The Soul Stone is set against the landscape of Australia's Kimberley region and Great Western Desert. The story follows the journey of a Catholic priest into the Aboriginal 'Dreaming'; and probes the conflict between indigenous people's bond with the land, and the European immigrant's values that are based on conquest, acquisition and religious conversion.
Interwoven through this is a subtle love story, the mystery of an old German immigrant living in a remote Aboriginal community, and the dark mysticism of what is one of the world's oldest cultures.
Reviews:
A brave and intriguing work. The Soul Stone, like the Aboriginal culture it investigates, is both timeless and universal. A visionary book that brings a current, global perspective to one of the smallest and most ancient cultures. And it makes riveting reading. The West Australian
Peopled by intensely credible characters; but it's also unashamedly a story about real and current political issues. Collis's achievement has been to draw the various strands together into a seamless and quite unputdownable read. Highly recommended. The Sunday Age, Melbourne
The Soul Stone is an unusual fusion of lively narrative with a spiritual theme ... the story of Simon's progress from altar boy to catholic priest, at a mission station, and finally to initiation into Aboriginal society. An absorbing, imaginative achievement. The Australian
Brad Collis has all the qualities of a good storyteller: a crisp narrative style, a sense of place and atmosphere, a dramatist's skill in scene-setting. This is a young man to watch. Morris West