A Whisper of Southern Lights

Assassin #3

by Tim Lebbon

Death and destruction follow the demon wherever he treads, and Gabriel is rarely far behind, waiting for his chance to extinguish the creature known as Temple once and for all.

But in Singapore during the Second World War, a lone soldier in possession of a shattering secret gets caught up in their battle. The knowledge he holds could change the course of their ancient conflict… and the fate of the world.

A Whisper of Southern Lights is a standalone tale in the Assassins series by Tim Lebbon.

PRAISE FOR A WHISPER OF SOUTHERN LIGHTS

"A Whisper of Southern Lights is full of a beautiful melancholy that nobody does better than Lebbon. A tale of immortals engaged in a blood-spattered, centuries-old cat-and-mouse game... Read it!"

—Christopher Golden, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Dead Ringers and Snowblind

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Novella, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

I love writing, reading, triathlon, real ale, chocolate, good movies, occasional bad movies, and cake.

I was born in London in 1969, lived in Devon until I was eight, and the next twenty years were spent in Newport. My wife Tracey and I then did a Good Thing and moved back to the country, and we now live in the little village of Goytre in Monmouthshire with our kids Ellie and Daniel. And our dog, Blu, who is the size of a donkey.

I love the countryside ... I do a lot of running and cycling, and live in the best part of the world for that.

I've had loads of books published in the UK, USA, and around the world, including novels, novellas, and collections. I write horror, fantasy, and now thrillers, and I've been writing as a living for over 8 years. I've won quite a few awards for my original fiction, and I've also written tie-in projects for Star Wars, Alien, Hellboy, The Cabin in the Woods, and 30 Days of Night.

A movie's just been made of my short story Pay the Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Wayne Callies. There are other projects in development, too.

I'd love to hear from you!

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.

Never having had the pleasure to read Tim Lebbon’s Assassin series, I did not know what to expect of this standalone tale set in that universe. What I discovered was a blood and guts, realistic yet mythical tale centered around the horrors of the fall of Singapore during World War II, but with the focus being on the eternal struggle between a demon called Temple and his pursuer named Gabriel.

The narrative begins by following along behind the retreating forces of Her Majesty’s army, as they fight a desperate rearguard action against the attacking Japanese. The gruesome horrors of war are shown in their gory details; the savagery which armed conflict brings out in people exposed for the world to see; and the inhuman treatment of the wounded and captured British soldiers not overlooked. All of it tempered by our simple soldier having been told by a dying comrade that there is a secret hidden in the jungle, buried with a dead friend; a secret which is so horrible, so powerful it might keep him alive or get him killed!

Running parallel to the main story is one featuring Gabriel. During the Dark Ages, he was a simple man with a beloved family, then an inhuman creature named Temple slaughtered them, leaving him with horrible wounds which will not heal. Thereafter, a man with “snake eyes” charged Gabriel with hunting down and killing the demon. And for a thousand years, Gabriel has kept up his pursuit of the elusive creature, finding he is now immortal by some gift or curse of the snake eyed man, and he can have no peace, no release until Temple is destroyed.

Gabriel’s eternal hunt takes him all around the world until it finally leads him to Singapore, where he senses Temple’s presence. His unerring intuition that the creature is there to kill someone; a person who has knowledge which might aid Gabriel in destroying his nemesis. This leads our hunter to the deplorable prison where British soldiers are left to starve and rot of putrid wounds; there he discovers a soldier who tells him about the secret hidden in the jungle, and with Temple in pursuit, the race is on to find the shallow grave where Gabriel’s quest might finally end!

Not having any preconceived expectations for this novella, I have to admit struggling at the beginning to grasp who everyone was and what their role was. The narrator shifts between our desperate British soldier and the immortal hunter Gabriel probably added to that confusing, as I was jerked from two very different voices with completely different stories. I can understand why Mr. Lebbon used these sudden point-of-view changes (They allowed him to introduce each main character, ask each important questions which added tension, and switch locations instantly.), but they were jarring (especially at the beginning) and really tired me out. But after a while, I became use to this style and just went with the flow, allowing Mr. Lebbon to take me where he would.

