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Saving Spade: WW1 Has Ended But the Battle to Save a Horse Has Just Begun
Aboriginal Trooper Lewis Dunbar of the Australian 2nd Light Horse Brigade should be elated. The war said to end all wars is finally over and he is being sent home after two years of battle in the Arabian deserts...but he's not! "The horses are staying!" came the order. He cannot abandon Spade, the horse he reared, drove cattle on and faced death in many battles with. He will desert the army and ride off into the Sinai desert to find a new life together.
But his plan goes astray when A'isha, a mute Bedouin girl, steals Spade. With Lewis chasing on foot, so begins the perilous journey of two nomads from different continents into the unforgiving heat and sparseness of the desert and the battles against those who threaten them along the way. The winds of the Sinai not only whip up Djinn spirits, good and evil, but awaken those that live inside the three. A gripping tale that builds to a confrontation of all the hidden forces.
But his plan goes astray when A'isha, a mute Bedouin girl, steals Spade. With Lewis chasing on foot, so begins the perilous journey of two nomads from different continents into the unforgiving heat and sparseness of the desert and the battles against those who threaten them along the way. The winds of the Sinai not only whip up Djinn spirits, good and evil, but awaken those that live inside the three. A gripping tale that builds to a confrontation of all the hidden forces.
186 pages, Paperback
Published May 3, 2017
2 people are currently reading
385 people want to read
About the author
Dennis Ogden
3 books22 followersBorn Melbourne, Australia in 1945. My first job was in a printing company and that is when I became addicted to ink on paper and paper cuts. After a stretch overseas I started up a graphic design studio and among my design projects were book designs. So print and books have always been, and still are, part of my life.
I first attempted writing in the early 70s with an original screenplay for a twenty-minute short feature film THE FORGOTTEN SPIRIT. It was produced and had cinema and cable TV release.
A series of articles on design followed and more on travel, which I have done widely.
GOOSE HUNT is a revised edition of my first novel SECRETSINCITY by my pen name Deray Ogden published in 2013.
SAVING SPADE is my second novel. I have two other projects that in the works. One, a saga, has been with me for fifteen years or more but pushed aside (again) to write SERUM: A disease-free world comes at a deadly cost. On sale April 6, 2020.
I now live on the Australian Sunshine Coast were the weather is gentler on the creative mind.
I first attempted writing in the early 70s with an original screenplay for a twenty-minute short feature film THE FORGOTTEN SPIRIT. It was produced and had cinema and cable TV release.
A series of articles on design followed and more on travel, which I have done widely.
GOOSE HUNT is a revised edition of my first novel SECRETSINCITY by my pen name Deray Ogden published in 2013.
SAVING SPADE is my second novel. I have two other projects that in the works. One, a saga, has been with me for fifteen years or more but pushed aside (again) to write SERUM: A disease-free world comes at a deadly cost. On sale April 6, 2020.
I now live on the Australian Sunshine Coast were the weather is gentler on the creative mind.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 22, 2017
When Aboriginal Trooper Lewis Dunbar heard the news that their loyal, battle weary partners in war – their beloved horses – were to remain behind when the Australian Lighthorse troops returned home after two years fighting in the Sinai desert, he was shattered. He’d raised Spade from a foal back home in outback Queensland; they were best friends, never separated. And it wasn’t going to happen now. He was prepared to desert the army and escape with Spade – they would find a new life together.
But his plans were foiled when the army’s prisoner - a young mute Bedouin girl – escaped in the dead of night by stealing Spade. Lewis saw her go and immediately began tracking Spade through the vast desert on foot. During his journey he called on his Dreamtime spirits to keep him safe; his avoidance of the army trailing him was second nature – but would he be able to catch up to Spade and the girl?
A'isha missed her family desperately and had no idea how to find them – but she hoped her talisman would keep her safe. Could she summon the spirit of the Djinn? She wasn’t sure of her powers – her youth meant they were mostly unexplored…
What would happen to these two young people in the vast and cruel Arabian desert? And would Lewis be reunited with his beloved Spade?
Saving Spade by Aussie author Dennis Ogden was a wonderful, highly original story that I absolutely loved! Filled with hope and heartbreak, loyalty and kindred spirits, the novel is well written; covering two different cultures it shows how the two can entwine with ease. I have no hesitation in recommending Saving Spade highly.
But his plans were foiled when the army’s prisoner - a young mute Bedouin girl – escaped in the dead of night by stealing Spade. Lewis saw her go and immediately began tracking Spade through the vast desert on foot. During his journey he called on his Dreamtime spirits to keep him safe; his avoidance of the army trailing him was second nature – but would he be able to catch up to Spade and the girl?
A'isha missed her family desperately and had no idea how to find them – but she hoped her talisman would keep her safe. Could she summon the spirit of the Djinn? She wasn’t sure of her powers – her youth meant they were mostly unexplored…
What would happen to these two young people in the vast and cruel Arabian desert? And would Lewis be reunited with his beloved Spade?
Saving Spade by Aussie author Dennis Ogden was a wonderful, highly original story that I absolutely loved! Filled with hope and heartbreak, loyalty and kindred spirits, the novel is well written; covering two different cultures it shows how the two can entwine with ease. I have no hesitation in recommending Saving Spade highly.
June 25, 2017
"rage is the poison to one's capability to think straight."
I am very grateful for being selected to receive an advanced copy, and a personal thank you and signature from the author, of Saving Spade by Dennis Ogden.
Saving Spade is story of loyalty, beliefs, and heartbreak. The story is set right after World War 1 ended in the Arabian dessert. The main character, Lewis Dunbar, an Australian Aboriginal and his loyal horse, Spade, are overjoyed that they can fight the war together in the Light Horse Brigade in the Arabian Desserts.
