Cirrus@Austlit

'A compelling story about the destiny of an Australian soldier in the Vietnam war. As a returned Vietnam veteran, it brought back many vivid memories of my time there. Beautifully written and well researched with thought to detail, captivating and difficult to put down, not knowing what was about to happen next. Thoroughly recommend this as an excellent read on the life of an amazing Aussie soldier. - David McQuaid.' (Publication summary)

'Grand Deceptions is a historical novel centred predominantly around Melbourne and Ballarat in Victoria Australia. England, Scotland and San Marino also play a part of this captivating story.

'The timeline begins in the 1850s and ends in the 1960s. Three well to do young men immigrate to Victoria; their reasons are all different but their ambitions are the same - make their fortune in the antipodes.

'The circumstances that drove their futures were deception. Two of the three men became victims of fraud and lost their fortunes. They hatched a plan to recover their newly developed wealth by becoming bushrangers. They disguised themselves in women's clothing, calling themselves "The Banshees."

'Grand Deceptions follows the lives of the three men all of whom experience exciting and sometimes dangerous lives.'(Publication summary)

'A masterful book written in the most powerful way, about two families and their struggle with business, two world wars and the loss of the family and friends held dearest to them. From the very first page you are held in suspense, through the absorbingly vivid descriptions of the most horrific and colourful situations, that were the period during and between the two great wars. The spellbinding finale leaves the reader wanting answers to the vexed questions of life, and its true meaning.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In a series of four books based on war, each with a different focus, G.S. Willmott has extensively researched war 'histories' and from them, has created 'his stories'. This, the fourth and most compelling, recreates a multitude of experiences of the young men caught up in the frenzy and futility of World War 1. Sex and death, eternal themes, bind together these individual stories; the shared experiences of love and death are the strong bonds which link these young Australian and British soldiers across France, Egypt, Flanders, even Syria. Their suffering is what makes us think deeply about ongoing conflicts which eternally destroy human lives and from which we seem to have learned nothing. In Red Lights on the Somme, Willmott unearths surprising and positive aspects of war; man's inhumanity to man is counter-pointed by mateship between soldiers, tenderness between lovers, and trust and inter-dependence between humans and animals. The contrast between the nobility and loyaty of non-humans (including dogs, pigeons, horses) forms a stark contrast against the brutality and treachery of mankind.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Brothers in Arms is an extraordinary story, one which provides insights into the dualities of human nature, especially against a background of war. We are confronted with the potential within all of us for both heroism and cowardice, honesty and deception, altruism and greed; there is, in the intensity of war-time, a heightened awareness of moral dilemmas, choices between good and evil which have eternally confronted humankind. Weaving an intriguing narrative, the author confronts his readers also with the question: where does truth lie? At what point can one depart from contextual history to enter the world of fiction and imagination? Brothers in Arms provides a rare balance between well-researched historical fact and convincingly imagined events and characters; the plot, with its constant surprises and multiple twists, is a tour de force and sustains tension and suspense until the final pages. By creating the personal tragedy of an imagined family within the social, cultural and historical framework of three wars and three continents, Garry Willmott provides illuminating facts, thought-provoking questions and a constantly engaging read.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.