The Keeper of Dreams: A Novel - Tapa dura

Colleen McCullough author of "The Thorn Birds" and "Morgan's Run" A riveting thriller by a very gifted writer who manages to intertwine high-tech Clancyesque reportage with an utterly believable supernatural element worthy of King -- and eclipses both Clancy and King when it comes to characterization. Peter Shann Ford is one to watch, that's for sure.

In the Australian desert, a sacred stone that contains codes and carvings of the Abortigines' most powerful creation stories is stolen. The Aborigine elders know that if the stone is not returned and the theft not punished, their people will die. Thus the search begins for a ritual assassin who can hunt down and kill the thieves. Chosen is Dr. Robert Erhard, a full-blooded Aborigine adopted as a baby by a white couple, who now works as a scientist in Houston. But even in the midst of this "civilised" world, Robert is haunted by visions and dreams that call him back to his homeland on a mission to avenge his tribe's most holy spirit. Keeper of Dreams is a fascinating novel that blends gripping fiction with the legends and myths of an ancient culture.