Norman Shakespeare Releases THE CONGO AFFAIR

Sudbury, MA

Norman's fascination with Africa, and many years exploring wild places and indigenous peoples, gives him perceptive insight into the ancient superstitions and profound respect for the unknown that is buried deep inside our western psyches. He can quickly erode the veneer of 'civilization' and twentieth-century 'security', and move into unsettling narrative where primal fears rise to the surface.

He blends the conflict, suspense and romance of the modern world into a 'Heart of Darkness' backdrop to riveting effect. The pace of ever-present danger is relentless while human tragedy, tender relationships and heartfelt loss unfolds chapter by chapter. The plot holds the reader captive until the very last line.

In a world where war and destruction is commonplace, situations where nature competes on equal terms for one's attention are rare. In this work they co-exist in monstrous proportions. It combines an armchair safari packed with magnificent wildlife, historical Africa and tenuous yet powerful human attractions then, if that wasn't enough, there is war, dark savagery and lurking evil.

The story quickly moves between beautiful scenes of pristine wilderness to excitement and terror, then to sadness and back to hope.

'The Congo Affair' is set on the banks of the mighty river that flows silently and mysteriously through the storyline:

"It takes compelling reasons to leave rewarding jobs and comfortable urban lifestyles, and move to an isolated aero-space project in an equatorial jungle. Many of the staff of Orion have 'history' they'd rather leave behind; and some don't play nicely with others.

The facility, constructed during a brief lull in the country's tumultuous history, is located on the equator; a good place to launch large rockets. Nearly three thousand westerners live and work behind a fence separating them from the jungle and the darkness. Few take an interest in the primeval ecosystem outside.

As happens frequently in the Congo, things start to go downhill. Civil-war spreads and the base, fifteen-hundred miles up the river, is slowly cut-off. Regular re-supply flights are suspended after a near miss with a surface-to-air missile fired from the bush. The alternate route; ten days by dilapidated ferry to Kinshasa, becomes less reliable by the week. Head-office personnel in Europe are out of touch with things on the ground, and reluctant to 'upset' local politicians by suggesting curtailing operations prematurely. The situation reaches a point where the inhabitants are forced to prepare for the worst, and to seriously consider their desperate evacuation plans.

While the mighty river flows endlessly by, camp security guards assume power from the academic admin staff, and 'martial law' is imposed. James Kent, a very private divorcee with I.T. and military experience engages the help of friendly natives to gather intelligence and questions the head-guard's escape plan. The community starts to polarize. Some make it to the coast by ferry but the situation deteriorates further, with repeated attacks by rebels causing more tensions.

The stage is set; darkest Africa, suspense and passionate romance take control".

'The Congo Affair' is now available as an ebook from eBookIt.com and other popular ebook retailers.

About the author
Norman Shakespeare is not comfortable in one place for too long. Lately he is spending most of his time in Europe and North America, and not enough in Africa, but that could change.
He is equally at home writing computer science textbooks and diverse fiction. His next work features a fascinating relationship with a virtual entity that only exists in the mysterious, interconnected and complex world of electronics and software - stay tuned.

About eBookIt.com
Since 2010, eBookIt.com (based in Sudbury, Massachusetts) has helped thousands of authors and publishers get their books converted to ebook format, and distributed to all the major ebook retailers, including Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Apple iBookstore, Kobo, Sony Readerstore, Ingram Digital, and Google eBookstore.

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