Sandcastles and Warriors, Dragons and Curses

by Richard Forsythe

‘Sandcastle and Warriors’ continues the adventures of the Caligula Club. This is the first of two volumes detailing the Caligula Club and its greatest challenge to date: the destruction of a biochemical weapon of mass destruction invented by a Russian scientist in the dying days of Communism. The novel introduces three new protagonists, Jamaal, Francis and Gareth. Jamaal’s family have been forced to flee Iraq, leaving behind his hated and authoritarian father who has stayed to help the Iranians at the behest of their Imam. Francis has been estranged from his mother, having lost his father before he was born. He is plucked from his grandpa and grandma in Beijing to join his mother and step father in England. Gareth is a dyslexic son of a traditional Jamaican who has taken refuge in the lyrics of Bob Marley and the Reggae movement. All three boys meet at Cowley Comprehensive and form a tight knit unit. It is not long before they come to the attention of Clarissa, operational director of the Caligula Club. Jamaal and Francis are discovered to be child mathematics prodigies and go on to join the newly formed FPS and Partners, where Dickie Forsythe is also a partner. Gareth is encouraged by Trewbridge, the alter ego of Clarissa, and finds his calling as a pilot. He is sent on operational duty to the Middle East with the Caligula Club.
Both Jamaal and Francis are unwitting inheritors of a long warrior tradition. Jamaal is the descendent of Saladin the Great and his family carry on his legacy. Francis is the grandson of Howin, Queen of the Tianlong Dragons and the most famous Chinese warrior Queen. Much of the book follows the early lives of Grandpa Fung and Grandma Wu. It shows Wu Howin rising to stand supreme over the Kuomintang and Communists, pushing the Japanese invading armies back into the sea before disappearing into obscurity. Francis’s grandpa is no less distinguished having Confucius as his ancestor. He started as a rich playboy and is reduced to surviving as a peasant, deeply unhappy with his lot.

714 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2013

About the author

I have always read avidly. I was lucky enough to read English at University before the real world rudely interrupted and demanded that i find a way to make a living. For many years I devoted myself to pursuing a career that I was good at but which held little real allure. Five years ago I began to write. A million words later and i really ought to be getting a bit better at it. The Caligula Club series is an irreverent look at the financial markets and recent contemporary events. It is written in with an understated English humour that readers either get or find perplexing. I greatly enjoyed writing them and hope that at least some of my readers will share a few lazy hours enjoying my efforts.

Reviews

[Jacek Slay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received the book as a part of Goodreads Giveaways.

Well, I rarely do that. I rarely give up on any book, no matter how bad it is. I might stop for a while or longer, I might make a break but I somehow get to its last sentence. But not this time. I have to admit, I didn't finish the book. I just couldn't.

It's SO boring that it resembles me all those required readings we were bombarded in middle or high school. All those books we were punished with. All those books we had to read yet none of us saw a point in doing so. And "Sandcastles and Warriors" was that kind of torture to my mind.

I really tried to carry on, to read even a chapter (which are quite short) per day but I couldn't. Even a few pages of the book made me feel more exhausted than 16-hour work day. I am pretty sure "Sandcastles and Warriors" will stay in my Hall of Shame forever. I don't think I'm gonna give it another try. I just can't. They should read that book in Guantanamo as the part of the interrogation.

Ew.