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William Brody #1
African Slaver
Rest, relaxation, and cool beers on the horizon…
Former Special Forces Major William Brody is finally due for some R and R. Just trying to clear the brutal shadows of the past from his mind, Brody’s next mission is clear: Spearfishing and Scuba Diving in warm clear tropical waters, with some cold beers on the beach. Living the dream…
As Brody makes friends with the locals settling into the island retreat, his plans for peace and relaxation are suddenly shattered. After weeks of terrorizing the island paradise, a ruthless sea captain finally commits the unthinkable: he kidnaps a group of young girls from the village. Heartbroken and scared for the children, the people look to Brody for help.
Time is running out…
When Brody rallies the villagers to form a rescue team, he realizes he is the only one with the skills for this kind of work. With nothing but basic weapons and a sailing boat, Brody feels the weight of the dire situation. The lives of the girls are on the line, with the slave markets of Somalia only days away, the clock is ticking.
Brody leads his ragtag crew across the rough and lawless ocean, knowing they are the only hope for the young girls. Once Special Forces, always Special Forces, he’s got this! With Brody at the helm, they’ll find the girls or die trying.
This is the first in this exciting Action Adventure Series...
Former Special Forces Major William Brody is finally due for some R and R. Just trying to clear the brutal shadows of the past from his mind, Brody’s next mission is clear: Spearfishing and Scuba Diving in warm clear tropical waters, with some cold beers on the beach. Living the dream…
As Brody makes friends with the locals settling into the island retreat, his plans for peace and relaxation are suddenly shattered. After weeks of terrorizing the island paradise, a ruthless sea captain finally commits the unthinkable: he kidnaps a group of young girls from the village. Heartbroken and scared for the children, the people look to Brody for help.
Time is running out…
When Brody rallies the villagers to form a rescue team, he realizes he is the only one with the skills for this kind of work. With nothing but basic weapons and a sailing boat, Brody feels the weight of the dire situation. The lives of the girls are on the line, with the slave markets of Somalia only days away, the clock is ticking.
Brody leads his ragtag crew across the rough and lawless ocean, knowing they are the only hope for the young girls. Once Special Forces, always Special Forces, he’s got this! With Brody at the helm, they’ll find the girls or die trying.
This is the first in this exciting Action Adventure Series...
125 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2016
114 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Steve Braker
14 books3 followersBorn and raised in the UK, Steve Braker grew up living on the coast. Naturally an outdoorsman, one could always find him anywhere near the water - on the beach, surfing and fishing or sailing and rock
climbing.
Soon the illustrious traveling bug bit him and he spent a few years venturing throughout Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Borneo, The Gambia and India. Once done with his whirlwind tour, he returned to work in London and eventually became the owner of an English Language School for foreign students, in the heart of the West End. During the next decade his passion for teaching grew, this is where his love of writing and the English Language began. After his time in London, Steve moved to East Africa, settling on the coast of Kenya, in a beach town called Mombasa, with his wife and four kids - now all grown up and successful on their own.
As an experienced PADI Open Water Dive Instructor, Steve has taught new divers the skills of Scuba Diving. His other maritime passions include, swimming, wakeboarding, sailing, fishing and water-skiing. With well over a thousand dives under his belt, Steve has explored the coast of East Africa from the tip of Mozambique to the border of Somalia. He has sailed the length of Kenya and Tanzania in a 32 foot wooden Dhow having had many adventures on the way. With teaching in his blood - whether the
classroom be on land or in the water - and the love of storytelling in his heart, Steve continued to write. Drawing from his real-life experiences creating exciting stories for his characters, he crafts tales with
depth, intrigue, real-world applications and locations.
When he's not writing or spending time with family, Steve can be found on his boat enjoying many of the same hobbies that his characters do: fishing, diving, exploring and everything the ocean has to offer.
climbing.
Soon the illustrious traveling bug bit him and he spent a few years venturing throughout Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Borneo, The Gambia and India. Once done with his whirlwind tour, he returned to work in London and eventually became the owner of an English Language School for foreign students, in the heart of the West End. During the next decade his passion for teaching grew, this is where his love of writing and the English Language began. After his time in London, Steve moved to East Africa, settling on the coast of Kenya, in a beach town called Mombasa, with his wife and four kids - now all grown up and successful on their own.
As an experienced PADI Open Water Dive Instructor, Steve has taught new divers the skills of Scuba Diving. His other maritime passions include, swimming, wakeboarding, sailing, fishing and water-skiing. With well over a thousand dives under his belt, Steve has explored the coast of East Africa from the tip of Mozambique to the border of Somalia. He has sailed the length of Kenya and Tanzania in a 32 foot wooden Dhow having had many adventures on the way. With teaching in his blood - whether the
classroom be on land or in the water - and the love of storytelling in his heart, Steve continued to write. Drawing from his real-life experiences creating exciting stories for his characters, he crafts tales with
depth, intrigue, real-world applications and locations.
