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From horror fiction to mindfulness journey. Popular culture books by the writers and artists of Story Of Books.
The Constant Companion Tales
The Constant Companion Tales by Salina Christmas. A collection of serialised short stories of post-colonial horror spanning three generations.
(The sequel to The Keeper Of My Kin)
by Salina Christmas
Part 4 & 5 of The Constant Companion Tales in paperback
The dark force of the Cold War threatens to destroy peace and unity in Southeast Asia. Young Private Raden is sent to Borneo to defend the newly independent country, whilst his clan fights the enemy at home. Sinister forces are summoned from unexpected places to fight to the bitter end.
• THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE TIGER-MEN
• A TRUCE MADE IN BLOOD
by Salina Christmas
Part 1, 2 & 3 of The Constant Companion Tales in paperback
Three separate incidents between World War 2 and the Malayan Emergency period connect the dots to reveal a sinister force haunting three generations of the Raden family. Now the three haunting stories of the Raden family are combined in a paperback.
• THE RED-HAIRED GURKHAS
• THE TIGER-MAN AND HIS CONSTANT COMPANION
• THE NIGHT OF THE FLYING BLADES
Part One: The Constant Companion Tales
by Salina Christmas
A ghost appears just as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission exhumes the remains of fallen World War 2 soldiers. The soldiers say the wandering spirit that terrorises them is that of a headless soldier executed during World War 2. A captain by rank. How could they tell? By his epaulette and his cypress green uniform. But why does it appear when the Gurkha remains are being exhumed? A ghost story told from the point of view of a nine-year old child, the daughter of an army captain, whose family resides at a very old military camp.
Part Two: The Constant Companion Tales
by Salina Christmas
‘An elderly relative reveals what their family ‘keeper’ did to the enemy soldiers. The price paid was too high. This is the backstory to the Red-Haired Gurkhas, covering two generations in World War 2 and the Second Malayan Emergency period of the 1980s. The children’s grandfather has a secret after all, one he’s unwilling to burden his family with. But his ghostly servant isn’t the biggest surprise. What was done to the enemy soldiers by the other keeper of his kins was as just as evil as the atrocities committed during the war. Only one person survived the massacre – a boy soldier sent against his wish to a war he wanted no part of.
Part Three: The Constant Companion Tales
by Salina Christmas
It’s easier to forgive an enemy. But a kith? A kin? This is the story of traitors, and what their own kins do to the enemy within. An ancient, senile ghostly servant – on his midnight cigarette break – accidentally reveals his horrific true form to the Raden family. The exorcism that follows introduces the Raden children to the flying blades, another ‘surprise’ from their secretive elders. Upon learning their great-grandmother’s past, the children discover that once, not long ago, after the war was over, the British were much exposed to the jungle terrorists. The bitter sacrifices and innocent lives brutally taken meant their kins had no choice but to summon the flying blades for a most calamitous goal.
Part Four: The Constant Companion Tales
by Salina Christmas
It’s the 1960s. Newly independent Malaysia is in confrontation with Indonesia. The Raden family and the Javanese are asked to betray their country in favour of their ancestral land. Their son, a young soldier, encounters a Tiger-Man. But it’s not theirs. It’s the servant of another. This could spell the end of the Raden family, at the hands of someone who is as dangerous as them.
The follow-up to the first three parts of the series explains:
• The unlikely relationship and affinity that Yamashiro Ryu, or Arshad, has with the Tiger-Man, the Raden family’s most fearsome servant
• The motive behind the curse sent to the Raden family
Part Five: The Constant Companion Tales
by Salina Christmas
It’s 1964 and the confrontation drags on. The Malaysians and Indonesians are beginning to tire of the face-off. Someone, somewhere, profits from the suffering and division. Spells and curses are deployed to protect one side from the other.
In the desire of peace lies a glimmer of hope. The Raden family can break the generational curse once and for all. But peace demands sacrifice.
Part Five reveals the repercussions of the action – and inaction – of our protagonists in previous conflicts that lead them to the conundrum they face during the Konfrontasi. History informs us peace was achieved. But history didn’t tell us in detail what it took to get there. Risks were taken and lives were lost. Part Five: A Truce Made In Blood is that story.
Part Six: The Constant Companion Tales
by Salina Christmas
2016. The demon servant has returned to haunt the younger generation of the Raden family, years after the patriarch got rid of the ‘family inheritance’. It follows the Raden sisters everywhere – to Sitiawan, London, Istanbul and Berlin – interfering with their lives and incurring the wrath of the local demons. Someone in the family has summoned its return – likely out of desperation – but why?
Part Seven: The Constant Companion Tales
by Salina Christmas
The flying keris goes missing just at the Raden sisters are about to get rid of it. To make matters worse, they discover that the curse of the were-tiger has spread beyond the Raden clan to their distant cousin, Julian Woodville Wang.
by Salina Christmas
An oath made in blood can’t be undone.
Captain Raden’s family can’t shake off the ghostly guardian – or “constant companion” – that his clan has inherited for generations. Getting rid of the constant companion isn’t easy. An oath made a long time ago in blood can’t be easily undone.
Reviews
Kamariah on “The Keeper of My Kin”
“Spooky. Unputdownable. I read it in one fell swoop. Thank you for the excellent read. We heard these stories when I was a young girl growing up. It was intriguing. then Lo and behold, this book WAS WRITTEN with direct old family connections. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
SBo2 on “The Keeper of My Kin”
“The novel had me at ‘the graves of a group of fallen Gurkha soldiers’. A page turner, engaging and very well thought out. The description of the scenes are very vivid, giving the readers a crisp mental image, shivers and goosebumps. The key characters connect the past and the present seamlessly. I can’t say enough good things about this book, you’ll have to experience the book yourself.”
Norman on “Part One and Part Two: The Constant Companion Tales”
“Over Christmas, I read both volumes of the Constant Companion ebooks. They are really good. The story is interesting, and it’s amazing how much knowledge Salina has on history and Eastern culture and religion. Of course, I was amused to see a few English vernacular words and phrases creeping in, like ‘poor sod’! Well done for such brilliant and erudite writing. These are so, so good, and I can’t wait for volume 3!”
After The Rain
After The Rain by Zarina Holmes is a meditation via photography on nature and the lesser-heard inner voices. The visual journals are contemplative observation on our relationship with the environment and sustainability.
by Zarina Holmes
After The Rain: Number 1 is a meditation via photography on nature and the lesser-heard inner voices. It started as a diary to accompany Zarina Holmes’s photography pieces, which is her train of thoughts during a hectic life between London and her seaside home near Pangkor Island. After The Rain also alludes to the feeling of calm and relief after a storm. You could say it’s about a new beginning after a turbulent passage.
by Zarina Holmes
After The Rain: Number 2 came three years after this journal made its debut. We’ve had a pandemic and a global supply chain crisis. In this edition, environmental calamity has a more profound co-starring role. It represents the consequences of the choices we make as humans. Darkness and light, life and death, and pastel and pop interlock with one another. But as this journal alludes, winter always turn to spring. And the rain will stop at some point.
Praises
Zontiga
“Photographs in vibrant colours yet exudes quietness and calmness. After The Rain Number 1 started as a blog by Zarina Holmes, and was eventually published as a magazine. Number 2 came along after the pandemic, highlighting the aftermath and consequences of human choices.”
Nick, Photographer
“I love it because it’s such a positive thing. It looks at beauty of the planet, the world we live in and the simplicity of life. It’s definitely thought provoking against the city life. I just love the way it’s put together. The use of colour is my favourite thing about it.”
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