جذب اكتشاف بعض المعادن الثمينة والنادرة فى ركن قصى من شمال أفريقيا شركات التعدين العالمية وأجهزة المخابرات والمافيا الدولية إلى صراع مرير للاستيلاء عليه، لكن كانت تحول بينهم وبين مليارات الدولارات مسافات شاسعة فى الصحراء القاحلة وقبيلة مسالمة تعيش فى المكان لأجيال طويلة، ولم تتصل بالحياة الحديثة. كان عالم الآثار ترومان يستكشف قبر الكاهنة العظمى بواحة سيوه، لكنه وجد نفسه فى قلب الأحداث المريرة وفى صراع مع الأطراف الطامعة فى استغلال الاكتشاف، فقاتل مع رجال القبيلة البسطاء جيوش المرتزقة، التى اجتاحت المكان وحافظ على أرض القبيلة، وتخلى عن مطامعه الشخصية فى سبيل مبادئه.
Michael Asher is an author, historian, deep ecologist, and notable desert explorer who has covered more than 30,000 miles on foot and camel. He spent three years living with a traditional nomadic tribe in Sudan.
Michael Asher was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, in 1953, and attended Stamford School. At 18 he enlisted in the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, and saw active service in Northern Ireland during The Troubles there in the 1970s.
He studied English Language & Linguistics at the University of Leeds. at the same time serving in B Squadron, 23rd SAS Regiment. He also studied at Carnegie College, Leeds, where he qualified as a teacher of physical education and English.
In 1978-9, he worked for the RUC Special Patrol Group anti-terrorist patrols, but left after less than a year. He took a job as a volunteer English teacher in the Sudan in 1979.
The author of twenty-one published books, and presenter/director of six TV documentaries, Asher has lived in Africa for much of his life, and speaks Arabic and Swahili. He is married to Arabist and photographer Mariantonietta Peru, with whom he has a son and a daughter, Burton and Jade. He currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya.
"Rare Earth" by author, Michael Asher is a thriller like no other. Dan Truman is an archaeologist who, in a remote corner of North Africa, stumbles upon samples of sand containing mineral deposits so rare, there are those who are prepared to kill for their mining rights. Two rival corporations will do anything to secure those rights, not even stopping at murder, kidnapping, extortion and corruption. The only problem is, to get to the area where the samples were found, they need to traverse thousands of miles of harsh, barren desert, some of which is inhabited by a peaceful tribe, unchanged over the centuries and untouched by Western civilisation. Almost immediately, Truman finds he is caught up in a vicious web and every step he takes is fraught with danger. He joins the tribe and becomes enthralled at their lifestyle. When the forces of evil descend, he leads them on an apparent suicide mission against the marauders who are armed with the most modern warfare materiel. Can a lightly armed nomadic tribe led by an archaeologist overcome these forces who will stop at nothing to get what they want? It is a David and Goliath story for the modern age.
Author, Michael Asher is a story himself. He has been acknowledged as one of the world’s leading experts on the desert and its nomadic peoples, as a young man he served in the Paras, the SAS and the RUC Special Patrol Group and holds the General Service Medal. He has spent much of his life in Africa and speaks Arabic and Swahili. On his first vacation he bought a camel and travelled about 1500 miles across Kordofan and Darfur. He has lived among he Kababish nomads of the western Sudan and in 1985 he travelled 271 days and 4,500 miles by camel, in the first recorded crossing of the Sahara from west to east by non-mechanical means. Who better to craft a novel like "Rare Earth"? The story itself is most unusual with its settings in the desert, its lead character leaving his life as an archaeologist and becoming nomadic himself. Characterisation is excellent as is the author’s crystal clear description of life in the outer reaches of society. His army background has enabled the author to describe military tactics and weapons with perfect accuracy. "Rare Earth" is a rare find and is as fast-paced as they come. Michael Asher has, in this story made the unbelievable seem quite credible.
رواية عبقرية كتبها واحد من المستكشفين العظام وهو مايكل آشر، وهو بريطاني سار في الصحراء مسافة 4500 ميل على الأقدام وفوق الجمال بصحبة زوجته.
تتحدث عن مجموعة من المنظمات تحاول السيطرة على منطقة صحراوية غنية بعنصري البالاديوم والإيريديوم من أجل تعدينها، واستماتة أهالي الأرض الأصليين في الدفاع عن أرضهم. الرواية بها من المغامرة والفلسفة وبعض التصوُّف، تلمح فيها فكرة البحث عن الذات كما في "الخيميائي" لباولو كويلو، والغريب أن كلتاهما تحدث جلّ أحداثهما في الصحراء، وسط البدو، وكأنّ الصحراء تنقى النفس بشكل ما.
استمتعت جدا بقراءتها أجمل شيء أنني اشترتها بجنيه واحد في عرض كان بمعرض الكتاب :)
There's a lot to like in this book, great story with good characters. However I thought the ending was a bit sudden after a lot of good story telling up to that point and my irritation with the book which probably won't bother the vast majority of readers is that the author keeps referring to helicopters with different names. In one line the helicopters are Pumas then these choppers magically become Huey's!! It happens later when an Apache attack copter becomes (once again) a Huey!!
I rather enjoyed this story dealing with a British Archaeologist caught up in a tense battle to secure the land rights for a precious mining expedition in desolate Sudan, worth billions. Full of action and great dialogue. Also an insight into the minds of the native bedouin tribes who roam the barren landscape with hardly a clue of the inclement danger of the avaricious exterior world. I'm giving it 3.5 only because it ended abruptly given the ensuing build up.
I couldn't finish this book. Life is precious. As character after character met a brutal, unnecessary death, my interest in the plot waned. Not what I expected from a recommendation from a friend in her eighties!
One of the best books that I have read in recent times. Set away from the usual hotspots like America, UK, Afghanistan, Pakistan, UAE or Europe, Rare Earth is an Africa based thriller. Michael Asher waves a spell binding tale of corruption, greed and power games over the rarest of the rare minerals found in a desolate part of Sudan occupied a nomadic tribe known as the Sanghrana.
Rare Earth follows the journey of archeaologist Dan Truman who gets drawn in the power struggle between two mining corporations over the rights to the patch yielding untold riches. Caught between them, Truman feels increasingly out of sync with the world as he currently knows it and finds peace at the very place he is sent to disturb.
Adapting the nomadic lifestyle and their customs Truman finally feels at home only for the outside world to make it appearance in the form of savage genocide waged against his people.
The rest of the plot is about how Truman walks a fine line between both the worlds to save his new home.
What I loved most about this book was how the author explored topics that I think everyone of us encounter on a daily basis. Although I'm sure most of us aren't faced with the exact scenarios that the main character was, it impressed me that I could still relate to the feelings and emotions of all characters involved in the book and then relate it back to something I had experienced.
This book was a solid read that I enjoyed from start to finish. I would recommend this read to other people but it didn't quite make it into my favourite books list.
Was it just me or was this story entirely inspired by Dune? It was a well written story with some very strong characters but I couldn't help notice the similarities. Also I found the descriptions lengthy and unnecessary which for my money I just skipped over. Still, it was a nice easy read if that is how you are inclined.
My review of Michael Asher's "Rare Earth" in a simple list. The downsides: Abrupt ending, distant characters, includes hefty amount of 'soldier talk' The positives: There's romance in it, likable main character, immersive