Overview

"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... ​ Includes bonus story ""Edward's Journal"". In 1861, Edward travels to New Zealand with the 57th regiment when a skirmish separates him and several other grenadiers from the main party. The men search for a way out of the bush, only someone doesn't want them to leave."

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9781067015800

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Reviews

"""Despatches is all at once heart-breaking and mythic, highlighting one of the darkest chapters in human history. Murray presents truth and fiction simultaneously, putting the reader amongst the horrors, both real and imagined."" -Greg Chapman, Bram Stoker and Australian Shadows Award-nominated author ""Murray's Despatches has all the hallmarks of a classic; capturing not only the imagination, but the strengths and failings of what it is to be human."" -Dave Jeffery, award-winning author of the A Quiet Apocalypse series. ""Multi-award-winning author Lee Murray skilfully combines history, horror and Māori mythology to create a gripping tale that will slither its way into your imagination, there to make its dark, abiding lair.""-Anna Taborska, author of Bloody Britain and For Those Who Dream Monsters ""Horror is a good match for war: wouldn't we rather believe in the fantastical than the brutal insanity of combat? Lee Murray's Despatches wraps the all-too-real horror of the Dardanelles campaign in a gossamer of eldritch fancies, creating a story that is not only a superb piece of historical fiction but a damned good horror story, too."" -Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor ""A brilliant novella that captures the sombre cruelty of war. Strongly recommend."" -Run Along the Shelves ​ ""...chillingly effective. For a short book, Despatches manages to convey a vast amount of thematic depth. The horrors of war are prevalent throughout, as are their impacts on those who fight. There is an undercurrent of grief across the novella, lending an emotional weight to those lost in battle. Murray humanises the soldiers on both sides of the war and reminds the reader that cosmic horror knows no bounds...If you like historical war stories, eldritch horror, and literary scares that feel palpably real, Despatches is well worth a read."" -Aurealis Magazine ​"

Author Information

Lee Murray is writer, editor, poet, essayist, and screenwriter from Aotearoa. A five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, Shirley Jackson Award-winner, she is a recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction.

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