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The Collected Tales
It could only happen to a paramedic…
Written by an award-winning writer and real-life critical care paramedic, this book is a compilation of thirty-two short stories (previously only available as ebooks), one for each of the codes used to categorise emergency calls worldwide. Although fictional, the tales are based on the experiences of the author, and feature Jonothan Byrne, a paramedic working in Brisbane, Australia.
The stories are both humorous and confronting in equal measure and give the reader a cab’s eye view of what it’s really like to be a paramedic.
Written by an award-winning writer and real-life critical care paramedic, this book is a compilation of thirty-two short stories (previously only available as ebooks), one for each of the codes used to categorise emergency calls worldwide. Although fictional, the tales are based on the experiences of the author, and feature Jonothan Byrne, a paramedic working in Brisbane, Australia.
The stories are both humorous and confronting in equal measure and give the reader a cab’s eye view of what it’s really like to be a paramedic.
488 pages, Paperback
Published December 10, 2022
3 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Harry Colfer
40 books28 followersHarry Colfer is the pseudonym of a critical care paramedic who lives and works in Brisbane, Australia. Although his stories are totally fictional, his writing style is very realistic and he maintains a healthy level of paranoia with respect to his anonymity.
Other than the Ambo Tales From The Frontline series, he has written two full length novels featuring the same characters, a murder mystery, Dead Regular, and the thriller sequel, Beneath Contempt. He is currently writing the third novel in the Jono series, High Acuity, with the fourth and final book existing only as ideas, notes, and a title, Show Cause.
Other than the Ambo Tales From The Frontline series, he has written two full length novels featuring the same characters, a murder mystery, Dead Regular, and the thriller sequel, Beneath Contempt. He is currently writing the third novel in the Jono series, High Acuity, with the fourth and final book existing only as ideas, notes, and a title, Show Cause.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 19, 2022
Harry creates a vivid insight to the everyday trials and tribulations of life on the frontline. A work of fiction bringing to life how it really is in a captivating and entertaining manner. I got lost in this page turner very quickly and was delivered a strong dose of nostalgia as a former paramedic. However, this book is written such that the lay person can read and understand with acronyms, procedures, protocols and dark humour being well explained. Dead Regular and Beneath Contempt were excellent reads and this collection of tales did not disappoint!
February 9, 2023
Loved the book! Easy to read short stories. Loved that it’s all based in Brisbane. Stories and humour I could resonate with due to my profession. Looking forward to the next one! Thanks Harry
October 20, 2025
I thought this book was brilliant. A series of short stories about real-life paramedic ambulance events. The Collected Tales are Ambo Tales from the Frontline.
The banter between management 'Gerry Seabrook', and the main character, 'Jono', was hilarious and very Australian. Neither side pulled any punches. The relationship was not an easy accord, with Jono going out of his way to avoid the boss and being a smart alec when he couldn't.
Other members of the Ambulance team he worked with copped his banter too. Mostly, though, it was to lighten the mood of difficult cases and to relieve the tedium of driving from city to country and all through the suburbs. Ed drives the ambulance like a snail and plays country music. Both drive Jono crazy.
Brisbane suburbs are highlighted, with the hospitals being the main connection. The Triage nurses cop some flak from Jono, and he cops it back from them.
Each story has the chapter number and heading. One that left me feeling creeped out was 30: Traumatic Injury. Not because the place was an out-of-the-way setting, but because the injured party was high on drugs and broke his ankles as a result. They were fine while finding and starting to treat the patient, who was abusive and uncooperative, until his gangland boss arrived with a shotgun. You'd best read the rest of the story. Safe to say Jono and his coworker survived.
The other highlight in the book was 24: Pregnancy. The team were called to a girl, Chantelle, who wants to go to the nearest hospital. Why? Because it was the weekend, she missed her period, she had a headache, and she needed drugs. A wasted call-out in Jono's estimation, however, they still had to do it. As they walked out to the ambulance, 'Nat', Jono's coworker who was pregnant, screamed. Her waters had broke! Now they needed to rush to the hospital. Jono needed to treat Nat in the back, so Chantelle, the former patient, became the driver. She loved driving fast and having the sirens wailing.
There are two other books in this series and two more that are novels derived from the same characters. I'll be going to Harry's website and ordering more of these books. Perhaps you should too.
The banter between management 'Gerry Seabrook', and the main character, 'Jono', was hilarious and very Australian. Neither side pulled any punches. The relationship was not an easy accord, with Jono going out of his way to avoid the boss and being a smart alec when he couldn't.
Other members of the Ambulance team he worked with copped his banter too. Mostly, though, it was to lighten the mood of difficult cases and to relieve the tedium of driving from city to country and all through the suburbs. Ed drives the ambulance like a snail and plays country music. Both drive Jono crazy.
Brisbane suburbs are highlighted, with the hospitals being the main connection. The Triage nurses cop some flak from Jono, and he cops it back from them.
Each story has the chapter number and heading. One that left me feeling creeped out was 30: Traumatic Injury. Not because the place was an out-of-the-way setting, but because the injured party was high on drugs and broke his ankles as a result. They were fine while finding and starting to treat the patient, who was abusive and uncooperative, until his gangland boss arrived with a shotgun. You'd best read the rest of the story. Safe to say Jono and his coworker survived.
The other highlight in the book was 24: Pregnancy. The team were called to a girl, Chantelle, who wants to go to the nearest hospital. Why? Because it was the weekend, she missed her period, she had a headache, and she needed drugs. A wasted call-out in Jono's estimation, however, they still had to do it. As they walked out to the ambulance, 'Nat', Jono's coworker who was pregnant, screamed. Her waters had broke! Now they needed to rush to the hospital. Jono needed to treat Nat in the back, so Chantelle, the former patient, became the driver. She loved driving fast and having the sirens wailing.
There are two other books in this series and two more that are novels derived from the same characters. I'll be going to Harry's website and ordering more of these books. Perhaps you should too.
April 25, 2023
Author Harry Colfer has written a superb collection of stories from his own experience as a frontline ambulance paramedic, including the crews and support infrastructure. This book is chock-a-block with full on drama, gory scenes, grim humour and amazing situations revolving around daily life and death situations. It was fortunate for me that this book contains short stories because I don't think I could handle another full-on novel like Colfer's Dead Regular which I read recently and haven't fully recovered from the impact. Some will read this compilation at their own peril, some will read it with great relish because of its authenticity. I say go for it!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews