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I worked for many years as an academic and later in the NHS as a therapist. Initially I wrote academic papers before branching out into fiction writing. I joined my local writing group Walton Wordsmiths nearly fifteen years ago and the group is still going strong. Here I found companionship, inspiration, encouragement and a group of likeminded friends. I write because I feel inspired… the novel wants to be written, although I often have no idea where the ideas come from, it’s like a stream of consciousness! Each novel takes me at least a couple of years to complete. I have now written three novels. The first two have already been published by SCRIPTORA, in association with the Society of Women Writers and Journalists (SWWJ). The third ‘The Asymmetric Man’ was published on 23d November 2023 – also by SCRIPTORA. Ironically, ‘The Asymmetric Man’ is the first in the trilogy, but the last to be published. ‘The Girl at Conway Place’ and ‘Sunrise at An Lac’ come next.
I am a Council member of the SWWJ (Society of Women Writers and Journalists) and also a member of the SOA (Society of Authors). I am a regular participant in the SOA Novelists in London zoom group.
Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
The Asymmetric Man by Alex Rushton is a riveting spy thriller that will keep readers frantically turning pages to find out what happens next. Told across two time periods; the late sixties and the late seventies, the story switches as it unfolds. In 1966, Blake Carter was a young science student at Cambridge when he was targeted by Britain’s security force, MI6, to become an agent for them; essentially a spy. Blake’s childhood growing up in Thailand, where he had learned Thai and Vietnamese fluently, meant he was a perfect fit for what was unraveling at the time in Southeast Asia. Britain was technically not involved in the Vietnam conflict but was providing logistical and military support to its American friends and this would be Blake’s role in Vietnam. In 1979, Blake was working as a research director in one of Britain’s leading technology firms. While he sees the great future technology can offer humanity, he is deeply conflicted by the death and destruction technological advancement can bring in the form of bigger, more lethal weaponry. It is here he meets Cathy, a young research assistant. The attraction between the pair is instantaneous but can Blake reconcile his previous existence as a spy and the horrors he participated in whilst undercover in Vietnam with some type of normal future with a wife and children?
The Asymmetric Man is a beautifully crafted and plotted story that starkly outlines the choices we make in life and what our ultimate goals should be. Author Alex Rushton has created a wonderful character in Blake Carter. He truly is a man of two extremely different perspectives. On one hand, he is presented as a ruthless killing machine performing his patriotic duty as defined by his superiors in MI6. We see a different side of Blake, however, when he discovers the powers of meditation and enlightenment, and he begins to question his purpose. I particularly appreciated the focus on Buddhism as the vehicle for his enlightenment. There is no doubt his experiences at the Buddhist monastery and the simple love and kindness he received there, in his time of greatest need, had a profound influence on the direction of his future life. The use of split periods was an inspired choice as we see how the events of the sixties shaped and developed the Blake Carter we see in the late seventies. The author’s descriptive prowess, especially the time that Blake spent in the Borneo and Vietnamese jungles was exceptional. One could feel the heat, the insects, and the sounds of the forest as if one were truly there beside Blake. The relationship between Blake and Cathy was handled sensitively and the romantic scenes were beautiful and erotic without ever becoming crass or crude. I love the underlying message in this story; that of simplification and uncluttering, both in a physical sense as well as a mental and spiritual sense. This is not only a rollicking thriller that carries readers along at a breakneck pace, there is also a special message for those who are looking for it.
