Cover photo Alex Holderness

Hammerhead A novella

‘Just as the rose-violet hour of Sydney’s late afternoon settles through the harbour, over buildings and bridges, the decision to separate, to join, or to die, reaching its limit of longing: this was my moment too, where you might hallucinate what could not possibly be true. In that shadowy place, amongst discarded wishes and fruitless pursuits, when one could imagine the original bush and sandstone, bays and quays emptied of ferries, yachts and cruisers, the pleasure seekers, the indolent swimmers—suddenly, I was up against it all.’

Banking executive David Mapleton is working in his Sydney office when he receives a phone call from wealthy business and newspaperman Charles Reynolds. Charles would like Mapleton to join his covert organisation, The Hammer. Reynolds has grown impatient with the failures of the United Nations and other government agencies, and has assembled a group of people who may be able to bring some justice to what he sees as a corrupt body politic. Mapleton has the necessary financial and educational background required by Reynolds, but is he ready for an unknown and dangerous reality that will cause him to re-evaluate himself, his country and his ideals?

The story in this novella is told by David Mapleton, contrasting his deepening involvement in The Hammer’s activities with periods of introspection. Moving between Australia and Europe, Hammerhead also examines the difficulties that come for David and his two companions, Thérèse Sablon and Anton Partl, as they negotiate what Mapleton calls ‘My violent, improbable world.’ 

With the growing incongruities that culminate above the waters of Sydney Harbour, this tale of fantastical intrigue finds a contemporary parallel for the moral and political uncertainties of the post-9/11 era.