Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #234088 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Synopsis
A new departure for the author of Firebird and Eye of Ra, this novel is a dramatic, contemporary thriller: a David and Goliath story featuring western might against desert tribes, and the man who becomes their champion. The book opens in Sudan, with the discovery of a modern corpse in a remote archaelogical site, its heavy pack laden with samples of strange soils. Truman, the leader of the expedition, returns the pack in a container he was sending home -- to be forwarded to the dead man's business address. So begins an extraordinary adventure. Truman -- a man with a mysterious past -- is persuaded to go back to Sudan and bribe a hostile tribe to allow mining of the incredibly valuable minerals now discovered on their land. But he and his backers are not the only people to be after the rare earth - Truman also encounters various elements of the SIS, renegade Russians and Serbians, all of whom are prepared to use far more violent methods to seize what they want.

Rescued by the tribe themselves from a brutal attack, Truman - unsure who his greatest enemies are -- becomes fascinated by the tribe's way of life, by the woman who is their prophetess and by his gradually returning memories of his previous life. Double-crossed by his backers, he finds his loyalties changing fast. The action is fast and furious, from helicopter crashes to desert storms, from camel charges to business skulduggery, and the desert scenes are powerful and lyrical, visually brilliant. There is a wonderful range of characters, wily Russians, tribal warriors, displaced SIS officers -- and the reader becomes immersed in Truman's initiation into the ways of such a different society.

Customer Reviews

A clash of civilizations, cultures and rivals.
A desert tribe isolated from the modern world, living according to traditions and customs of a by gone era. A people whose measure of wealth is based upon an individuals integrity, loyalty & bravery. Concepts at odds with the material monetary wealth of modern day society. Yet this tribe is literally sitting upon the untold monetary wealth, in the form of percious rare metal ore, without even knowing it.

Into this world steps archaeologist Dan Truman, a man with a 2yr gap in his memory; as a result of a severe trauma suffered at some point in his past. Hired by a mining company (a front for the Russian mafia), to secure the mineral extraction rights to the tribes land. Before a rival mining company steals it from the tribe, with the force of its own private army.

The scene is now set for an almighty clash of civilizations, cultures and rivals. The key to all of this rests with Dan Truman; as he works his way into the heart of the tribe. Is he the nemesis or saviour, only time will tell. But of one thing you can be certain, things are never going to be the same again. The inexorable march of modernity cannot be halted.

Michael Asher's latest novel holds your interest from start to finish, written in an easy style which is a pleasure to read. It draws upon his experiences as a desert traveller & soldier. Into all of this, is woven a touching love story. It also shows that in order to survive, traditions must change, or at least, those that no long hold any relevance in the present.

Once again Michael Asher has show in his third novel, what a good story teller he is. In his words the sahara desert comes a live & the people who inhabit it are viewed in an entirely different light.