Audio Book - New Launch - Coming Soon
Illustrations by Chloe Pfrang
Synopsis: “Duel of the Sorcerers”, Book One of the ‘Inner Circle’ series by Patrick M Dransfield
‘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 Studio14 (email: Soundstudio114@gmail.com). It is illustrated by Chloe Pfrang and narrated by the author, with the music specially composed by Allen Youngblood
The Audio Book will be available in Summer 2022.
Overview of the ‘Inner Circle’ series by Patrick M Dransfield
‘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.
Guardians of the Wu Xing
‘The Fire Element’
Guardian: Li Ying Han, Shanghai-born American-Chinese heiress
Protector: Xiao Lung, a small dragon disguised as a poodle, (nickname ‘Cuddles’)
Portal: Chinese paper lantern.
‘The Earth Element’
Guardian: Caitlin Mor, elderly Welsh-speaking shepherdess born in North Wales.
Protector: Taliesin, a male hare
Portal: A large Han dynasty earthenware water jar
‘The Water Element’
Guardian: Paul Tian-Kermode
Protector: Daffy, the Welsh Shepherd dog
Portal: ‘Briolette’ blue diamond
‘Master Guardian’: Father Xavier Pombo
Protector: Aloysius, a white, Short-eared owl
The other two Guardians who are introduced in Books 2 and 3 are: ‘Wood Element’ the male Warrior and Korean Emissary, Jeong Duwon: ‘Metal Element’ – the female Ethiopian Empress, Taytu Betul.
“The Inner Circle” – proposed Series of Five Novels:
“Duel of the Sorcerers”*, the completed first book of the planned five book series, ‘The Inner Circle’, takes the manipulated transition of two of the five Chinese elements (‘Wu Xing’), ‘Fire’ to ‘Water’, as its underlying theme. This is a reversal of the natural order and thus plunges our known world into Chaos. Other planned Books will progress through four more ‘Elemental Transitions’, thus totaling five books in all, as below:
‘Inner Circle’ Book One – ‘Fire’ to ‘Water’ (Title: ‘Duel of the Sorcerers’)
‘Inner Circle’ Book Two – ‘Water’ to ‘Wood’ (Title: ‘Emperor Hongwu’s Bright Mirror’)
‘Inner Circle’ Book Three – ‘Wood’ to ‘Earth’ (Title: ‘The African Queen’
‘Inner Circle’ Book Four – ‘Earth’ to ‘Metal’ (Title: ‘The leaving of Liverpool (again)’
‘Inner Circle’ Book Five – ‘Metal’ to ‘Water’ (Title: ‘Brave New World’)
*The author is seeking a literary agent for the prose version of the novel. You can reach him at patrick.dransfield@clearwaycomms.com