Patrick M Dransfield
Patrick remembers first experiencing ‘wanderlust’ when, at the age of six, his father, Philip, read Patrick the diaries from Philip’s time as a young petty officer in the Royal Navy visiting China, Japan and the Dutch East Indies in 1945-6. The worlds of travel and eastern philosophies continue to fascinate – along with a profound wish to escape the mundane: something that Patrick shares with his literary creation, Paul Tian-Kermode!
In Memoriam
Matthew Seligman, July 14, 1955 – April 17, 2020.
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His new audio book is now available on Audible. Click here to view the details. You can also order the CD by licking on the “Order Now” button below.
Alternatively, you can order from Barnes & Noble using the button below.
Book Intro clip
Synopsis: “Duel of the Sorcerers”, Book One of the ‘Inner Circle’ series
‘The Duel of the Sorcerers’ starts with the hero of Book One, Paul Tian-Kermode, a young Welsh-Chinese orphan and trainee lawyer, sitting behind his antique Chinese desk above the family shop called ‘The Chinese Epicurean Centre’ in Liverpool’s Chinatown on Sunday, January 29th ,1916. It ends with Paul’s confrontation with his nemesis, the evil necromancer, Gregori Gurdjeef, in revolution-torn Petrograd’s ‘Church of the Epiphany’ on April 17th, 1917.
The Audio Book “Duel of the Sorcerers” is produced by Gary Brightman of Studio114 (email: Soundstudio114@gmail.com). It is illustrated by Chloe Pfrang and narrated by the author, with the music specially composed by Allen Youngblood
"....a tour de force!" Philip Bowring, journalist, author of 'Empire of the Winds'.
Overview of the ‘Inner Circle’ series
‘The Inner Circle’ is a series of historically-based fantasy-quest novels. At its heart is the concept that Time is not linear, but folded. Through the special Elemental Portals (described below), a Guardian of the Wu Xing is able to ‘Time Surf’ through a transference of mental consciousness. She projects her mind through the appropriate Elemental Portal and experiences a transference of consciousness. She is watched over while her mortal body appears to be in a deep coma by her Protector. The Song dynasty mystic Chuang Tzu’s musing on being a man dreaming of being a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of being a man provides an apt analogy to ‘Time Surfing’, the ability of the initiated Human Mind to experience a transference of consciousness to beings and crucial events in the past or the future.
The ‘Wu Xing’, the five earth elements in (Chinese) cosmology, tether the Universe and keep the violent primordial forces of Yin and Yang in harmony. Throughout human history, the Five Guardians of the Wu Xing have worked together to bring harmony to human affairs. In ancient times, their ‘Master Guardian’ has been the Emperor of China, but since ‘The Mandate of Heaven’ had been lost during the tumultuous Qing Empire, the role of ‘Master Guardian’ has fallen to a succession of Chinese-speaking Jesuit Priests, starting with Matteo Ricci who began the Jesuit China Missions in 1602, advising the Qing dynasty’s Wanli Emperor. Each Wu Xing element is represented by a Guardian, a Protector and a Portal.
In ‘Duel of the Sorcerers’, Book One of the ‘Inner Circle’ series, we are introduced to three of the Elemental Guardians and their ‘Master Guardian’. Given that Wu Xing is universal, the Guardians of the Wu Xing are not limited to being Chinese.