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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'After his wife's sudden death, Nicholas leaves the life he had in London and returns home to Australia. He knows something is very wrong and feels he is teetering on the brink of madness. But the truth is much, much more sinister and dates back to his childhood: when Nicholas was ten years old he found a strange talisman near the woods close to his home. He didn't touch it but felt its menacing power and ran. Later, he told his best friend, Tristram, about it. They returned to the woods together to seek it out and Tristram picked it up. That same day Tristram was murdered. There is something lurking in the woods that knows Nicholas is back...it has been waiting. Because the wrong boy died. On the night Nicholas returns home another boy goes missing and when his body is found it is clear that his murder is chillingly similar to Tristram's. Forced to uncover long-buried secrets Nicholas finds himself and those he loves in great danger. And he realises that he is linked to a hideous and enchanting nemesis who will stop at nothing to get what she needs.' Source: www.hachette.com.au/ (Sighted 13/07/2009).
Notes
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Dedication: For Ross
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
There Really Must be a Murder
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , May no. 229 2013; (p. 5) -
Writer's Spooky Coincidence
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 1 November 2012; (p. 16) -
The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127) According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii) -
[Review] The Dead Path
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Aurealis : Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction , no. 44 2010; (p. 136-137)
— Review of The Dead Path 2009 single work novel -
Tight Trope Walking
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , April no. 195 2010; (p. 5)
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Books
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 22 August 2009; (p. 20)
— Review of The Dead Path 2009 single work novel ; Birdsville 2009 single work autobiography -
Evil Lurks down Mysterious Pathways
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 22 August 2009; (p. 12)
— Review of The Dead Path 2009 single work novel -
[Review] The Dead Path
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Aurealis : Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction , no. 44 2010; (p. 136-137)
— Review of The Dead Path 2009 single work novel -
Twists That Thrill
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 1 August 2009; (p. 28) -
Irwin's Long Path to Ghostly Chiller
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 15 August 2009; (p. 30) -
Profile : Stephen M. Irwin
2009-2010
single work
interview
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , December- January no. 191 2009-2010; (p. 4) -
Walking the Dead Path with Stephen M Irwin
Astrid Cooper
(interviewer),
2009
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Specusphere , September no. 10 2009; -
Tight Trope Walking
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: Writing Queensland , April no. 195 2010; (p. 5)
Awards
- 2010 nominated Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing — Best First Novel
- 2009 finalist Australian Shadows Award — Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction
- 2009 shortlisted Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction — Horror Division — Best Novel
Last amended 28 May 2021 09:41:58