Description
Story Origins:
One pleasure of writing books can be the feedback received from readers. Sometimes they tell you what they enjoyed, or point out something you’ve missed. And occasionally they ask a question you cannot answer.
That happened to me after I completed the fifth and final book in the Lodge Looks Back series.
My friend Luke Brian Martin, whom I first met at Shillingstone railway station, the inspiration for the fictional village of Shillington, and the first person ever to buy a book directly from me… asked a simple question:
‘Where did Stephen Lodge come from?’
It caught me completely off guard.
Over the course of five books, Stephen Lodge had risen from Lieutenant to Captain in the Royal Navy while becoming involved in all manner of adventures and assignments. Yet I had never really stopped to think about what had shaped him into the man he became.
Over a cup of tea, Brian, as his friends call him, told me he wanted to know what made Stephen Lodge tick.
I had been challenged before to write about my own years in the Royal Navy, and that brought back a memory of my mother telling me about the Royal Hospital School, where one of her three boys could have gone on a scholarship, but none of us did.
Suddenly, the answer was obvious. The Book of Lodge would not be a sequel. It would be a beginning.
Remembering the people I had known, the places I had been, and the events that had shaped me, I drew heavily on my experiences, memories, and observations of the late Fifties and through the Sixties, and mixed a large dollop of fiction with an awful lot of fact, while building the young Stephen Lodge.
Every one of us has a book hidden somewhere inside. Childhood adventures, lifelong friendships, scrapes with authority, first loves, family, work, triumphs, mistakes and regrets. Most never get written.
A man I met many years ago, the last gas lamplighter in the town I live in now, carried his life with him in a shop’s carrier bag, a jumble of memories and papers he wanted someone to ghost-write. I told him to speak to a librarian. But he had not come looking for directions. He had come looking for someone to listen.
Perhaps that is why The Book of Lodge mattered so much to me. Stephen Lodge may be fictional, but the impulse behind him is not. Ordinary lives are seldom ordinary to the people who have lived them, and once their stories are gone, no one can recover them. This book became my way of listening before it was too late.
Praise – Gwen Reads. #4 Top Reviewer on Goodreads –
Book 2:
The Book of Lodge by K.S. Ford follows the life of our beloved protagonist, Stephen Lodge. It gives us a deep look into his life and journey. After reading the Lodge Looks Back series, I was expecting The Book of Lodge to just be a standard prequel, but I was in for a pleasant surprise.
It begins with a ten-year-old Stephen Lodge living in Kent. Even at such a young age, Stephen could not stand bullies. He defended kids who could not stand up for themselves. His parents travelled to Uganda and dropped him off at a boarding school. This made him grow up faster. After school, he joined the Royal Navy. This is an institution designed to break an individual. The Navy is hard, but things get worse when he joins the Ministry of Defence unit. Stephen witnesses and does things that test his morals and limits. We follow him in this thrilling journey, watching him grow from a boy to a man.
Following over two decades of Stephen’s life is thrilling. The pacing is slow, but it does not drag on. It actually works in the book’s favour, as it makes the intense moments more enjoyable and engaging. I love how real the military details are. I believe it is incredibly in-depth because Ford draws from his own experience in the Royal Navy, which he joined straight out of school, just like our protagonist. This makes the book more unique.
One aspect of this book I love is the character development. We see him grow from a boisterous ten-year-old to a young man, taking up dangerous missions. He changes and grows up, but he never loses his courage and need for justice. Stephen is the kind of protagonist you have to respect. He shows us that standing up for what is right can be terrifying, but letting the wrong thing happen is worse.
This is an intriguing book that will help fans bridge the gap in Stephen Lodge’s life. It can also be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed reading this book. It deserves 5 out of 5 stars.
ink_well_Elara –
K.S. Ford’s book is not merely a story of one man’s journey; it is a deeply human portrait of courage, loyalty, and emotional resilience set against the backdrop of a changing Britain. Through Stephen Lodge, Ford creates a protagonist who feels strikingly real flawed, compassionate, stubborn, and fiercely protective of those who cannot defend themselves. The opening scenes of Stephen standing up for Peggy immediately establish the moral heartbeat of the novel, showing that true strength often begins with kindness rather than violence.
What makes the book especially powerful is Ford’s ability to balance tenderness with brutality. Moments of childhood innocence and camaraderie are suddenly interrupted by shocking violence, particularly in The Aftermath, where the emotional devastation is written with haunting realism. Ford does not glorify pain; instead, he explores how trauma shapes character and memory. The writing carries a raw sincerity that makes every confrontation, every loss, and every quiet conversation feel personal to the reader.
The naval chapters and historical backdrop add remarkable depth to the narrative. From HMS Dryad to references to global tensions in 1968, Ford skilfully grounds Stephen’s personal struggles within real historical events, giving the novel an authentic atmosphere. Yet even amid military discipline and political unrest, the emotional core remains Stephen’s search for identity, belonging, and peace. His relationships, especially with Liz McDevitt, reveal a man battling duty, grief, and emotional isolation all at once.
Ultimately, The Book of Lodge succeeds because it speaks honestly about humanity. K.S. Ford writes with compassion for ordinary people carrying extraordinary burdens. The novel leaves a lasting impression not through grand heroics, but through quiet acts of loyalty, sacrifice, and endurance. It is a heartfelt and emotionally layered work that deserves recognition for both its historical richness and its deeply moving portrayal of the human spirit.