Sue and I had the pleasure of attending a book launch last night at Mary Ryan’s Paddington store for Stephen M. Irwin’s The Dead Path. Stephen’s a Brisbane author – and a friend of a good friend – who’s just had this first novel published. The publisher’s spiel compares The Dead Path to Stephen King’s Bag of Bones, and while King was never in my interest space, I have to say that this Stephen’s work is absolutely compelling.

The Dead Path follows the story of a Brisbane man returning home after 17 years in the UK, following the tragic death of his wife. And sees people. Dead people.

Before you say “oh, that’s just like a movie…..” – don’t. It’s original, creative and really well written. Nicholas Close sees re-runs of the deaths of others. Over and over again. But he quickly gets caught up in a real-time battle against the supernatural.

I really enjoyed the author’s brief talk last night, detailing his childhood in Brisbane and the events that led to him finding himself in a position where he could devote his time to long-form fiction, as well as the sequence of events that led him to finding an agent (it seems that in Australia literary agents are the one class of professionals who are less accessible to the outside world than venture capitalists!). I also enjoyed the way in which his main character rediscovers the city of his birth, rapidly progressing but retaining pockets of timeless history – this is a view that many Brisbane-born folks who have spent a lot of time away will appreciate and empathize with.

Full marks too, to Mary Ryan’s continuing support for local authors. The outdoor area in which the launch was held is a stunning oasis in Paddington, and the event itself was wonderful. Irwin’s publisher (from Hachette Australia) announced that the novel has just been sold in the UK, and is “being read” in the US as well, a fantastic outcome for any first-time Australian author.

And after reading the first few chapters last night I’m not surprised. The Dead Path is terrifically written, and deserves to be read. Find it, read it!