Lewis on Rhyw Flodau Rhyfel (Some Flowers of War)
Watch Author discuss and read from Llŷr Gwyn Lewis on 'Fabula'
Watch Author discuss and read from Richard Gwyn on The Blue Tent on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Eluned Gramich - Woman Who Brings the Rain on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Angharad Price on O! Tyn y Gorchudd on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Manon Steffan Ros on Llyfr Glas Nebo on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Niall Griffiths on Broken Ghost on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Richard Gwyn on Stowaway: A Levantine Journey on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Darllen y Byd - Llenyddiaeth Ryngwladol i Blant yn y Gymraeg
Reviews
Bad Ideas\Chemicals isn't afraid to discuss the topics that society seems to avoid. Markham addresses a variation of themes that are particularly relevant to young people, ranging from drugs to sexuality, by combining humour with the darkness of a dystopian world. Using features of science fiction, Markham both masks and exposes the flaws in society that we so readily ignore.
The characters have a far-reaching appeal; they may be relatable to young people for their realistic portrayal of what it is to face the impacts of adolescence and young adulthood, but their experiences would surely reflect and resonate with those of any reader. The careful construction of these characters allows them to feel real; they are not crude generalisations and stereotypes, but multifaceted and authentic portrayals of the struggles of young adults in the modern world.'
Read more reviewsSian James, Good Reads