to put down … Relentless. As only reality can have a certain ring to it, so does this book. It is naked and brutal and mind boggling in its scope. It is a living example of not being able to hide, ever … The hardest-toned book I’ve ever read. And the most frightening glimpse of mankind I’ve seen. This is a 10 if ever there was one.” − I Love a Mystery
The Last Savanna
“Tragic and beautiful, sentimental and ruthless, The Last Savanna is a vast and wonderful book.” – NetGalley Reviews
“Mike Bond takes readers into a literary safari of Africa’s elephant poaching war with The Last Savanna, a novel that expertly captures the ravenous, chaotic and frustrating battles raging across the continent … Bond, who himself hiked and extensively explored Africa as a human rights journalist, leverages his first-hand experience to craft a novel that reads authoritatively and paints a vivid picture of life in the savanna … Bond’s knowledge of the Swahili language, local culture and even the wildlife result in what may be one of the most realistic portrayals of Africa yet … The novel is not for the timid, featuring intense descriptions of battle injuries, shocking portrayals of the emotional state of men at war and fully exploring the survival instinct of animal and human alike … Bond’s specialty in producing thrillers that editorialize human weakness and bring to light pressing world problems shines in The Last Savanna. Dynamic, heart-breaking and timely to current events, Bond’s latest book is a must-read.” – Yahoo Reviews
“An intense and emotional story about the African wilderness … masterfully done … so many characters and themes that come into this, it’s amazing … Beyond being a romantic thriller, the elements of survival and the nature of both an animal and man itself really came together … The Last Savanna is intense, beautiful and completely captures the powerful emotion in this story. I was blown away, and it taught me a lot about the dangers and mysteries of Africa.” − RealityLapse Reviews
“A manhunt through crocodile-infested jungle, sun-scorched savannah, and impenetrable mountains as a former SAS man tries to save the life of the woman he loves but cannot have.” − Evening Telegraph
“A powerful love story set in the savage jungles and deserts of East Africa.” − Daily Examiner
“Pulsating with the sights, sounds, and dangers of wild Africa, its varied languages and peoples, the harsh warfare of the northern deserts and the hunger of denied love.” − Newton Chronicle
“A gripping thriller from a highly distinctive writer.” − Liverpool Daily Post
“Exciting, action-packed … A nightmarish vision of Africa.” − Manchester Evening News
“The imagery was so powerful and built emotions so intense that I had to stop reading a few times to regain my composure.” − African Publishers’ Network
“An unforgettable odyssey into the wilderness, mysteries, and perils of Africa … A book to be cherished and remembered.” − Greater London Radio
“The central figure is not human; it is the barren, terrifying landscape of Northern Kenya and the deadly creatures who inhabit it.” − Daily Telegraph
“An entrancing, terrifying vision of Africa. A story that not only thrills but informs … Impossible to set aside or forget.” – BBC
“The thrill of the chase when the prey is man – the only decent prey.” − The Times
“Mike Bond’s The Last Savanna is shot through with images of the natural world at its most fearsome and most merciful. With his weapons, man is a conqueror – without them he is a fugitive in an alien land. Bond touches on the vast and eerie depths that lie under the thin crust of civilization and the base instinct within man to survive – instincts that surpass materialism. A thoroughly enjoyable read that comes highly recommended.” − Nottingham Observer
House of Jaguar
“A riveting thriller of murder, politics, and lies.” − London Broadcasting
“Five Stars … Excellent story, every page takes the reader rushing forward. Horrific ending, strong images last long after finished reading.” – NetGalley Reviews
“Tough and tense thriller.” − Manchester Evening News
“A riveting story where even the good guys are bad guys, set in the politically corrupt and drug infested world of present-day Central America.” − Middlesborough Evening Gazette
“A thoroughly amazing book … Memorable, an extraordinary story that speaks from and to the heart. And a terrifying depiction of one man’s battle against the CIA and Latin American death squads.” – BBC
“Vicious thriller of drugs and revolution in the wilds of Guatemala, with the adventurer hero, aided by a woman doctor, facing a crooked CIA agent. The climax is among the most horrifying I have ever read.” − Liverpool Daily Post
“House of Jaguar is based upon Bond’s own experiences in Guatemala. With detailed descriptions of actual jungle battles and manhunts, vanishing rain forests and the ferocity of guerrilla war, House of Jaguar also reveals the CIA’s role in both death squads and drug running, twin scourges of Central America.” − Newton Chronicle
“Not for the literary vegetarian – it’s red meat stuff from the off. All action … convincing.” − Oxford Times
“Bond grips the reader from the very first page. An ideal thriller for the beach, but be prepared to be there when the sun goes down.” − Herald Express
for Jude, Lucas, and David
God is well able to effect his purpose,
but the greater part of men do not understand.
−Koran, XII
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill,
and desire to have, and cannot obtain:
ye fight and war, yet ye have not.
− James, IV
Time’s short your life’s your own
And in the end we are just dust n’ bones.
− Guns N’ Roses
Beirut was a paradise when I first arrived there as a very young man. The golden sun and brilliant sea, the ancient streets, the hubbub of cultures, the food and wines, the tanned and sensual young women, the perfume of many million flowers, the pine hills and cold white peaks, all imbued it with a near-sacred substance. This, I felt, is a place where all peoples come together, vibrant with history, wisdom, lust, and delight.
It was soon a battlefield of smashed buildings and bloody streets, its Phoenician treasures blasted, its forests and vineyards burned, its people huddled in bombed-out basements or sniping at each other from shattered windows, hating, killing, raping, pillaging. I survived by luck, by tricks, even in dark places where discovery was death. Everywhere I lived is gone, every good friend is dead. I refuse to let them die, to see it gone, without a testament, a memory.
As the years went by, broken-hearted by Beirut, I tried to understand – why do we war? Now, after having covered wars on three continents, I can find no answer beyond the experience itself. What I mean is this: only when we have lived war do we hate and know it well enough to make it stop. For in every country, every city, neighborhood and family, Beirut is waiting.
If everyone could live Beirut, I thought, we might war less. If I could tell one small true story of Beirut, let the reader fear the bullets, crouch beneath the thundering bombs in airless cellars as the concrete floors come crashing down, see loved ones die, grope for passion and belief amid terror and death, that it might make a difference.
Every book must be a failure because it fails to say so much. Today fiction withers because it is too literary, and ceases to be relevant. But if we are to learn we must do so through the heart, not through the mind – a book that does not touch the heart conveys no experience at all. If readers turn away, we need look no further than ourselves.