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A Single Light Kindle Edition
When Rick Hendry is contacted by a federal agent to help investigate a growing number of mysterious vanishings across Australia, he finds himself immersed in a world where normal is a very narrow view of reality. The two men are joined by a doctor, an archeologist, a journalist, and an Afflür Hunter.
They soon discover that in the bush, south of Sydney, among the beach goers, walkers and picnickers, a menace grows. The mysterious Bledray monsters are preparing for a Gathering; a feast of epic proportions. Only the Afflür Hunter and Guardians can stop them, but their strength is failing and humans are needed to help prevent a second holocaust.
A Single Light is an urban fantasy tale of ghoulish monsters and non-human protectors battling to save humanity amid the spectacular and rugged landscapes of the Royal National Park south of Sydney.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherOdyssey Books
- Publication dateFebruary 17, 2016
- File size633 KB
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B07DBTVL1W
- Publisher : Odyssey Books; PublishDrive edition (February 17, 2016)
- Publication date : February 17, 2016
- Language : English
- File size : 633 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 305 pages
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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Patricia Leslie is an Australian author with a passion for combining myth, history, fantasy, and action into stories that nudge at the boundaries of reality.
Urban fantasy is the ideal genre for exploring alternative history and Patricia does just this in her debut novel, The Ouroboros Key; a contemporary quest story set in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with its foundations in early Christianity and the mysterious Sidhe. Her second novel, A Single Light, leaves known history behind, and joins fantasy and myth with beach and bush south of Sydney where the mild seeming landscape becomes the setting for a potential world-altering event. Walks through the bush will never be the same again!
Patricia’s new release, Keeper of the Way, Crossing the Line book 1 delves into the history of the city of Sydney and “solves” a mystery over 100 years old: the destruction of the magnificent Garden Palace. “Magic is great like that,” Patricia says, “and an ages old fall back when dealing with the un-explainable.” Crossing the Line explores the past and the people who lived it. Many of the characters are based on Patricia’s own family history and one women in particular who travelled from the Isle of Skye, in Scotland, bringing her traditions, magic, and supernatural links on the long journey from England to the New World. Crossing the Line is a closely interwoven tapestry of history and myth set in the wood-blocked streets and Botanical Gardens of colonial Sydney.
Patricia dedicates time to exploring as many of her locations as possible with a camera in hand and a notebook in her backpack. Getting out in the landscape allows her time to work out geographical points as well as imagining her characters in-situ. She is also a dedicated, some say compulsive, reader and collector of books. “Being an author gives me the excuse I need to spend my spare time exploring, daydreaming, and reading!
Patricia manages writing, family and full time work with aplomb as long as there is a cup of tea or a nicely chilled glass of white wine somewhere close by.
Australian readers can download Patricia's novels via amazon.com.au.
Don't forget to add a review when you've finished reading!
Look Patricia up on social media and subscribe to her blog: www.patricialeslie.net.
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2016Okay, I’m a sucker for detective stories, plucky journalists who doggedly pursue a story, medical thrillers, or something new in the paranormal field. A Single Light is all of these, and the new factor is ghouls who live among us–ghouls–some of whom are the good guys.
Legendary lone-wolf reporter Rick Hendry, with his badgered female coworker, get sucked into this mess of intrigue and murder via two channels. One is a policeman who has a Mulder Moment and realizes that a lot of missing persons and what looks like a bizarre serial killer are probably related. Rick might have blown him off, but then there was that second factor. Those lifelike, impossible dreams. Dreams that had him recognizing the crime scenes through someone else’ eyes.
The reporter friend ends up involving a forensic pathologist, and she’s caught up in the “no known human alleles” DNA results of her latest slabbed patient. An internet search and an inhuman DNA sequencing later, due to horrific events they are all drawn into the inescapable conclusion that something is indeed out there. But then they meet one of the Hunters, Lael. She has the same inhuman nature as the hungry Bledray but is protective of humans rather than lethal in intent. There are not enough Hunters, and she needs all their help. Because the Bledray are Gathering, and about to hit a species event/tipping point where if they are not stopped they will hit critical mass and destroy all of humanity.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2016Leslie takes the general premise of good versus evil and creates a one of a kind novel. Vivid yet dark descriptions bring this world to life as a backdrop for a solid plot. There were some very surprising plot twists that kept me on my toes while also providing a very interesting and unique story.
The cast of this novel was a whole lot of fun. The varied personalities each added to their plot in their own way. The gradual character development allowed the plot to progress quickly, while also providing a whole lot of information to the reader.
Once again Leslie has created a unique novel that stands out from the norm while also fitting quite well into its genre. This was a good read that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to others.
Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2016I must confess at that I know the author Patricia Leslie, however I can assure you that this has not influenced my review. If I read a book by someone I know and I don’t like it, then I simply will not rate or review it. Gladly, though this is not the case with this book – I loved it.
Patricia Leslie’s first book The Ouroboros Key was a good read, but with A Single Light, she has surpassed herself. (To see my earlier interview with Patricia on A Single Light, click here.([...])
A Single Light is urban fantasy, but I believe it could easily be classed as a paranormal fantasy too. It has been suggested that it could also be classed as a horror story, but I think that's inaccurate. I didn't find it horrific in the least - engrossing yes, horrific no.
