Published by Framework Press, this novel (my fourth) is available from on-line sellers such as Amazon, Booktopia and The Book Depository — and of course from good bookshops.

It can be procured in two formats, paperback (ISBN 9780648522300) and e-book (ISBN 9780648522317). 

The book was launched by Paul Genoni, who described it as “impeccably researched, meticulously plotted, and blessed with elegantly and artfully crafted prose.” His speech on that occasion is reproduced in The Rochford Street Review. You can read it here.

Here are a few excerpts from published reviews, the first from the UK magazine Historical Novels Review:

A fine and complex novel that will give the reader much thought…

With its main focus on how conscience played out in the past and how it impacts the present, A Thousand Tongues will certainly open one’s eyes as to the treatment of those who suffered, and continue to suffer, from the blessing (or scourge) of having a conscience.

And this from WritingWA:

Ian Reid twists together three tales in an examination of conscience demonstrating that “what is right” is rarely a singular narrative or universal truth. As two post-grad student historians in Perth struggle with their conscience and attempt to define their beliefs in 2015, we are challenged by the harsh realities of the past. Have we overcome the callous brutality with which those with black skin were treated in the late Victorian era? Would we be as contemptuous in the judgment of cowardice that branded WWI conscientious objectors in England in 1917? By focusing on the past, Reid demonstrates that what is right may be a historical construct; what is fair is determined by those with power. The fate of those who question their conscience and judge themselves unworthy weaves the three narratives together in the uncomfortable inconvenient truth that is human experience. A Thousand Tongues is a story that twists and turns to provoke thought and discussion.

And from Amazon:

Great story told with great humanity. This is a thoughtful, readable, and sensitively written book of interconnected tales. Each time period is vividly described with great attention to the values and racial distinctions of that era. We share the characters’ deepest experiences and feel viscerally the reactions of others. We are different afterwards. (Five stars)

And from Dartmoor News:

This Australian writer knows how to tell a story well … and has done his research well. This is a first-class read exploring themes of conscience and racial tension and the legacies of guilt and shame.

Further responses are quoted in this blog post. And my own article on how the geography and history of Dartmoor led me to imagine the stories that comprise A Thousand Tongues can be read here.