When he's not writing or spending time with family, Steve can be found on his boat enjoying many of the same hobbies that his characters do: fishing, diving, exploring and everything the ocean has to offer.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 28, 2018
African Slaver is the first book in a new action adventure series by Steve Braker featuring Major William Brody. The aim of his holiday is to rest, relax and not lift a finger but when a group of young girls are kidnapped nearby Brody agrees to help as the locals become terrified about the outcome of the situation. He realises he is the only one equipped with the skills to carry out this search and rescue mission safely and successfully. The lives of the girls are on the line, with the slave markets of Somalia only days away, the clock is ticking. Brody and his crew know the situation is dire but also that they are the only hope in getting the girls back alive and that once you are a member of Special Forces it never really leaves you!
This short novella is a great introduction to the series and the to the main character. William Brody. An easy read and an engaging action-packed storyline that talks about a difficult and worthy subject matter. There is also enough information and descriptions to flesh the book out but not so much as to be overwhelming to the reader. I look forward to reading the next instalment(s) to see how characters and topics are expanded upon.
I would like to thank Steve Braker and Hidden Gems ARC Program for the copy in exchange for an honest review.
This short novella is a great introduction to the series and the to the main character. William Brody. An easy read and an engaging action-packed storyline that talks about a difficult and worthy subject matter. There is also enough information and descriptions to flesh the book out but not so much as to be overwhelming to the reader. I look forward to reading the next instalment(s) to see how characters and topics are expanded upon.
I would like to thank Steve Braker and Hidden Gems ARC Program for the copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 8, 2017
Excellent and exciting start to this extremely troublesome topic of child and adult slave trading in Modern times. Braker does thorough research to make this topic poignant and evident to changing the way we treat one another in this world. The character of William Brody is diverse and inviting to show how we can can and should get along. Brody is willing to fight to make these rights open to all no matter what the threat to his life entailed. I'm definitely coming back for more.
September 9, 2017
I was blessed with a free copy of this book, and I have chosen of my own volition to share my review with you!
A novella of epic proportions. Easy to read, even through it delves into a difficult subject matter. The story gives enough of the background information to make sense, without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary tidbits. Would be interesting to see where the main character goes next!
A novella of epic proportions. Easy to read, even through it delves into a difficult subject matter. The story gives enough of the background information to make sense, without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary tidbits. Would be interesting to see where the main character goes next!
December 5, 2021
My introduction to Steve Braker and his books was via a recommendation from a friend. Nothing unusual in that, you might think. Except that the friend in question is a lady that I used to teach scuba diving with, and who now works as an assistant to several authors. Her clients include Steve, who is also a qualified scuba diving instructor and who now lives in East Africa and loves everything that the ocean has to offer. His writing is based largely on his own real-life experiences and interests. And with one of those interests in particular being shared with mine, it's no surprise that there was a lot for me to like in his first novella.
Firstly, the main character, former Special Forces Major William Brody is extremely well-portrayed. Still suffering from post-traumatic stress after an event in his career in the Royal Marines three years earlier, he retreats to a remote island off the coast of East Africa for some rest, relaxation, diving and fishing. I felt a lot of sympathy and empathy for him, whilst at the same time feeling slightly envious that he was able to rent a house on this island and effectively employ a local boatman full-time to take him fishing and diving whenever he felt like it. It sounds like a life of heaven to me.
I also loved the author's description of one of Brody's dives. "The reef was packed with life, like a busy city street. Small shoals of fish swam in and out of the soft and hard corals, larger groups of silver and white coley hung in the water just off the edge of the reef. So much to see. He played for a while with an octopus hiding under a stone. It was wonderful. Everything was forgotten, the dreams of the night before ... Brody was lost in this underwater world where everything was quiet and peaceful. The warm ocean surrounding him, he felt totally at home in this weightless, serene environment."
This is so, so true. Not only is there a whole new world beneath the surface of our oceans, but diving has to be done sedately, at its own pace. It can't be rushed. And if you've spent the whole of the previous week rushing to get more work done than really seems reasonable, doing something that forces you to slow down and enjoy the moment is one of the best means of relaxation and regeneration that you can have. Thank you Steve for describing it so well.
That said, whilst Steve does a reasonable job of explaining scuba equipment to readers that most likely will never have heard of it, I suspect that some will still be left wondering what on earth a "buoyancy control device" is. (I'll spare the details here, but feel free to comment or message me if you want an explanation.) And I thought that he was a little bit quick to dismiss UK diving as "you cannot see your hand in front of your face". Yes, I admit, this can happen. But it's also possible to have some fantastic diving off the UK coast. Steve, if you're ever back in this country, let me know and I'll take you for a day's diving at the Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast to sit and play with some seals.