What I then discovered and enjoyed was a World War II story with serious atmosphere and an ominous undertone. War is Hell, and Mr. Lebbon certainly conveys it as such to the very end. But what drives this narrative forward is the growing sense of an epic clash between Gabriel and Temple and the need to know what secret was buried in the jungle with that slain soldier. And when those two things happen at the end, it is perfectly executed, delivering a “What the Fuck!” moment, where you want to tweet Mr. Lebbon and demand to know the rest immediately!

So if you enjoy moody war stories with a dark fantasy undertone, this is a novella for you. Go pick it up immediately, but please resist the urge to look at the ending, because that is cheating and will ruin the fun.

Tor Books provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.

[Eric Fomley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Good Short from Tim Lebbon

I'm really getting into the Assassin short tales. In this one, a sequel to Pieces of Hate, the man named Gabriel chases the demon called Temple, hell bent on revenge. The demon killed his family and Gabriel is cursed to pursue him through the centuries. This particular story is set in World War Two. It was an interesting setting change and one advantage this series has is the frequent ability to mix up setting because the plot takes place over such a large chunk of time. I'll be looking forward to the next one.

[DarkChaplain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review also published here

Disclaimer:
The publisher sent me a print ARC of this one last year, along with a book I had requested specifically.

A Whisper of Southern Lights is billed as a stand-alone entry in Tim Lebbon's The Assassin series. However, I would still recommend reading the first installment first. While you can read this individually, things make a lot more sense with the things you learn in Pieces of Hate.

The previous book, Pieces of Hate , struck me as a good horror novella. The book actually consisted of two stories, however, the first being a short story called Dead Man's Hand. The difference between both of them was that DMH was narrated from the perspective of an outsider getting caught up with the protagonist, Gabriel, whereas Pieces of Hate gave us a story through Gabriel's own eyes.

A Whisper of Southern Lights mixes both perspectives, varying between the outsider's perspective and Gabriel from chapter to chapter. This works very well in my opinion, especially since I was more fond of the way Dead Man's Hand achieved its air of dark mystery and horror. Here, Tim Lebbon was able to intertwine the supernatural existence of his "hero" with that of a down on his luck war prisoner who just happened to stumble into events larger than himself and getting between Gabriel and his quarry, the assassin Temple. This even led to some cool misdirection as you follow the two characters, which was pulled off nicely in my eyes.

Plot-wise, things are similar enough to the previous book; Gabriel is still hunting Temple, still trying to get his revenge. This time they've ended up in Singapore during World War II, with the secondary protagonist being a soldier facing the japanese invasion. We get scenes in the jungles, in prison camps, and more background on Gabriel, more cool showings from our antagonist Temple, and even some overarching plot progression that has me curious for what's next for this series. While the general idea behind the story follows a similar formula to the other two stories before it, I don't think that's a bad thing. It keeps the feel of the series consistent while allowing Lebbon to provide more set-up and focus on the various settings in greater detail. It is a good compromise in my opinion, though I assume that the chase will come to a stop eventually, as hinted here.

I have to say, though: Where the first book wasn't pretty in any way, and especially gruesome in places, this one could be considered even nastier. The horrors of war are laid on thickly, and the japanese soldiers don't treat their prisoners of war well by any means. If you're a hygiene-freak, this book probably isn't for you, especially when it comes to one section about halfway through. Be prepared to feel grossed out. However, I appreciate that Lebbon did these things. War isn't clean, or pretty, and usually not even glorious. It is a miserable business of dealing death and being dealt your own in return. Where a lot of authors romanticize war, cowboys or pirates in fiction, Lebbon pays great attention to the more vile aspects of it all. Nobody is really a hero in this series, and things can always get a tad worse. I love that.

While A Whisper of Southern Lights isn't as bone-chilling as Dead Man's Hand was for me, it was a solid read that I enjoyed a great deal once I got to it. The author nailed the themes he was trying to gun for, and the feeling of utter misery that struck me with the first book is still as strong as ever. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series, whenever it sees the light of day.

