THE GREAT SKY AND THE SILENCE

by James S. Rand ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 1978

A southeast Africa action adventure set at the turn-of-the-century, when white men were giants, not to say megalomaniacs, and had egos that stretched from horizon to horizon. The primal giant is 6'4"", 240-lb. Pict Haydyn de Morgan, who owns more acreage than the eye can see and who is hungry for more. He would like to annex the vast valley of the nearby Igonyela country, which grows some staples (sugar, rum, tobacco) that he can't grow at home. But rather than attack the Igonyela tribe and take what he wants by force, Morgan decides to play politics and help the Igonyela's tribal leader fulfill his greatest fantasy: to have a white wife as fat as the circus fat woman he once saw in a photograph. Morgan sends one of his lieutenants up to the traders route where white slavers deal, and the lieutenant lands a tremendously fat white Negress (more or less albino) who is fed five times daily and given candy in between. The hunger for land, however, eventually requires an arduous trek into Igonyela territory--led by Morgan, his burly major-domo Robert Queen (equally eager to increase his own vast acreage), and shy young Joachim van Zyl, half-Boer and half Zulu, who's also being groomed as a land-grabber. Along the way, they kill many lions and elephants and a rhino (gifts for the Igonyela tribe's larder), receive extra wives from the tribe, and drink heavily to endure the outdoorsy discomforts. Strictly John-Wayne-in-the-bush, but the wildlife and the natives provide some vivid moments.

Pub Date: Feb. 4, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1978

Categories: FICTION