BloodBond - the Podcast

This is Episode One of the audio podcast of BloodBond, the first book in the Black Tower trilogy.

First BloodLine Review in The Ileach

Dear all

I am delighted to say that the first formal review of my latest book BloodLine has been published by The Ileach, the independent newspaper for Islay and Jura. Those that have read my books will know that Islay features heavily – and especially in the latest book - so for the local paper to give it a positive review means a lot.

A short excerpt below:

“Bastin has all but perfected the art of carrying several narrative threads simultaneously, gently increasing the need to read ‘just one more chapter' by grasping the reader’s attention over a series of commendably short chapters…… It would be imprudent of me to answer any of the above queries, for so doing would take the form of an undesired 'spoiler alert'. Far better that you acquire a copy and find out for yourself. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.”

Brian Palmer also kindly interviewed me and you can read a little more about the genesis of the series in the attached interview.

Many thanks to Brian Palmer and The Ileach!

BloodLine profiled in Oban Times

Many thanks to the Oban Times and Sandy Neil for their story on the publication of Bloodline.

But a few of my favourite parts include:

Explaining the inspiration behind his trilogy of thrillers, Nick told The Oban Times: ‘I have a deep respect for what the people of the Gàidhealtachd were doing.

‘It was a different country to the rest of Britain. It had no roads, nowhere to stay, and an unknown people speaking another language, but there was a strong culture.
‘All that changed after the Battle of Culloden.’

He wondered what the Gàidhealtachd would look like today if the clan system was updated to the 21st century.

What would they be doing now?

‘I started writing the first one in 2018,’ he said: ‘When you have the arc, the characters, what they are going to say, it comes very quickly. The Gaelic Republic was a play on the Lords of the Isles,’ he said. ‘Oban has a great location at the centre of the country, and a harbour.

‘What I enjoy most is people with no connection to Gaelic getting an exposure.
It is really rewarding to have complete strangers getting in touch saying: ‘That was great! When’s the next one?”

Read the full article (behind paywall) here: https://www.obantimes.co.uk/2021/08/29/what-if-bonnie-prince-charlie-had-won-the-battle-of-culloden/

BloodFeud - the first review

BloodFeud's first review - in the Ileach, the Independent Newspaper for Islay and Jura

Just had my first formal review of BloodFeud by the wonderful Ileach, the independent Newspaper for Islay and Jura.

My favourite parts include:

There are few opportunities to catch your breath…..

The premise behind the Black Tower series is superb, as is the writing…..

Compulsive doesn’t begin to describe it……

The sooner the third part arrives at the Ileach office, the better.

Thank you Ileach! http://www.ileach.co.uk/

You can read the full review below:

BloodFeud. The Book of the Black Tower, volume 2 Nick Bastin. Paperback £6.99

In March this year, the Ileach reviewed the first instalment of a promised trilogy from author Nick Bastin. That first novel, ‘BloodBond’ has now been quickly followed by the second instalment, entitled ‘BloodFeud’, pretty much continuing where the first one left off. Nick told me that he’d not commenced writing BloodFeud until the early part of this year. “It went quite quickly as the story just came out.”

The premise behind this ‘Black Tower’ series is that, rather than having been defeated at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746, the Duke of Cumberland was, in fact, felled by a pistol shot, subsequently changing the course of history
as we know it, and engendering a Scotland entirely different from the present day.

The western isles, including Islay and most of northern Scotland is now constituted as the Gaelic Republic, leaving only the eastern fringes of the country under the command of Scotland’s First Minister. The rest is still ruled by Scotland’s various clans, and they’re still every bit as unruly and belligerent as ever they were.

The clan central to Nick Bastin’s narrative, is that of the MacNachtan’s of Dunderave, which is now a burned-out castle near Inveraray. As a small clan, they ought to be a mere bit player in the various schemes and strategies,
but they seek revenge against Allan Stewart who, at the opening of ‘Bloodfeud’, still occupies their ancestral home.

But, just to throw a spanner in the narrative works, ‘BloodFeud’ opens in Surrey County, Jamaica, on 30 June 1763, where Gilchrist MacNachtan has been held as a slave, but following his period of penitent hard-labour, he is about to be set free.

“With the setting of the sun, you have paid for your crime of rebellion against the King. […] You had the fortune to be captured alive, many of your fellow Gaels were not so lucky.” I doubt that it’s giving too much away to say that his captors then change the goalposts and rescind his freedom, forcing him to escape, killing but a few of those who stood in his way.