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I was not a big fan of Lebbon’s previous two installments in his Assassin’s series — “Dead Man’s Hand” and “Pieces of Hate,” collected together in the recent Tor novella, Pieces of Hate (reviewed here) — there were enough interesting ideas in Pieces of Hate to keep me curious enough to see what comes next. Maybe it was because I had enough of the background story, or perhaps because I went in expecting there to be zilch in the way of resolution regarding Gabriel and his battles against the entity known as Temple, but I found A Whisper of Southern Lights to be much more satisfying.

Gabriel and Temple are basically immortals, and their personal battles have allowed Lebbon to play in some interesting settings. We’ve gotten a weird western and a bit of high seas pirating adventure, and now Lebbon takes us to Singapore circa World War II (personal note: Lebbon teases an Antarctic expedition as another setting in their worldwide struggles through time, and I’d pay good money to read that story, because I’m just a sucker for stories set in that region). Both Gabriel and Temple are hunting for a man named Jack Sykes, which never bodes well for the dude unwittingly falling into the middle of their bloody, violence-fueled triangles.

I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful vacation in Singapore a while ago, so I had no trouble imagining the sweaty treks through the rain forest, and war-time is always an interesting period to explore some supernatural shenanigans. I dug those elements the most here. I fell in love almost immediately with Singapore, and hope to go back one of these day. Books set in this region at least provide enough of a mental sojourn until I can physically head there again. It’s also a bit of a reminder that I need to seek out more Singaporean literature… Yeah, I know, I’m digressing here.

A Whisper of Southern Lights is a short novella, which makes for a brisk read. Lebbon gives us enough sketches of life on the front lines in the Pacific Theater, but I wouldn’t have minded more details. Gabriel’s relationship with Temple has always been one of the strongest elements of this series, and that remains true here, as well. The ending felt a little bit rushed, but there’s a marvelously macabre display where our characters confront one another before the requisite cliffhanger.

Yeah, another cliffhanger and little in the way of resolution. The last line of the book, though, does actually have me antsy for another entry, so kudos to the author! I feel much more invested in this series after this particular entry than I did with Pieces of Hate.

[Note: I received an advanced review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.]

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sent this by the publisher at no cost.

Lebbon continues not to be entirely my thing - too gruesome, for a start, with this story being set at the fall of Singapore in WW2 - but he also continues to intrigue me with this relationship between Gabriel and Temple. However, I didn't love this new story.

The first story was told by a man witnessing an encounter by the two centuries-old enemies. In the second, it was Gabriel telling the story, and I wasn't as much of a fan. And here, a bystander and Gabriel share the narrative duties, which I think is a better option from my perspective than Gabriel by himself. A bit less of the centuries-old obsessing which got old (heh) in the second volume.

Narration aside this story is closer to the second than the first because there's less moving of the story forwards. There's a lot of story about being a British soldier around Singapore, which is of course deeply unpleasant, and a bit of Gabriel agonising about life and duty... but not much of the Gabriel v Temple story that I thought was the point. Which disappointed me, because that's what I'm here for after all. It seems indulgent, actually, to put this in the series, because I didn't learn anything new about Gabriel or about Temple or about their relationship or either's place in the world (ok the last sentence is appropriately tantalising but it didn't need an entire novella).

Will I read the next story? Probably yes, if it appears to be the final story, because I'd really like some closure about what's going on. But if it appears to be Just Another Gabriel story, then it might have lost me.

[Bridget Mckinney · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Whisper of Southern Lights is the second novella I’ve read by Tim Lebbon, and it’s probably the last. I didn’t care much for Pieces of Hate a couple of months ago, or that book’s bonus novelette “Deadman’s Hand,” but I thought I would check this one out nonetheless. Generally Tor.com’s novellas are of good quality, and I thought that perhaps I just needed to give Lebbon’s Assassin Series a second try. Unfortunately, I liked this entry of the series even less than the previous installment.