I digress. My other problem was with the storyline, which was a bit so-so really. What essentially happens - and this isn't a spoiler if you've read the blurb - is that a group of local schoolgirls are kidnapped by pirates to be sold as sex slaves in Somalia. Brody's Royal Marines training kicks in as he quickly realises that he is the only person on the whole island equipped to lead a rescue mission.
It's exciting, certainly. And it's not unbelievable. But it just seemed to be over all too quickly. I'd have loved for there to be another dimension. Perhaps a dual narrative from one of the kidnapped girls, which could have given some more insight into the local African culture. Why is it necessary for them to cover their bodies almost from head to toe, even in temperatures of 100 degrees farenheit? How does the current generation feel about this? And what was going through their minds when, without any warning, they were violently dragged out of their school building and onto a boat?
For sure, this would have taken some more research. But given that the author is clearly familiar with life in that part of the world, and that he has researched some other aspects of the book, I can't help but feel that it wouldn't have been too difficult. And that it could well have been worth it.
Given that the book cover explicitly states it to be "a William Brody novella", it's perhaps unfair of me to criticise it for not being something else. But in a nutshell: if you're looking for a fast-paced and easy to read novella, this has a lot for you to enjoy. Personally though, I was left with the over-riding feeling that it could have been, and that I wanted it to be so much more than that.
(3.5 stars)
Firstly, the main character, former Special Forces Major William Brody is extremely well-portrayed. Still suffering from post-traumatic stress after an event in his career in the Royal Marines three years earlier, he retreats to a remote island off the coast of East Africa for some rest, relaxation, diving and fishing. I felt a lot of sympathy and empathy for him, whilst at the same time feeling slightly envious that he was able to rent a house on this island and effectively employ a local boatman full-time to take him fishing and diving whenever he felt like it. It sounds like a life of heaven to me.
I also loved the author's description of one of Brody's dives. "The reef was packed with life, like a busy city street. Small shoals of fish swam in and out of the soft and hard corals, larger groups of silver and white coley hung in the water just off the edge of the reef. So much to see. He played for a while with an octopus hiding under a stone. It was wonderful. Everything was forgotten, the dreams of the night before ... Brody was lost in this underwater world where everything was quiet and peaceful. The warm ocean surrounding him, he felt totally at home in this weightless, serene environment."
This is so, so true. Not only is there a whole new world beneath the surface of our oceans, but diving has to be done sedately, at its own pace. It can't be rushed. And if you've spent the whole of the previous week rushing to get more work done than really seems reasonable, doing something that forces you to slow down and enjoy the moment is one of the best means of relaxation and regeneration that you can have. Thank you Steve for describing it so well.
That said, whilst Steve does a reasonable job of explaining scuba equipment to readers that most likely will never have heard of it, I suspect that some will still be left wondering what on earth a "buoyancy control device" is. (I'll spare the details here, but feel free to comment or message me if you want an explanation.) And I thought that he was a little bit quick to dismiss UK diving as "you cannot see your hand in front of your face". Yes, I admit, this can happen. But it's also possible to have some fantastic diving off the UK coast. Steve, if you're ever back in this country, let me know and I'll take you for a day's diving at the Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast to sit and play with some seals.
I digress. My other problem was with the storyline, which was a bit so-so really. What essentially happens - and this isn't a spoiler if you've read the blurb - is that a group of local schoolgirls are kidnapped by pirates to be sold as sex slaves in Somalia. Brody's Royal Marines training kicks in as he quickly realises that he is the only person on the whole island equipped to lead a rescue mission.
It's exciting, certainly. And it's not unbelievable. But it just seemed to be over all too quickly. I'd have loved for there to be another dimension. Perhaps a dual narrative from one of the kidnapped girls, which could have given some more insight into the local African culture. Why is it necessary for them to cover their bodies almost from head to toe, even in temperatures of 100 degrees farenheit? How does the current generation feel about this? And what was going through their minds when, without any warning, they were violently dragged out of their school building and onto a boat?
For sure, this would have taken some more research. But given that the author is clearly familiar with life in that part of the world, and that he has researched some other aspects of the book, I can't help but feel that it wouldn't have been too difficult. And that it could well have been worth it.
Given that the book cover explicitly states it to be "a William Brody novella", it's perhaps unfair of me to criticise it for not being something else. But in a nutshell: if you're looking for a fast-paced and easy to read novella, this has a lot for you to enjoy. Personally though, I was left with the over-riding feeling that it could have been, and that I wanted it to be so much more than that.