We then return to the present day, when a descendent of Gilchrist MacNachtan arrives at Scotland’s Gaelic Republic, a man who will play his part much later in the book, by challenging the Stewart occupiers of Dunderave Castle.

But, still the most important and ostensibly powerful man in the Republic is the head of the Clan Lamont. It is essentially he who has ‘allowed’ Allan Stewart to remain in Dunderave Castle, following his killing of the MacNachtan clan chief in ‘BloodBond’.

John Lamont is also a man who knows how to have others carry out his scheming, while concealing his involvement. He’s the man in charge of the Black Watch, supposedly the Republic’s peace-keepers, but with a rather brusque manner.

“Lamont knew he had to break a few eggs to make the omelette he had in mind. To do that, he had to play on the mutual enmity and rivalry of the other magnates, to keep them occupied and their eyes off the main game.”

The first chapter in Lamont’s strategy involves having Catriona Maclean of Duart invade and capture Islay. Though this act subsequently leaves her strategically weakened near her homeland, it also keeps her rivals occupied while Lamont continues with his master plan.

There follows an attempt by Brighid and Nin MacNachtan to persuade MacLeod of Dunvegan to intervene in matters, but with more than just a few plot twists, including the Stewarts’ kidnapping of children as hostages, to have the reader really need to pay close attention. There are few opportunities to catch your breath.

The premise behind the Black Tower series is superb, as is the writing, greatly enhanced by the shortness of each chapter (there are a total of 53 in ‘BloodFeud’). Compulsive doesn’t begin to describe it.

And in cheering news, Nick told me, “I am busy working on the third in the trilogy which I think could be the most exciting of all and in which Islay features a lot.” The sooner the third part arrives at the Ileach office, the better.

BloodFeud is available from Amazon.

BloodFeud - my new book

My new book - BloodFeud

I am very excited to say that I have finished my second novel, a sequel to BloodBond.

Called BloodFeud, it continues the journey of the cast of characters and has plenty of tense and exciting moments – well I would say that wouldn’t I!

I am also very excited to be able to reveal that Ewen Henderson, one of Scotland’s leading traditional musicians (Mànran, Battlefield Band, Afro-Celt Sound System), has written a great tune for Strong Stands the Black Tower and the notation is included in the book, so you can play along should you wish to.

Due for publication on the 17 September – the date that Bonnie Prince Charlie entered Edinburgh in triumph in 1745 – it is available now for pre-order on Kindle and will also be available in paperback (only available to order in paperback from the 17th though).

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

To the Last Drop…..

BloodFeud is the sequel to BloodBond, the fast-paced thriller set in an alternate contemporary Britain, where the Highlands and Islands of Scotland have become the Gaelic Republic following Bonnie Prince Charlie’s unexpected victory at the Battle of Culloden.

The Gaelic Republic is in turmoil; John Lamont’s schemes have triggered unrest all along the west coast as rival magnates vie with each other for power. Will his plans to seize control come to fruition or will the Republic’s institutions be able to contain his ambition?

The Clan MacNachtan’s fortunes are at a low ebb; with the evil Allan Stewart occupying Dunderave, their future looks bleak. Will they be consumed by the growing chaos around them?

Gillespie wants to return home, to continue the life he once knew, but he finds that leaving the Republic and its dangers behind is not so easy.

BloodFeud builds on the tension and momentum of BloodBond, revisiting the cast of characters and their struggles to survive, from the jagged precipices of the Cuillin Hills in Skye to the nefarious politics of the capital.

A review in the Ileach

Please see excerpts from a wonderful review by the Ileach newspaper from Islay and Jura written in March 2020:

….. his first foray into published fiction, and a very impressive one at that…..Well written, fast paced and blessed with short chapters, the novel comprises well over 300 pages of intrigue and excitement, allied to a well-conceived plot…..I sincerely hope that the author’s optimism of future tales is realised…... On this reading, those would be thoroughly deserved.

Many thanks to The Ileach for their kind words!

BloodBond - the cover

Many people have asked me about the photo on the cover of my book BloodBond that is out now on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2HK7LXm

Skye friends will doubtless recognise it!

I took the picture in the sea cave on Talisker Bay on Skye, just after a big gale had come through – hence the rough seas in the background. The family and I had a memorable picnic there and loved watching the waves pounding on the shore.
When the wind blows from the west you can get waterfalls blown straight up in the air from the cliffs you can see in the picture – very dramatic!

Even though the setting of the book is further south in Argyll, it seems to capture the alluring, if wild and slightly dangerous, atmosphere of the Gaelic Republic.