{"product_id":"9780987162212","title":"Dance of the Firebirds: A shattering novel of love, murder, female genital mutilation, terrorism and British government intrigue at the highest level.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMany of the events and incidents in this book really happened...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe circumstances may differ, the characters too, but essentially it is truth disguised - as all good fiction should be.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYoung Chris Ryan was no stranger to trouble After riding his bicycle on the corrugated iron roof of a country court-house during the trial of a friend by an unpopular magistrate, he progressed to burning down the shooting hides of a game-cropper who had poisoned waterholes on his father's neighbouring game ranch. To avoid arrest, his father hurriedly packed him off to a friend in Australia. \"It's where they send all criminals like you,\" his father joked. But Chris had other plans, and a score to settle. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was a more responsible Chris who returns with his bride when his father is tragically killed by an elephant during a culling operation. They take on the running of the game ranch, but the Rhodesian Bush War intervenes and they are forced to leave for safety. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring an attack on a hilltop in Mozambique, the discovery of a clay jar containing ancient Phoenician Papyri seems of little consequence to Chris, until he hands it in to the wrong authority. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eZarena Bontoux\u003c\/b\u003e is a victim of female genital mutilation and a heiroglyphics expert at the Cairo Museum in Egypt. A copy of the papyri is sent to her to decipher, but simply possessing it leads to the unraveling of her own history and the revisiting of a tragic past at the hands of her radical Islamic father.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSir Percy Ladbroke\u003c\/b\u003e is Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. The days of the spies and 'ring of five' have long gone, but the legacy remains. A seemingly harmless gathering of retired old friends, meeting each Friday night at the club to help one of their own in a time of need.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSilas Tongara\u003c\/b\u003e is the most wanted terrorist sought by the Rhodesian security forces for his brutal atrocities, many against his own people.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReviewer: Ray Franklin - \u003ci\u003eSunshine Coast Daily\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJerold Richert\u003c\/b\u003e is the latest of a long line of old African hands who writes with feeling about what he knows best. —Happily, though, his passion is equaled by his proficiency. He writes well, and he has a fine tale to tell.—The author, who now lives in Buderim, was born in South Africa, but spent his formative years in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.—He became a pilot and served in an elite anti-terrorist unit during the Rhodesia's so called Bush War.—His central character is a pilot and Selous Scouts' tracker, enmeshed in a deadly contest with guerrilla bands ravaging farms and homesteads along the Mozambique border\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—Richert's book is the first in a series of five Africa-based novels, with the next due later this year.— Going on his form so far, it should also be worth reading.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down, June 14, 2011 By Ianklux (Sofia Bulgaria\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.15 am I had a look at the seven reviews and thought hmmm, sounds interesting! \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.30 am I purchased the book on my KINDLE \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThinking I would read it sometime during the week, I flipped it open just to get a feel of what it was all about... \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.am I was well and truly hooked. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI read steadily all day, I just couldn't put it down. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e12.40 am. Apart from a lunch and dinner break with a few other stops I completed a 15 hour marathon and finished reading the entire book! \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt has been so many years since I did this that I cannot remember which book and when it was that I was so gripped. This is a fast paced action story by someone who obviously understands Africa, everything there is to know about flying smallish air-planes, the horrors of terrorist warfare - and that strange and horrible practice FGM. Full of believable plots, real-life characters and one hell of a good read.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jerold Richert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49787391410416,"sku":"9780987162212","price":16.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780987162212","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}