Short description
the first book of the Ballantyne series, this novel tells the story of one family's conquest of the untamed lands of Africa. Searching for the father they barely remember, Zouga and Dr. Robyn Ballantyne board Mungo St. John's clipper and head for Africa. Long before they reach Africa, a love-hate relationship develops and fate takes control. Available in September.
Long description
In 1860, a man and woman approach the coast of Africa aboard a swift clipper--in the command of an American who knows no law. Robyn Ballantyne and her brother Morris have waited years for this moment: to return to Africa, to search for their missionary father who had disappeared somewhere in the wilderness. Traveling north from Cape Town, they follow a map left by a madman-- into an uncharted world of waterfalls and jungle, teeming wildlife, murderous disease, and the ghastly ruins of an astounding city. Uncovering their father' s trail, Robyn and her brother are in the midst of a slave trade that pours out of Africa like a bloody wound. Now, to survive what they have found, they must make their separate ways out-- through pitched battles on land and on sea... and through the pride, passions and fury of their hearts...
Review
An epic...Smith joins the ranks of one of the grand masters of twentieth-century novels.
-- Tulsa World