Junta

by Ken Puddicombe

Expatriate Marcus Jacobson wants to make a difference on newly independent Saint Anglia where he is taking up a professorship but there are forces that will test his expectation. The military, under General Marks stages a coup, and Hurricane David is heading for the island.
Marcus also has skeletons in his closet. He’s descended from the Planter Class that once owned slaves on the island. He’s torn—does he have the right to get involved in the politics of the island or should he be a bystander?
The people Marcus encounters will determine his attitude to the Junta. These people include: Melanie, a student who thinks force should be used to restore democracy; Father Bert, a priest who believes in Liberation Theology; Clarence Baptiste, editor of the local newspaper who will use the media to oppose; The Reverend who runs a dirty tricks campaign for the Junta; Kentish, an islander who is a pacifist by nature and believes that events should run their course. Marcus finds himself being inexorably drawn towards Melanie and when she takes matters into her own hands, the decision is made. But, the Junta is determined to hold on to power at all cost.

370 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2014

About the author

Ken Puddicombe’s first calling was in the Accounting profession. He’s a professional [CPA, CMA] Management Accountant] who provided controllership for a number of companies in the private sector before he retired to pursue his first love of writing. His hobbies includes travelling and he is slowly covering all five continents, having already travelled to South East Asia, South America, and Europe. He considers himself a people watcher watcher and loves to observe all aspects of the human psyche. His writing has appeared in newspapers and literary journals. Originally from British Guiana [now Guyana] in South America, he immigrated to Canada and still lives there with his family. Racing With The Rain was his first novel and is set in British Guiana, Cuba, Canada and Guyana. His second novel Junta is now out on amazon. A collection of short stories entitled Down Independence Boulevard is being worked on. His genre is fiction, based on international locations but especially focussed in Canada, the Caribbean and Guyana. His website: http://www.kenpuddicombe.ca/Writer

Reviews

[Lois Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ken Puddicombe is right up there with my favourite historical fiction authors - Leon Uris, Ken Follett, Sarah Gruen, and Tolstoy. Junta is a story told about fictional characters who live in a fictional place, but it describes a history that happened, and is happening, all over the globe as colonial governments depart, leaving chaos. Related to that - If you liked Junta and you read Ken's first book, Racing with the Rain, then you will be happy to read his book of short stories, Down Independence Boulevard. I usually am not a fan of short stories because if they are really well done I want to continue with the characters in the story. I hate leaving a good short story to start with a whole new scene and meet new people. Ken's book of short stories isn't like that. It will give you new insights into his characters from his earlier books from different angles. The stories show the points of view of one character and their life, then another short story that centers on a character from an earlier story. It's good to know what happened to people after they left Guyana... or stayed.

[Enrico Downer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenneth Puddicombe's new book, Junta, is much more than just another political thriller. It is an insightful and sometimes cynical look at what happens in a restless democracy when the military seizes power, ostensibly with good intentions, but soon finds itself corrupted by the same power it newly possesses. General Marks, the strong-armed leader of the army soon finds his trusted sidekick, Colonel Stevenson, is thirsting for the same power as he and threatens a coup within a coup.

The story takes place on the fictional island of St. Anglia in the West Indies where Professor Marcus Jacobson, on an untimely visit to his homeland, finds himself mired in the midst of a military coup. Different factions in the society come into play, each with its own agenda in resisting the Junta. The author skillfully depicts each of these various factions engaged in the struggle and details the role each one plays with the unique dialogues and settings that place the reader in the middle of the action. There is the Church headed by the Reformist Father Bert; Melanie, the Student Unionist and her young idealistic followers; Clarence Baptiste, the pugnacious owner of the local newspaper; and finally the brutal head of a criminal gang who calls himself "The Reverend" but is in truth a vestige of the infamous Jonestown murders in Guyana.

Before long, blood is flowing on the streets of St. Anglia. The Professor is urged to take sides but he is burdened with his own skeletons as the descendant of a long-ago slave-trading family on the island. Will he join the dissidents in their efforts to restore democracy to St. Anglia? Will he endanger himself and even ruin his chances to ever leave the island? Or will he remain uncommitted and walk away?

[Danielle Tremblay · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I must say that I got this book through GoodReads giveaways against an honest review.

Against a background of coup d'État, Mr Puddicombe draws a good study of what drives us to act one way or the other, choosing to intervene to help one instead of the other. This includes our own psychological tendencies as our predisposition to help others or not, our personal history, which can lead us to fix past mistakes, our political leanings and the influence that can have people we meet at crucial moments.

This book seems to me to be more a psychological study against a political background than the opposite. But probably I was more interested in what my affinities lead me to pay a greater attention, that is to say what matters most to me: psychology over politics. And if the politics influence our lives, we can also influence political events, provided we have the courage and will to act.

The writing itself is very good. The characters and the description of the political context are well rendered. So I give it 4 stars.

[Ken Puddicombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second novel and it's set in the island of Saint Anglia in the Caribbean.

[Margaret Sisu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first political novel, but I liked the unusual plot, the scenery so richly described I could feel it in my bones. Liked the character Whitey quite a bit--my favorite, definitely.