Read the full review at SF Bluestocking.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - 3.5 stars

I couldn't put this down, but the ending killed me. I felt cheated and let down, and darn it, I liked a character who died, pointlessly. ugh!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so... I randomly found this at the library and picked it up not realizing it was the third novella in a series. Things are explained well enough that I mostly got what was going on, but there is a total cliffhanger ending and this book has been out since 2008 with no sequel, so be warned.

[❤ArtfullySinful❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chasing ghosts into the heart of War, Gabriel fights to finds a man who Temple seeks out, a man who holds a single secret worth killing over, Jack Sykes. His secret,one passed along from one of his fellow soldiers, pressed into a dead man's body in a shallow marked grave buried deep into the jungle of Japan. A prisoner of war, Jack huddled away, all the while unknowingly being hunted by two beings that have existed throughout centuries. Watching his friends die one by one, and a man of night mares emerge form the shadows, Gabriel reached Jack first, fleeing him to the seem where it all started, his ghost now haunting the woods as he scribed the words of his friend onto a tree. Barely alive but struggling to his feet, Gabriel felt Temple leave, never dead, but always on the Horizon. The words Jack Said in the blood? Armageddon, and a single date.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

*copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review*

A Whisper of Southern Lights is the third in Tim Lebbon’s “Assassin” sequence. In previous works, we were introduced to Gabriel, a man haunted by the death of his family, and driven to seek revenge over the centuries. His quarry (and sometimes his hunter), Temple, is a creature of the unreal, a thing which can shift forms and demeanours, with a central core of violent malevolence. They’ve fought each other to a standstill over the ages, and come, at last, to this.

The setting of Whisper is the siege and collapse of Singapore during the Second World War. The area around the city is a mixture of broken urban wasteland, and the humid, claustrophobic miasma of jungle. Both are portrayed well. The jungle heat pours off the page, as does the reek of everything within it. There’s a sense of smallness about the human interactions here, of intrusion into another, uncaringly lethal world. Each step is a victory, each bitten off word a triumph. It’s an environment which seethes with life, and feels utterly alien, despite familiarity.

The city of Singapore, in the moments of its surrender, carries the same feeling. Here the structured environment has broken down under the stresses of war, and the familiar humanity of the world is in decline. There’s fat dogs stalking the streets, feasting on bloated bodies, whilst men on all sides commit atrocities or participate –a s actors or victims – in massacres. It’s a hell of our own making, and Lebbon approaches it honestly, unflinchingly, and leaves the reader in no doubt as to the boundaries that humanity will overstep when it feels it must.
Into this shattered remnant of a city steps Gabriel. He has a singular attention, a focus on hunting down and destroying the creature, Temple, that murdered his family centuries ago (and many, many others since). He’s a man on a quest, in the purest sense, unable to look away from his goal. This time, however, something has changed – and Gabriel is shown as, in some ways, less certain. He’s reaching out a hand to humanity at their worst, trying to recapture some of what he is and what he has lost.

Temple, by contrast, is a monster. Equally focused, his reason for being is chaos, murder, the scent of blood and fear. Lebbon gives us Temple as another alien figure here, one fascinated by what humanity can do to each other without his assistance. But he’s an eldritch, poisonous, deadly figure nonetheless, one whose purpose is singular, and who revels in it. There are no grey areas here – Temple is a predator, and whilst not one the reader can empathise with, he’s certainly one they can fear, even through the page – a terrifyingly charming mad dog of a monster, each word a lie, each action an act of violence.

The plot – well, it aims to disrupt the dynamic between the two. Gabriel has a human associate here, one whose slow destruction under the weight of Singapore’s fall is fascinating to watch, and whose fear and incomprehension in the face of this fantastic duo serves as a conduit for the reader’s own feelings. As Gabriel drags this hapless man along, in an effort to track down a vital piece of information, as Temple stalks them through the streets and the marshes of Singapore, they feel horribly real – dreadful, grand figures brought to life in a world where such things aren’t possible, against a backdrop of mundane atrocities.

