I looked forward to reading Tim Farrin’s novel, Sibanda, because the story is set in Africa during a photo safari. Little did I know that the compelling plot would grab me so strongly.
Tim was born and raised in Maine, and after military service, he started an African safari business with a Zimbabwean. When he is not in Africa, Tim and his wife reside in Maine, where they enjoy our woods and waters.
Turns out Tim is a great writer, with strong dialogue and characters, and an imaginative, but realistic plot.
Here’s the very first sentence, in a brief presentation of the story: “The streets and airports of Zimbabwe had erupted into the chaos that much of the world had come to expect from Africa.” Chaos doesn’t begin to describe the tense situation a group of American tourists found themselves in.
I of course enjoyed their first day safari where they saw lots of amazing animals. But then things went badly – very very badly – and they had to set out across the African bush in an attempt to escape a country plunged into evil chaos.
I don’t want to give it all away, but I stayed up way past my bedtime because I just had to know the outcome. My advice – start reading early in the day, and don’t plan on doing anything else that day!