Quarry: The Ancient Trackways, Part I

In the shadow of the Cumbrian hills, a way of life is fading...

In the rugged beauty of north-west Britain around five thousand years ago, meet Bran, a master stone-crafter. He is a key member of the skilled group of workers in The Valley, where the legendary Langdale axes are extracted from the native rock, and then lovingly shaped and prepared. But change is stirring in the land.

In the nearby settlement of Dolgolvan, farmers are carving out a new world, one of settled fields and fixed boundaries. Bran finds himself caught between loyalty to his people's traditions, and the inevitability of progress. Through his eyes, witness the delicate balance of cooperation and conflict, the struggle to adapt, and the quiet beauty of the natural world - its plants, animals, and birds - that sustains them all.

With a keen eye for detail and a deep reverence for the humanity of the past, Quarry is a poignant exploration of a pivotal moment in human history, where the old ways clash with the new, and the land itself bears witness to the dawn of a different age.

Richard Abbott writes fiction written in several different genres. The first is speculative fiction, set either in a historical fantasy world, or else in a near-future solar system exploring issues of high-tech crime and human-machine relationships. He also writes historical fiction set either in prehistoric Britain, or the ancient near East at the end of the Bronze Age. Richard lives and works in Cumbria, England, as part of a family hospitality business. This includes all manner of jobs including designing AI skills for Alexa and similar technologies. When not writing words or computer code, he enjoys spending time with family, walking, and wildlife, ideally combining all three pursuits in the English Lake District.