After battling for 2 years it has now come to the point where the troopers are to be sent home WITHOUT their beloved horses. Lewis cannot fathom the thought of leaving Spade behind, after all they have been through and the relationship that has blossomed to be nothing other than pure love and respect for each other. Lewis must come up with a plan to avoid the inevitable. He must escape with Spade, and make a new life together.
Lewis is about to execute his plan, when A'isha, a mute Bedouin girl who believes she has been held captive by horrible soldiers, steals Spade in order to save herself. Watching from afar, Lewis is astounded. How can someone steal Spade? He cannot allow this to happen! Lewis must rescue Spade.
Encountering blistering heat across the desert, Saving Spade is narrated by Lewis himself, and A'isha. We get an insight into both of their incredibly different backgrounds, their beliefs and morals. Allowing their ancestors to help guide their way in the right direction, they do encounter unfortunate threats along the way to their destiny - though their true paths do prevail.
Saving Spade excellently captures the love between a man and his loyal companion through very testing times. I recommend anyone who loves Historical Fiction to read this beautifully written story.
I am very grateful for being selected to receive an advanced copy, and a personal thank you and signature from the author, of Saving Spade by Dennis Ogden.
Saving Spade is story of loyalty, beliefs, and heartbreak. The story is set right after World War 1 ended in the Arabian dessert. The main character, Lewis Dunbar, an Australian Aboriginal and his loyal horse, Spade, are overjoyed that they can fight the war together in the Light Horse Brigade in the Arabian Desserts.
After battling for 2 years it has now come to the point where the troopers are to be sent home WITHOUT their beloved horses. Lewis cannot fathom the thought of leaving Spade behind, after all they have been through and the relationship that has blossomed to be nothing other than pure love and respect for each other. Lewis must come up with a plan to avoid the inevitable. He must escape with Spade, and make a new life together.
Lewis is about to execute his plan, when A'isha, a mute Bedouin girl who believes she has been held captive by horrible soldiers, steals Spade in order to save herself. Watching from afar, Lewis is astounded. How can someone steal Spade? He cannot allow this to happen! Lewis must rescue Spade.
Encountering blistering heat across the desert, Saving Spade is narrated by Lewis himself, and A'isha. We get an insight into both of their incredibly different backgrounds, their beliefs and morals. Allowing their ancestors to help guide their way in the right direction, they do encounter unfortunate threats along the way to their destiny - though their true paths do prevail.
Saving Spade excellently captures the love between a man and his loyal companion through very testing times. I recommend anyone who loves Historical Fiction to read this beautifully written story.
August 16, 2017
Saving Spade is an original tale about the protagonist's fight to save the horse he went to battle with in WWI. The horse is also one he's known his whole life, but will be left in Arabian Desert now that the war is over. He has no other option to ensure the horses safety but to desert and that survival story when he does is the focus of the story. There is a bunch the story does well. The characters are believable and it feels researched--though I wouldn't know either way, personally. By the ending in particular the tension is high since it's been built up pretty well. I also liked the fantasy elements sprinkled in.
While I felt the suspense aspect mostly toward the end, I did struggle with the build to get there feeling a bit slow. This and some editing hiccups here and there put this book at a solid 3.5, so I rounded up to 4 for the things I did like.
Overall, Saving Spade is an uplifting novel that anyone with a bond to any pet, not just horses, could enjoy and appreciate!
While I felt the suspense aspect mostly toward the end, I did struggle with the build to get there feeling a bit slow. This and some editing hiccups here and there put this book at a solid 3.5, so I rounded up to 4 for the things I did like.
Overall, Saving Spade is an uplifting novel that anyone with a bond to any pet, not just horses, could enjoy and appreciate!
October 26, 2017
I loved it. Dennis Ogden has uncluttered, lyrical style of writing I find very appealing. His descriptions of the desert are perfectly understated, with the focus being on the characters and the story. Saving Spade has an inspired set up: an uprooted Australian aboriginal horseman in North Africa just after the end of the Great War, who deserts from the military to save his horse. He crosses paths with a mute Arab girl who needs the horse to escape her demons. At some point the story begins to walk the border into fantasy as the mythologies of aboriginal Australia, Arabia, and India collide. By this time the reader has bonded with the two central characters, or three, as the horse Spade's abilities become known. Saving Spade is a unique, engaging tale with enough magic to be told around a campfire under a star-filled sky.
October 4, 2018
One Arab thoroughbred, one Aboriginal Australian soldier, and one mute Bedouin girl stumbling around in the desert with their fates, songlines and djinn inextricably linked.
A mesmerising tale with spiritual elements, more of long short story than novel.
I read it in one sitting, not putting it down until I'd finished. The start was awkward and not up to the standard of the main body of the tale, but the rest was fantastic, apart from the fact that I would have preferred that the dangerous circumstances they were both in hadn’t been solved by purely spiritual means – it left me feeling unfulfilled…
A mesmerising tale with spiritual elements, more of long short story than novel.
I read it in one sitting, not putting it down until I'd finished. The start was awkward and not up to the standard of the main body of the tale, but the rest was fantastic, apart from the fact that I would have preferred that the dangerous circumstances they were both in hadn’t been solved by purely spiritual means – it left me feeling unfulfilled…
July 2, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Saving Spade. Thanks Dennis Ogden for the book :). I'd recommend the book to any lovers of horses and to readers who like a bit of a fantasy twist. To those who have a connection with their own horses there are many parts of the story that will ring true to you. It really made me wonder about what happened to all those horses after WWI. The characters are believable and the story is an insightful description of how some of the nomads in the region lived their lives. Didn't take long to read and I found it difficult to put down.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews