The Sound of Silence

A novel in three parts

by A S Kendall

Between 2014 and 2018 I wrote a novel called The Sound of Silence. In light of the recent enforcement of lockdown in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I've decided to share the unpublished novel here for two reasons:

  • people might want something new to read. I'll post the novel in serial form with a few chapters appearing each day on the tabs above (top right)

  • the blurb below will make it obvious that some of the themes in the novel are relevant to our current isolation inside

I hope you enjoy the book. It's a long one, so there's lots to keep you going if this lockdown continues. Having a daily routine is a great idea to maintain your mind in isolation, so I'll post the chapters in the morning and if you choose to give it a go you can factor it into your day - or save up a bunch of chapters and binge once a week. I'm posting audio too, so if you prefer you can listen!

Please share with anyone you think may be interested.

If you want to get in touch email askendall@soundofsilencenovel.com

I live in a utopia. I am a good man. I hate this utopia. This utopia is silently, secretly and perhaps unconsciously more evil than any society that has ever existed.

Peter Harrison, 2034

What's it about?

The Sound of Silence is a novel written in three parts: The Sound of Silence, Into the Night and The Rising Sun.

Issy is a seventeen year old girl living in Bath, England, in the autumn/winter of 2014. Trying to deal with a tragedy from her past, she has plunged into the online world and spends much of her social life inside. We follow her as she tries to navigate this social realm alongside the reality of school, family, and the ever present past she cannot leave behind.

Peter Harrison's story takes place 20 years in the future in a world in which society has socially evolved into a state of self-elected and now state-enforced isolation. In NewState, all human interaction takes place online. Popularity and sociability is critical, but for those who didn't choose this way of life, the physical isolation is an unbearable imprisonment. We follow Peter Harrison as he navigates his own past, his miserable and isolated present and his surprising and confusing future, which may just lead him into a brave new world.