Within the story there are three groups of beings. 1. The Afflür; 2. The Bledray; 3. Humans. The Afflür and Bledray can exist in different planes of reality and take different forms. Amongst the Afflür there are “hunters”, who serve to protect humans from the Bledray. The Bledray are soul sucking vampires; they feed off the life force of humans, consuming them totally.
Set in the southern suburbs of Sydney, Cronulla – the Sutherland Shire, this story centres around a series of mysterious disappearances and the ensemble cast who gather to investigate them.
One of the first characters we meet is Lael, a hunter who is drawn to the area by the “disappearances.” Next we meet veteran journalist Rick Hendry who is covertly contacted by a federal agent, Anthony, to assist with the investigation into the missing people. As the story is unveiled they are joined by three others – journalist Gabriela, Jaime - a doctor from the coroner’s office and her boyfriend Ben.
By now you would have inferred from my earlier paragraph that these missing people are the work of the Bledray; you’d be correct. In fact the Beldray are gathering in huge numbers…and the threat to humanity feels very real.
The book opens with a passage from “The Journal of Malaik”, a former hunter. It was this passage that had me hooked on this story. Leslie’s writing immediately immersed me in this scene, the imagery was such that I was able to clearly visualise the blasted, blackened world depicted here. Each chapter is preceded by a short excerpt from this journal and the writing in these passages has an interesting rhythmic structure and a kind of poetry that makes it genuinely read like the mystical musings of another race. It adds to the story by providing cryptic clues, and enhances the storytelling atmosphere beautifully.
No matter the writing, stories are always diminished if the characters are not realistic, fortunately I enjoyed the characterisations within A Single Light. Hendry comes across as the jaded, experienced journalist in every way from his permanently dishevelled state, his style of life and his bitterness. Gabriela was his young protégé, now friend, and tries to get him to “hold” his life together. The relationship dynamic between the two, younger protégé turned watchful guardian against his further decay is realistic. The curious, yet frightened, Jaime and her boyfriend Ben, curious without caution, are portrayed very well. The dialogue is excellent and struck me as being just what I’d expect to hear Australian’s in this situation say - I believed it and them.
Overall this book comes across as more polished, tighter and more confident than Leslie’s last book, The Ouroboros Key. I found myself reading sentences and pausing, thinking, “Gee, I like that phrase,” or “What a good way to express that.” I get all sorts of writing to review and I rarely stop and think this.
The pacing was excellent and rarely, maybe the odd half page here and there, did I get impatient and want things to speed up. Seriously, I think this was just because I was totally hooked. The action sequences will suck you in and the climactic scene met all my expectations – thank goodness.
If you like paranormal fantasy / urban fantasy I urge you to read A Single Light. It ticks all the expected boxes, but Leslie puts her own twist on the genre. I can’t wait to read her next book.
Five Stars!
- Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2016Having read and reviewed The Ourobouros Key by Patricia Leslie, I was sent this novel to review. It is OK but nothing special.
This is the story of Rick, a journalist, who gets involved in a struggle between Ghouls and the Guardians and their Hunters. As the Ghouls gather to consume mankind, the Hunter, Lael, gathers together a small group to defeat them.
Relatively engaging and quite descriptive, this is a novel which some will enjoy but, ultimately, it’s not really my cup of tea.
Top reviews from other countries
- Nathan J PhillipsReviewed in Australia on November 8, 2016
4.0 out of 5 stars A great, fast paced read. Very hard to put down
The Afflür, in the form of Guardians and Hunters, have kept humanity safe from and unaware of the vampiric Bledrey for as long as time can remember. Now a town’s entire population going missing, unexplainable autopsy results and ritual-style killings has brought together ta small team of professionals to investigate the mysteries. When reporter Rick Hendry, usually the last person to believe in monsters, ties them to all to his abnormal dreams and a strange woman appears telling them of an upcoming holocaust, the team must prepare to fight back the dreaded Bledrey. 48 hrs earlier, they hadn’t even known they existed.
Patricia Leslie’s second book is definitely not one to start late at night. This fast-paced urban fantasy brings action to southern NSW, and it difficult to put down once started. The characters are excellently written, and the plot, despite taking place in a relatively short time frame, does not feel rushed. Just fast. Very fast. Yet it does not shy away from the philosophical question of the accepted norm, reversing the roles of protector and protégé, blurring those of Hunter and Ghoul, and demonstrating reality to be little more than perception.
While the journal entries commencing each chapter fill out much of the background information in a very efficient way, there is clearly much more to the world of the Bledray and Afflür than is contained in this novel. Rather than feel like anything is lacking though, it has left me in the hope of a sequel or spinoff. Either way, I am looking forward to Leslie’s next release.
- Mark ODwyerReviewed in Australia on June 5, 2021
4.0 out of 5 stars ‘All are equal in the face of eternal hunger.’
For the Bledray, Maliak, Moriah, Jedidiah and Laeh, the humans exist only to be protected or to be hunted. On the plains below the high country lie millions of souls, a feast to gorge on. I found that the hunger of the creatures is somehow believable- it’s the idea of insatiable appetite taken to extremes. The sense of menace grows as the hunters of souls and the hunters of Bledray converge upon one another for a climatic encounter as bush fire rages. (The fire scenes seemed particularly struck me in the light of the huge fires in NSW last summer covering some of the same ranges.) The author’s attention to detail and sense of place in the descriptions of these highlands in serves to ground the story