Only the Dead

by Hamilton Wende

Deep in the Ugandan jungle, a mysterious new presence has infiltrated the Claws of God - a cult army of child soldiers led by the depraved General Faustin. The children are now being controlled by the sinister Papa Mephisto, and believe he is possessed by the magic and power of the lion.

Psychologist Tania Richter is struggling to penetrate the minds of these dangerous and brainwashed children. She calls on Sebastian Burke who, while trying to escape his traumatic past and failed relationship, has been researching lion mythology and its tangled history in human culture.

Sebastian soon finds himself embroiled in a war that extends to the conflict between Islamic extremists and the American government. With the world under threat of nuclear war and the lives of the children at stake, he and Tania must race to uncover the tangled history of lions and humans through the ages, and face its horrifying implications.

367 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2012

About the author

Wende is a freelance writer and television producer based in Johannesburg. He is a regular contributor to From Our Own Correspondent on Radio 4 on BBC. He has also contributed to the BBC World Service programme Letter. He is a columnist for The Star in Johannesburg and his articles have appeared in many international and South African newspapers and magazines.

He has been a guest on The Editors on SABC, and has been a guest lecturer at the Department of Journalism at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, the English Department at the University of Cape Town and at the University of the Witwatersrand, at the Durban Institute of Technology and at the Cape Town Press Club, as well as the Muthaiga Club in Nairobi. He has also appeared on a number of radio and television programmes.

On television he has worked for a number of international networks including CNN, BBC, NBC, ABC (Australia), SBS (Australia), NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Al Jazeera English and a number of others. He has covered 15 different wars in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Reviews

[Kate Sidley]

A clever page-turner, set amongst child soldiers in the jungles of Uganda, has a nod to Faust and forays into psychology and mythology. A good read.

[Dave-Brendon Burgh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave-Brendon de Burgh's Blog
June 10, 2014
First Interview and First High-Profile Appearance

It’s been an incredible couple of days – work has been going well on the second book in my trilogy, and there have been some wonderful developments. :-)

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First up, fellow South African writer / storyteller Sergio Pereira interviewed me over on his website – we delved a bit into my ‘writing rituals’, projects that I’d like to work on, and comparing my work to other Fantasy writers. Really cool interview, hope you’ll check it out. :-)

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Next up, I’m sure many of you are aware that Raymond E. Feist will be coming to visit South Africa in September, and I’m honoured to announce that I’ll be interviewing the Fantasy legend on the 24th of September (Heritage Day) at Indulgence Cafe in Northcliff, Johannesburg. Details for the event are here (my writing-blog) and you can ‘Join’ the event on Facebook for regular updates. :-)

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Until my next update (hopefully another review),

Be EPIC!
View more on Dave-Brendon de Burgh's website »
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Published on June 10, 2014 07:44
June 4, 2014
Review: Only the Dead by Hamilton Wende

This review has been a long time coming, and I can only thank the author for being so patient. :)

I’ve got a list of authors whose work I begin reading as soon as I can, and Hamilton Wende’s work is on that list. His first novel, ‘House of War’, though not what I focus on reading (because it’s not SFF), really impressed me with it’s mix of authentic, emotional characters, dramatic plot and beautifully realized settings. ‘Only the Dead’ is not only further evidence of his skill as a writer and story teller, but also an indication of just how damned good he’s become since then.

The focus of the tale in his second novel is something very few of us have witnessed and can probably even understand. Child soldiers seem to be like the wind and the sun, in terms of what is expected on the African continent. I think it has become a subject that we no longer even talk about, or wonder about. It takes place far away, doesn’t affect us.

But Wende manages to make this a very real and very important subject by telling aspects of the story in ‘Only the Dead’ from the point of view of a child-soldier. It’s not a nice place to be, but the reader is given the chance to understand just what pushes these children into making these often-fatal choices. There is a strange kind of brutal innocence in the prose, when it comes to the child and the scenes he is the focus of. His interaction with the other characters, many of them also children but some the adults who are directly responsible for his situation, show not only how damaged he is but also how much of a capacity for strength and caring he has – a feat Wende pulled off with grace and deep empathy.

