A life of prose
Australian Fiction Author Blog
Australian Fiction Author Blog
Brendon Patrick is a Historical Fiction Author and a descendant of the Afghan Cameleers. He’s also a veteran of the Australian Army.
He writes with the austerity of a war correspondent, and the moral insights of an historian, with his stories tracing the violence and discrimination which places personal identity on a collision course with national myth.
From the 19th century Afghani Cameleers who pioneered Australia, to soldiers in Afghanistan, he exposes how Empire building and Indigenous cultures have clashed throughout history.
Brendon’s prose is lean, but also biting. It’s both unsentimental, yet darkly comic. He writes not for trend, but for truth and is inspired by writers who craft from the margins, not the spotlight.
Two lives, a century apart.
Patterson, an Australian soldier in modern Afghanistan, discovers unexpected parallels with Great, Great Grandfather, George Sher Gul, an Afghan cameleer who was once pivotal in pioneering Australia’s unforgiving outback.
As Patterson’s idealism crumbles in war, we see Sher Gul’s struggle as a man with vital skills is rejected because of the colour of his skin.
Drawing from his own experience as both soldier and descendant of Afghani cameleers, author Brendon Patrick tells a deeply personal story of belonging and resilience.
This is not just another war novel, but a human tale of forgotten histories and the inter generational trauma created by global conflicts leave behind.
Afghani was published by Bulldog publishing in Aug 2025
ISBN: 978-1-7637-9213-5
An Empire’s long shadow.
Western powers have battled over Afghanistan for generations, while exploiting those same people abroad.
The cameleers and modern soldiers represent bookends of the same imperial story.
It’s a different century, but the patterns remain identical.
My Afghan heritage and military service placed me in the middle of a moral crosshair.
And while I’ve inherited the outsider’s perspective and lived the soldier’s life, crafting AFGHANI forced me to take a deeper dive into how these seemingly separate backgrounds intertwine.
AFGHANI posits the question: what is the true purpose of war.
These parallel journeys expose the cyclical nature of conflict and the hidden machinery of empireS.
Behind patriotic narratives lie uncomfortable truths about power, exploitation, and whose stories we choose to remember
Brendon@alifeofprose.com.au
+61 421 760 851
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