Survival in the Desert

The Last Savannah by Mike Bond, Mandevilla Press, 2016 

This is a very concentrated story set in the desert northern reaches of Kenya. The plot is essentially a chase of Somali elephant poachers by a specialized group of rangers. Not only did the poachers kill elephants but they also attacked and murdered a group of anthropologists kidnapping a woman survivor to hold for ransom. Author Bond clearly studied his geography well and knows the desert and impact of it, especially thirst, on people who venture there.  Accompanying the survivalist tale of all against the desert, characters struggle with each other and with their memories and aspirations. It is often a violent tale where lives are cheap and killing is a survival mechanism.  

Author Bond gets in the head of the most important characters as they contemplate their lives, their regrets and their hopes. I thought he did an especially good job of seeing the word through the eyes of the Africans via their tribal customs and religion, essentially their incomprehension of the modern world and inability to reconcile it to their own. 

This adventure tale reeks of accuracy in the setting and in the interactions between characters and the natural world. There is suspense as the plot spins along with interesting twists and turns.