Short description
Striding in the footsteps of the pioneers is Zouga Ballantyne whose dream begins in the danger and drudgery of the diamond pits and ends in the rich grasslands of Matabeleland--but not before a king and a proud warrior nation has paid the bloodstained price of history. Available in November.
Long description
It was called The Devils' s Own: a steep scar in the African earth, around which men toiled with picks, shovels, and dreams of the milky treasures that would become prized, polished diamonds. In this demonic race, native tribesmen became miners. Sometimes they became thieves. And then they became rebels. Zouga Ballantyne, an African-born Englishman, sees the Devil' s Own mine as his ticket to the North: a realm of waterfalls and fertile plains, teeming wildlife, and seeded fields of gold. But what happens in the diamond mines of the fledgling Boer Free State sets the course for Ballantyne and a cast of comrades, enemies, and lovers-- and for the continent itself. From the visions of imperialists to the fury between a father and a son, from the lengths a man will go for a woman and a woman for her convictions, a tragic clash of generations and civilizations was shaking 19th century Africa, where some warriors fought for their gods-- and others for the men who came before them...
Review
Action is Smith's game, and he is a master.
-- The Washington Post Book World