The Sapes

Set in the distant future, this science fiction novel tells the story of a world facing environmental and technological challenges. As pollution and disasters lead to the banning of nuclear facilities and the depletion of oil reserves, humanity is forced to rely on manual labour and tamed gibbon-like animals, officially known as “simian auxiliary population elements” or SAPES, to work the fields and avoid famine. The story follows Julian, Inez, and their family as they navigate this new world and grapple with the mysterious prediction of “The Day of Doom,” found on an old parchment in the ruins of a monastery. With fast-paced action and thought-provoking themes, this book is a must-read for fans of science fiction and post-apocalyptic tales.

Ian Hickman (actually his two middle names) is one of the pennames used by the author, David Ian Hickman May, a professional electronics engineer with more than 50 years’ experience. With a BSc Hons, C.Eng., MIEE, MIEEE, he is a chartered engineer and a sometime member of various national and international standards committees concerned with equipment and system level applications of electronics and communications. He is the author of over two dozen books (12 titles, counting second and later editions) and over 300 magazine articles concerned with electronics.

My Friend Farringdon is Ian Hickman’s first venture into fiction, a ‘novel’ experience for him – at 86 years of age. His book My Friend Farringdon was instigated by a dream, completely forgotten, of which only the phrase ‘spanking cat’ remained. This prompted the present work which seemed to write itself, as ideas for the story flowed in abundance. The tale is told by Yellow Laughing S. Catt, and covers his life and that of his friend Farringdon Spanking Catt.