A Review by Deb E. Howell
One might say that war doesn’t need monsters weaved into its fabric to become more horrific than it already is, but in the chaos of its threads, it presents fertile ground to grow a feasible conspiracy that we’re not the only dark forces on the battlefield.
The mindless monster picking off the suspecting and unsuspecting alike makes for a counterpoint to the more nuanced actions of the humans in the shared setting.
While the existence of war itself may reflect the worst in humanity, we get to see some of the best of humanity as it plays out. The compassion for the wounded and the dead. The way both sides of a battle can respect white flags and the call for a temporary truce while they each clear their dead, even sharing camaraderie in the lull between bouts of gunfire. And the philosophies of those in the midst of the true horror as they consider what it is all for, alongside their own chances of returning home.
Mostly shown through the lens of journalist Cassius Smythe as he addresses his journal entries to the lover he hopes to be reconnected with after the war is over, we are thrown into the action as journal entries slide into first-person narrative as Cassius interviews key people: soldiers from various nationalities and squads, a nurse, and a chaplain, each giving us a glimpse of the war from their point-of-view. And all the while, shell-fire and the looming possibility that the rumoured taniwha might be real, keeps Death constantly on their heels.
All this and you have a story that gives you plenty to ponder with regards the human condition. Just be sure to check your surroundings.
More about the book:
A supernatural tale set against the backdrop of Anzac Cove during World War 1.
Daily Star war correspondent Cassius Smythe is off to the Dardanelles to report on the Allied campaign. That is, if only the War Office will let him tell the truth. But after months in the trenches at Anzac Cove, Smythe learns that it isn’t just the Ottoman who wish to claim back the land, and the truth is as slippery as a serpent . . .
Get a copy: https://www.pspublishing.co.uk/despatches-hardcover-by-lee-murray-6119-p.asp
Learn more: https://www.leemurray.info/