Reviewed by John Davies for Readers' Favorite

Robert Dell is an out-of-work journalist living in South Africa. His father, ex-CIA agent and general mercenary Bobby Goodbread, has just been released from jail after serving less than the life term he was given for murder and mayhem committed during South Africa’s struggle against apartheid. Dell and his family are ambushed by Mazibuko, a warlord serving the Minister for Justice and potential new president. The only survivor of the attack, Dell is forced into collaboration with his despicable father to exact revenge from Muzibuko and the minister. Muzibuko, who has full blown AIDS, is preparing to wed his fourth wife, a sixteen year old virgin, in an attempt to rid his body of the disease.

This is a shocking book to read...the descriptions of a ravaged land and its people leave the reader struggling to find any redeeming features of South African society during the post-apartheid years. Smith’s writing is eminently readable; his style is sparse, yet full of in-your-face imagery which burns itself into the reader’s mind. The story is relentless and its characters exhibit a total disregard for human life...money and power subsume all else. The raw and violent countryside is a perfect backdrop for Smith’s harrowing tale. Don’t try and count the bodies; you will be numb to the death toll by the last page.