Cirrus@Austlit

'You wake in the middle of the night with a terrible pain radiating from your lower side up to your chest. An ambulance is called, and you’re rationed ever increasing doses of morphine on your way to the hospital. In the EW, a heart attack is ruled out but the mystery intensifies. Until a CT scan reveals the truth...

“You”, in this case, was the author, who, with the kindness of a Dr Who understudy and other medical staff at the Mater Hospital, Brisbane, survived a urgent operation and had many medicated days to reflect on an often surreal experience.

'Timelord Dreaming uses “tweetems”, microtexts with Internet call-outs, to recreate one man’s journey through the parallel universes of patient and personal identity. If you’ve ever been hospitalised, you'll find much that is familiar – and not always comfortable – here. ' (Publication summary)

'Charlie always thought his body could be better. His employer, military contractor Better Future, has the resources he needs to explore a few ideas. So he begins to build parts. Better parts. Charlie's prosthetist, Lola, is impressed by his artificial limbs. But some see him as a madman. Others, a product. Or even a weapon.

'Existing at the intersection between mind and body, in the dawn of the age of pervasive technology, Machine Man is a gruesomely funny tale about one man's quest for the ultimate in self-improvement.' (From the publisher's website.)

'This beautiful book is presented as a timeless tale of infinite possibility. A wonderful imagery of a perfect garden where anything is possible. Beyond the world of your mind lies the garden of your soul.

'Evocative passages and poetic rests makes this book a pleasure to read. Enlightening and insightful meditation on words and art to inspire true spiritual awakening. Take a journey along an ancient path and discover a mysterious garden where every word is a meditation on life and love. Its mystery is part of the appeal, it helps bring your own life into the book. All of us have a quiet longing to return to nature and live as we were intended to do.

'The Garden uses an exemplary fusion of art and poetry to tell the story of spiritual awakening on earth. The text, under the editorship of Robin Craig Clark, provides a thorough understanding of the perfect and natural state of enlightenment and is accompanied by paintings prepared especially for this book. Never before has our soul's evolution been so clearly, so ingeniously portrayed.' (From the publisher's website.)