Category: opinion

The Imposition of Restrictions

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, opinion, politics, question

Published on Medium here.

And Another 5-Star Review of ‘An Excess Of…’

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, opinion, Progress, Reading, Review

5 Star review from Mojgan Azar December 21, 2021 An Excess of … Stuart Aken’s “An Excess of” is a story about human nature and the conflicts we hold within each of us. The journey takes us from the deck of a sinking ship to the sands of a strange shore and deep into the …

Continue reading And Another 5-Star Review of ‘An Excess Of…’

Another Great #Review for An Excess Of… 

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, opinion, Reading, Review10 Comments

Here’s another lovely review for my latest novel, posted to Goodreads. Aithal Aithal's review Jan 08, 2022 really liked it This book is not just a story but a very thought-provoking piece of work. Several times, I found myself nodding in agreement. The subject matter is interwoven as the story progresses. Stuart Aken masterfully makes …

Continue reading Another Great #Review for An Excess Of… 

Another 5 Star Review.             

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, opinion, Reading, Review6 Comments

I came across this review by Joshua Grant while doing a search for my book on Amazon to check on current progress. Despite the fact I entered the title of my book in its exact form, the search returned 75 pages of titles, none of which (apart from mine) had this exact title. In fact, …

Continue reading Another 5 Star Review.             

An Excess Of…Competition?

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, opinion, politics, question8 Comments

Picture via Pixabay Humanity is sometimes credited with evolving through competition. While this may be true of the need for early humans to compete with other wild animals for food and shelter, the need to compete with other humans was less an issue in those early times as there were far fewer of us around. …

Continue reading An Excess Of…Competition?

An Excess Of…Stuff? 

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, opinion, politics, question6 Comments

Black Friday: what is this event? Is it really anything more than an encouragement to buy more stuff we don’t need? Is everyone who's so eager to ‘save’ money even aware of the recent COP26 discussions where world leaders finally began to understand the dangers facing humanity? So, what has consumerism to do with the …

Continue reading An Excess Of…Stuff? 

An Excess of…Loyalty

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, opinion, politics, question2 Comments

Loyalty, such a ubiquitous word. But what does it mean? To whom or to what are we loyal? We all, hopefully, understand the value and positivity involved in loyalty to our partner; that’s an essentially personal quality. And, equally hopefully, we recognise the worth of loyalty to a supportive family. But beyond these familial allegiances …

Continue reading An Excess of…Loyalty

Another 5 Stars in Second Review for ‘An Excess Of…’

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, opinion, Reading, Review4 Comments

The second review has come in for my latest novel. As you know, reviews are difficult to come by, so it’s always worth celebrating when they arrive. This one is on Goodreads (some reviewers avoid Amazon these days for many reasons). You can read it by clicking here. But to make it easy, I’ll also …

Continue reading Another 5 Stars in Second Review for ‘An Excess Of…’

First review for ‘An Excess Of…’ Gives 5 Stars

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, opinion, Reading, Review17 Comments

The first review has come in for my latest novel. As most readers and writers know, reviews are difficult to come by, so it’s always worth celebrating when they start to arrive. This one is on Goodreads (many reviewers avoid Amazon these days for many reasons). You can read it by clicking here. But to …

Continue reading First review for ‘An Excess Of…’ Gives 5 Stars

An Excess Of…Gifts.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, opinion, politics, question11 Comments

In just ten weeks millions of gifts will be exchanged around the world. Before that, in less than two weeks, much money will be spent on ephemeral trappings associated with Halloween. More money will be literally sent up in smoke as fireworks a few days later. And, all over the world, regardless of creed, chosen …

Continue reading An Excess Of…Gifts.

An Excess of…Population

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Nature, opinion, politics, question32 Comments

A crowd in Rome. One aspect of the modern world that contributed to my urge to write the latest novel was the issue of population. It doesn’t feature much in the story, more of an aside, but was definitely an underlying stimulus to the idea of the book. In common with many people, my major …

Continue reading An Excess of…Population

Researching for the Novel.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, opinion, Progress, Reading6 Comments

When I was first struck by the idea for my latest novel ‘An Excess Of…’, I understood I’d need to do a good deal of research. Most topics touched on in the story were already familiar, but I felt I should deepen my knowledge in as many areas as possible. Underlying subjects explored in the …

Continue reading Researching for the Novel.