On the riverside of promise

by Vasileios Kalampakas, Minas Pergantis (Editor)

Lagos, Nigeria. Summer of 1968. The war in Biafra is in full swing. Ethan Whittmore is a Captain of the Royal Marines, training government troops in support of the Nigerians. When he learns of his brother's disappearance, a doctor with the Red Cross, he takes it upon himself to find his brother, dead or alive. His efforts will lead him through the Nigerian jungles and rainforests amidst a bloody civil war. What lays at the end of the road though will be more than just an unexpected surprise and lots of broken promises..

Genres: Horror

268 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2012

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer has a wonderful skill with words, painting a picture so well, that you could almost taste the bad whiskey. And the plot is fairly interesting as well, delving into war with grit and determination.

well worth the read, however I gave it only four stars, because it seemed slightly rushed, as in the book overall could have used a little more polishing.

[Andrew Babb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plotline is pretty well put together, but the author makes some basic grammatical errors that are distracting and the characters don't really act natually in a lot of the conflic moments. All in all a decent but not impressive book

[Georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had trouble connecting with this book. Nothing inspirational about it. Life, war is totally absurd. This should be classified under the existentialist genre!

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set against the bloody backdrop of the Nigerian Civil War, English Marine Ethan Whittmore is faced with an opportunity to find his estranged brother Andy and fulfill a childhood pledge to his pastor that he would never leave Andy behind. This is an ultimate tale of faith, hope, the search for truth, the ties that bind, and perfidy. The gruesomeness of war is overshadowed by the hideousness of man. Unaware of his own search for redemption, Ethan repeatedly questions others about their beliefs about God. To add more complexity, there is a nonstop barrage of twists and turns that spin your brain until you find yourself questioning who to trust and just how much more this soldier can take. It is packed full of action, and for the first time ever I found myself reading a book and saying to myself, "I can actually see Jason Statham and Russell Crowe starring in the movie version of this!" A thrillingly complex novel full of surprises from one page to the next; you might just need a glass of Littlemill yourself.

[Chris G · Rating 5 out of 5]

The setting for this story is in Nigeria where Englishmen Ethan and his brother have come to train the Nigerian people. Ethan is an army captain while his brother works for the Red Cross.

The author had me captured me right from the start as he described the setting and characters in such details, that I felt I knew them. The author has a great writing style that allows for lot of vivid details without water down the overall story.

After hearing the news that his brother’s caravan was attacked Ethan goes on the offensive and out to get his brother back. This leads him on an adventure like no other with plenty of twists and turns along the way. The story is weaved in such a way that you not really sure what will happen next and it keeps the pages turning right up till the end.

If you like reading action and adventure stories this book will keep you satisfied and you will be glad you did because overall it is a great story. I highly recommend it this book, Great read!

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. I really enjoyed the author's overall competency as a writer, and the setting of war-torn Nigeria in the late 1960s was a nice change of pace, as well. However, the story lacked a lot of depth, and I think it would have been more interesting if the main character hadn't slaughtered a dozen or more people over the course of the book and felt absolutely fine afterwards. I understand that it's war and everything, but this guy was seriously like the Rambo of Nigeria - killing everyone in his way without incurring a single wound.

Overall, a neat premise with some bad execution that probably takes itself a bit too seriously. It was still an enjoyable read, though.

[Jason Corfman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book. I liked the main character, Ethan. However, the ending seemed to have so many twists and turns that I had a hard time keeping up.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was OK, just not for me.

[Chip Underwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

African civil war thriller.