It’s a great read – Gabriel’s race against time keeps you turning the pages, and the characters keep you invested in the beautifully realised world. On that basis –give it a try.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The return of Temple and Gabriel, with the addition of a side character—what more could a girl want!? A clue? A little warning that it wasn’t going to be the same Temple and Gabriel. That would have been nice—but strangely, in the end, not knowing was okay. The story, while still intriguing, was different from the previous two on a fundamental level. Instead of hunting Temple, we’re hunting something that could help destroy him and avoiding him, rather than confronting. Of course, I said different, not bad, and this slight sidestep away from habit was well done and provided a new kind of anticipation. As we’ve come to expect from these two ancient enemies and Lebbon’s ability to fill in their blanks, the characters here were brilliant, and previous knowledge of Temple and Gabriel are not necessary. Even the newcomer was brightly colored in an otherwise drab army-green world.

War hounds will love this one, as the atmosphere is blood, guts, gunpowder and bullets. The drive that pushes them through the jungle and the fear that keeps them alert at night are powerful. War is Hell, and like Hell, everyone that hasn’t been there has their own perceptions of war, and a certain [unknown] percentage of readers may have benefited from a bit more exposition. But don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t distract from the story, it’s merely an observation regarding the one and only weakness I found in the novella. Beyond the atmosphere is a pace that drags you through the muddy jungle without reservation. Jumping both character and POV, asking questions that demand answers [by both the character and the reader], and the aforementioned difference in the way we approach Temple are all carefully orchestrated and appear effortless. Also well done, and almost never done well, is the style of switching POV. It helps you instantly get into the mind of that person without being told who it was. Each time the switch happens, you get a few sentences in and suddenly sit up straighter and open your eyes wider—we’ve switched locations and people and goals, oh my! Lebbon may have made it look easy, but the poor reader is out of breath by the end of the novella and wondering what the Hell just happened... and smiling about it.

Speaking of the end, this novella has something I’ve never said before and honestly don’t expect to ever take back: the best last two sentences ever. Period. Nothing like closing a chapter and opening Pandora’s Box... Enough to make me swallow audibly, reread twice and then immediately explain the whole story to my husband in a 23-second whirlwind, just so I could share the ending of this with him. Yeah, worth a star all on its own. Speaking of stars, how about 4 ½ Get this immediately—and no flipping to the last page! Don’t ruin it for yourself...

......................

Originally posted on Horror-Web.com

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but....

I really enjoyed the first two stories of this series (both in pieces of hate) and this one started off very well too. It didn't really seem to go anywhere though, it felt like the whole book was leading up to a huge climax which didn't happen. Ultimately I felt a bit let down by the ending and hope Tim lebbon writes another addition to this series to cap it off. Still worth a read if you've read pieces of hate.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well written novella which maintains the interest and suspense throughout. It follows on naturally from the earlier two stories in the series although it can easily be read as a stand alone story. The horrors of the Second World War are brought vividly to life by the author.
My one concern with this series is that it seems unending. Rather like a TV series where you know the villain will escape as he is in next week's episode or the hero will never die. I am not sure I will want to read many more of these stories if they continue to be so open-ended.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gabriel was still hunting the demon Temple after all these centuries. He had heard that he might get information from a man in the Far East so off he went hunting for Jack Sykes. The problem is that Temple is hunting for Jack as well so the race is on during the midst of the fall of Singapore. The ending comes abruptly in the Malay jungle with neither getting the ending they wanted. Just one more brick in the mosaic.

[David H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retroactive Review (12 Sep 2021): This one is set in Singapore 1942. It has a similar ending to the first two, but indicates an eventual ending to this revenge quest. I don't know if Lebbon will actually ever write it.

[SFReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.sfreader.com/read_review.a...

[Lee Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buy it.

[Ryan Lawler · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far the best of the three Assassin stories to date. Lebbon takes his fantastic style and applies it to a story full of mystery, enchantment and excrement.

[Bart · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* - 7,5 out of 10.

A truly compelling story set against the fall of Singapore during the Second World War. Best one of the series so far.