Category Archives: Fiction

The Sweetest Dream

Please find the link below to my story ‘The Sweetest Dream’ published by Sudo Journal (Australia) Or, here is the text if the link doesn’t work well. The Sweetest Dream – Chris Barker Theo lay on his back, staring at the ceiling as he waited for the nurse to return to his bedside. He wantedContinue reading “The Sweetest Dream”

A response to ‘On the Beach’

By Brian Martin Responding to my post about ‘On The Beach” Dear Chris Thanks for your reflections on On the Beach. They greatly interested me because, like you, I recently reread the book and watched the film. That was in late 2020 for my book Truth Tactics (free at https://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/21tt/), one chapter of which isContinue reading “A response to ‘On the Beach’”

On The Beach

I recently re read Nevil Shute’s 1957 post-apocalyptical novel On the Beach, and watched the 1959 movie of the same name. I last read the book 50 years ago. The story details the responses of a diverse set of characters living in Melbourne as deadly radiation from a northern hemisphere nuclear war approaches – withContinue reading “On The Beach”

The Last Time She Saw Him

Lucy watched the peeling paint shower like pale yellow snowflakes from the inside of her bedroom door as it vibrated from an intentional violence. He could not have meant what he had done. Once the black cloud had lifted, as it always did, he would come to his senses and beg mum for forgiveness. FullContinue reading “The Last Time She Saw Him”

The Reckoning

Agnes was sitting on a bench in the park with Zac while they waited for his appointment. Zac was due for his skills assessment tests following a two-year mentorship with Agnes. After serving in the defence force, Agnes had taken on the role of professional ‘mother’ and Zac was her first mentee, her protégé. AndContinue reading “The Reckoning”

Politics and Writing (Fiction)

I have long been engaged in writing-fiction and non-fiction- and I have always been attentive to politics. I have written non-fiction work about politics, and I have written fiction that had an underlying political resonance. Politics and writing are inescapably intertwined. First, let me explain what I mean by politics. Politics refers of course toContinue reading “Politics and Writing (Fiction)”