Sebastian, the main character from Wende’s first novel, returns in this tale, and one of the things that impressed me most about his character arc was the fact that Wende allowed him to stumble and fall before allowing him to grow again – he’s the same man we got to know in House of War, but he’s also harder, more skeptical, and knows (as we do) that we can be deeply hurt even when we think we’ve done enough to remain unhurt.

Another focus of the tale is that of unmanned drones, previously a subject mainly Americans would discuss; but here we are faced with the fact that everybody should be talking about drones, not only the countries with the technological capability to use them, or even the countries who’s people suffer when the drones are deployed against them. Wende manages to do this by also telling sections of the story from the point of view of a drone pilot who is thousands of kilometers away from the story’s setting, and we are given an unflinching look at just how what these drone-pilots do must affect them. They are among the thousands of unknown, uncounted casualties of a war that seems to have no end in sight.

All things considered, this isn’t a novel about any one thing. It is a detailed and emotionally powerful look at subjects which always take a back seat when the Kardashians get married or the Pitt’s and Jolie’s of the world conduct their Africa Trips. It is also a novel that beautifully and brutally portrays the depths of empathy and forgiveness, and also a call to force us to try to better understand what we would so easily dismiss or forget about.

In short, ‘Only the Dead’ is a novel that proves that Hamilton Wende is a damned good writer and story teller and not a one-book wonder. I’m definitely looking forward to his next novel!

[Fiona Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Hamilton Wende brings together his journalistic experience of covering war-torn zones, and his interest and research into ancient mythology in a compelling tale. The story has a number of threads running through it to create a fascinating tapestry. Again, as in his previous book House of War, Sebastian Burke reappears; this time he is invited to assist psychologist Tania Burke as she tries to help children traumatised by a war in Uganda, a terrifying army of children led by the megalomaniac General Faustin, assisted by his mysterious shaman figure, Papa Mephisto, and his blood-seeking machete Chonge. If this sounds like a weird mix, it is not. Child armies are a sad truth of Africa and the tragedy of these children ripped from their homes, forced to fight, brainwashed into mindless violence by a mesmerising and charismatic leader who fulfils the role of father figure in their lives is all too familiar to readers who have some idea of politics and war in Africa. Papa Mephisto introduces his benefactor General Faustin to the mysterious lion cult, claiming powers that would make the general and his young army invincible. Sebastian Burke’s interest in lion mythology weaves into this dark, tangled web of atavistic beliefs and fears. At the same time, Islamic terrorist activities and the American interest in protecting the USA and the world from a nuclear threat also underpins this tragic scenario.

Despite the horror of this bleak wasteland of the soul, faint glimmers of hope appear, namely in the main character of one of the child-soldiers, Okuto. He has suffered the same fate as his fellow soldiers, his parents perhaps killed, his village burned. Scarred emotionally and physically by his experiences, only the general and Papa Mephisto mean anything to him. That is, until Victoria, a fellow conscript makes an impact in his life. His love for Victoria is the only thing, ultimately, that has any meaning, and it is his redemption. Between these threads the reader will also learn about the Islamic terrorist, whose love for his daughter, killed accidently by a US drone attack meant for him, drives him to perpetrate a horrific vengeance. A sad but necessary character is the man who pushed the button, a man we don’t really get to know, but his tragic story resonates throughout the book. Love, loss of love, and redemption form a strong element here, and one that lifts the book out of a dark resignation. War is an inevitable part of human society, and the collateral damage is also inescapable. The pace of the book drives the reader on to keep turning pages. The author also intersperses references to the lion culture and myths and legend throughout in little tantalising snippets. There are subtle references that the keen-eyed reader will pick up and not so subtle ones, such as the story of Faust (General Faustin) and his pact with the devil (Papa Mephisto). The conclusion is open-ended, and one wonders if there will be more books. A great read from a talented author who manages to draw you into the hearts and souls of both the characters and the land they inhabit.