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October 19, 2009

Hacking Timbuktu

Hacking Timbuktu is the exciting new novel by my good friend and colleague Steve Davies. Written for teenage boys, it is a great story, which Lynne and I thoroughly enjoyed reading aloud to each other during our recent trip to Burkina Faso.

It is the story of Danny Temple, a computer-hacker and parkour enthusiast, in his pursuit of hidden gold, stolen from the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu in "the most daring heist in African history". Danny and his friend Omar have to use their hacking and parkour skills to find the gold and escape the attentions of a fiendish Facebook-based group that is after them.

As with his previous novel, The Yellowcake Conspiracy, Steve's combination of cool contemporary technology with historical West African cultures provides the catalyst for a thrilling adventure. Leaping and racing from roof-top London to cliff-top Africa, the book - again like "Yellowcake" - begs to be made into a film.

Steve uses remarkable economy of words, not only to maintain the pace and excitement of the story, but also to imbibe you with the worlds to which he introduces you. There are no long boring descriptive paragraphs, yet you find yourself caught up in the Malian scenery and culture as the story runs and vaults past riverside villages and mud-brick mosques. Steve's familiarity with, and love for West Africa gives a respect and authenticity to this Malian context that is lacking in so many other books and films. And the fascination of western teenage boys with the world of computers and free-running will make this an adventure into which many will be able to imagine themselves caught up.

If you are looking for good books for teenage boys, try this. You can buy it on Amazon here.
See more of Steve's writing here

Posted by Keith at October 19, 2009 03:02 PM