660 ratings | 285 reviews | avg rating:4.25

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James’s Year In Books

James’s 2025 Year in Books

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James Kemp’s Followers (48)

James’s Bookshelves

to-read (786)
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James’s Friends (354)

T.G. Campbell

265 books | 1,045 friends

Linguana

4,536 books | 240 friends

John Tarnoff

163 books | 1,435 friends

Greg Hickey

974 books | 188 friends

Lyn

2,142 books | 5,000 friends

Doug Cooper

493 books | 3,718 friends

Dipanjan

9,802 books | 1,281 friends

Bill Fairclough

472 books | 5,151 friends

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James Kemp

Goodreads Author

Born

in Glasgow, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.themself.org/

Twitter

greencoatboy

Genre

Science Fiction, History, Ebooks

Influences

Iain Banks (with and without the M), Charles Stross, William Gibson, T ...more

Member Since

October 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/greencoatboy

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I'm a Glaswegian, after decades living in Surrey, I am now back in Scotland, but in the East. I have always written stories, since I was a boy, and I've managed to carry that on even though I did a science degree and then work for the UK government. More recently I finished a degree with the Open University, which included creative writing.

Most of what I write is science fiction, and fantasy. The pandemic slowed me down, for two reasons, One is that I usually wrote on my commute. The walk to the station gave me the time and space to think about the next bit of the story and rehearse it in my head. The train journey was an opportunity to type that up. The second reason is that I've moved 500 miles north of the urban sprawl that was greater L ...more

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Combine Editions
James Kemp’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 36 ratings · 18 reviews · 4 distinct works

	Exodus: Mike's Thread 4.31 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2013 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Themself: Confessions of an Open University Creative Writing Student 3.86 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Perfects (Exodus, #1) 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fierce really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

575 posts
James Kemp's Blog

Carn an Tuirc [Munro #11]

3Alexander and I went up Càrn an Tuirc on Wednesday. It was his first Munro since he started university, so we only did half the (optimistic) route. Lots of this was because it was very boggy on the bottom end of the route, and we had quite a lot of stops to work out the steps to avoid sinking into the peat bog. Route for Carn an Tuirc and Cairn of Claise I very optimistically planned a route that

James is Currently Reading

James Kemp is currently reading

The Gods of the Gaels: Selected Articles on the Gods and Goddesses of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man

by Eleanor Hull

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Jan 19, 2026 02:00PM

James Kemp is currently reading

Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders, #1)

by Robin Hobb (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Mar 22, 2025 12:31PM

James Kemp is currently reading

Five Minute Fantasies: A Collection of Four Urban Fantasy Short Stories

by Joel Spriggs (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

read in April 2023

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Apr 15, 2023 03:16PM

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James’s Recent Updates

James Kemp rated a book it was amazing Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1) by Matt Dinniman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 23, 2026 03:08PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Kemp rated a book liked it The Picts: The History of the People Who Inhabited Scotland in Antiquity and the Middle Ages by Charles River Editors	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 21, 2026 11:00AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Picts by Charles River Editors. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Picts by Charles River Editors <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Kemp is currently reading The Gods of the Gaels: Selected Articles on the Gods and Goddesses of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man by Eleanor Hull	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 19, 2026 02:00PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Gods of the Gaels by Eleanor Hull. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Gods of the Gaels by Eleanor Hull <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Kemp is currently reading The Picts: The History of the People Who Inhabited Scotland in Antiquity and the Middle Ages by Charles River Editors	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 19, 2026 01:57PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Picts by Charles River Editors. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Picts by Charles River Editors <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Kemp rated a book it was amazing Chained Knight by Lilith Saintcrow (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 04, 2026 02:47PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Chained Knight by Lilith Saintcrow. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Chained Knight by Lilith Saintcrow <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Kemp rated a book it was amazing Murder Planet by Adam Carpenter (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 30, 2025 03:45AM · like
James Kemp wants to read Lava Moon (Space Freighter Tulyar Book 3) by Adam Carpenter (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 30, 2025 03:45AM · like
James Kemp has read Murder Planet by Adam Carpenter (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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James Kemp rated a book it was amazing Generation Ship (Tulyar 2) by Adam Carpenter (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 30, 2025 03:44AM · like
James Kemp is now following Adam Carpenter Author of Murder Planet
Nov 28, 2025 09:32AM · like

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James’s Quotes

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

tags: charles-bayard-mitchell

101584 likes

“One should never mistake pattern for meaning.”
― Iain Banks, The Hydrogen Sonata

73 likes

“Monty Python is like catnip for nerds. Once you get them started quoting it, they are constitutionally incapable of feeling depressed.”
― Kevin Hearne, Hounded

316 likes

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
― Mark Twain

tags: aliteracy, attributed-no-source, literacy

41008 likes

“Nothing stands for content-free corporate bullshit quite like PowerPoint. And that's just scratching the surface...”
― charles stross, The Jennifer Morgue

28 likes

More of James’s quotes…