The Last Seeker - McIlwain, William

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Résumé :
Imagine yourself as an observer from another planet, sent to Earth to explore, take in the good and the bad and report back. Quincy Jacobs, for that was the name his elders on Anavrin gave him, had that duty. Setting foot in Panama in 1911, Quincy gets handed the reins from his predecessor, Hans Kuffer, and finds out that a Seeker can see a lot, and leave a lot of baggage. In book one, Quincy has to deal with the Titanic, and newly formed acquaintances that are to embark on the perilous journey. As a journalist, working freelance at the Times in London, Quincy covers WWI from a different perspective. France looms large on the horizon, and his encounter with Simone Sonnet and WWI. Simone, whose father's ancestors have accommodated the Seekers on their vineyard in Pau for centuries, does not have a soft spot for them. Her ice-blue eyes are testament to dalliances between Seekers and the ancestors. Simone and Quincy travel to Paris, staying in the Latin Quarter amongst a myriad of cultures and ideas. Simone falls for a young American poet named Alan Seeger, but the war is not to be to kind to their relationship. Back in England, Quincy has to confront his original misguided opinion of humanity. The war has shown a dark side to humans that he was not prepared for. Enter Clara Mondale to put a positive spin on the good of humanity and what it has to offer.

Biographie:
William was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1957. His family immigrated to Australia in 1961, and he was public schooled for nine years in Boronia, Victoria. What did Mark Twain say? Don't let schooling get in the way of your education. William worked at a variety of manuallabouring jobs, in between marrying the love of his life, Karen, and helping to rear two children, Janine and Andrew, now outstanding adults.Reaching a crossroad in their life together, William and Karen decided to sell up, buy a caravan and travel Australia, no strings attached. Working at various jobs like fruit picking, driving a forklift truck in packing sheds and other nomadic ventures lent to William receiving the greatest of all educations: living a life.It was on this adventure that Wiliam wrote The Last Seeker, a perspective of the world through the eyes of a visitor from afar. Williams interest in historical events and people that shaped the world we live in are evident throughout the book.