I’m trying to figure out if the James May of Heartbeats is the same James May as the one of BBC’s Top Gear. Any takers? I’m not finding any information on him out there.

It was not the cover that made me buy this short story but rather the blurb. It contains the words evil, sword and stop nightmare. Yup, that will often be all it takes to get me to read.

Heartbeats is part one of what thus far is four parts. I have only read the first and am therefore not certain if that is the end. Each story is about the same length as this one (between 15-20 pages).

Heartbeats is a dark story, one of death and destruction and grief. We meet Stalus at the celebration of the wedding of Duon and Shelly. Except what was to be a happy event has turned into a nightmare, a nightmare that has been part of Stalus’ life for the past thirty years. It is the story of a man growing from utter helplessness to the realisation that he, too, can make a difference. Hopefully Stalus will be able to hold on to his humanity through all he has to do.

I would have to say that this is one of the darker stories I have read. Not so much because of the violence, although the violence is explicit and plenty. But more because of the utter hopelessness that is conveyed through the writing. James May writes well within the flow and writes a story that makes me think about what it must be like to fight against the odds without believing that you will make it.

• Print Length: 17 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00CSVR8IG