(3.5 stars)
September 12, 2021
African Slaver: A William Brody Action Thriller (William Brody African Ocean Adventure Novella Series Book 1) by Steve Braker. A native village is burned to the ground, a group of young girls are stolen to be sold into slavery. William Brody swears that he will safe these girls. How will he do this when he has nothing, no equipment, and it is a 200 mile hike through the jungle. Will he make it in time? How will he fight for these girls? Mr Braker is a talented and gifted author. "This is a brilliant read ... well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start. Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable. Great suspense and action with wonderful world building. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. I highly recommend this novel. I gave this honest, voluntary review after being given a free copy of the book with no monetary compensation.
June 14, 2022
Not the usual type of crime novel I read but this is set in my favourite area of the world - East Africa. Having visited there many times I am often quite critical of the way people write about it. This novella took me back there - I could see, feel and smell it.
The subject of slavery and kidnapping is difficult but handled well.
I don't usually read novellas as I prefer more character and plot development. I'll be interested to read more from the author as I have discovered that some of the books in the same series are full length novels.
The subject of slavery and kidnapping is difficult but handled well.
I don't usually read novellas as I prefer more character and plot development. I'll be interested to read more from the author as I have discovered that some of the books in the same series are full length novels.
May 19, 2023
Short novella introducing the series William Brody. It is an easy read and engaging story.
Brody an Ex-Marine is on holiday on East African coast when a group of young girls are kidnapped and he agrees to help rescue them.
Interesting stuff on spearfishing and scuba diving. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
…“I know back then we took their hides off if they were thieves. That soon stopped them. Nowadays their mothers protect them and what do we get? Just trouble, I tell you.”…
Themes: Ocean Life Pirates Slavery Community Brevity
Brody an Ex-Marine is on holiday on East African coast when a group of young girls are kidnapped and he agrees to help rescue them.
Interesting stuff on spearfishing and scuba diving. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
…“I know back then we took their hides off if they were thieves. That soon stopped them. Nowadays their mothers protect them and what do we get? Just trouble, I tell you.”…
Themes: Ocean Life Pirates Slavery Community Brevity
September 12, 2017
I enjoyed this quick reading semi-adventure story filled with amazing descriptions of true African locales and peoples. I also enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of the life under the sea that is available to divers. The story also had a sharp edged thriller vibe with it. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Readers Copy of the book.
September 12, 2021
An awesome book. The story is good. The plot is also good but the finishing is a little bit slow. If you like Africa, if you like adventure, this short novella for you. I am eagerly waiting to read the rest of the series. Fan of the Clive Cussler, Earnest Dempsey, James Rollins will enjoy it. Recommended.
December 15, 2021
Tight action against African pirates with the freedom of young girls at stake
SAS training kicks in as friendly villagers lose daughters to the evil of sex trafficking. Excellent SCUBA scenes, travel by ancient dhow, and scenes of old Africa pleasantly flavor a welcome tale of East Africa. Good characters and action. Worth the time.
SAS training kicks in as friendly villagers lose daughters to the evil of sex trafficking. Excellent SCUBA scenes, travel by ancient dhow, and scenes of old Africa pleasantly flavor a welcome tale of East Africa. Good characters and action. Worth the time.
January 26, 2022
This was a new author for me and I have to say I really enjoyed the book. It gave me an insight into a different lifestyle as Brody relaxed and scuba dived. Of course this was shattered when the bad guys arrived. Lots of action and I am looking forward to the next book in the series, African Treasure. A big thank you to the author, Steve Braker and from me a well deserved 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 26, 2022
African Slavers, #1 - Pleasantly surprised at how good this book is, interesting and easy to read. I wondered where the knife on his thigh went though. Well written with good descriptions of East Africa, her people and way of living. Interesting characters, clean dialog and an unwilling hero made it easy to be immersed in the story. 4*
September 8, 2017
Good short read. I would like to see more character development and interaction with Brody's Swahili friends. A little romance would be nice too. Overall a good read and I'd be interested in reading more.
August 7, 2020
INTERESTING READ
It was interesting to read about a place I was familiar with and it brought back memories of Africa. A swashbuckling tale of adventure on the high seas when young girls are abducted from a coastal village destined for the sex trade in Arabia.
It was interesting to read about a place I was familiar with and it brought back memories of Africa. A swashbuckling tale of adventure on the high seas when young girls are abducted from a coastal village destined for the sex trade in Arabia.
January 5, 2018
Quick read, very fast-paced with good descriptions of the actions taking place and events as they unfold.
July 6, 2019
Okay
This novel desperately needs extensive editing. It has letters and words transposed throughout. Lungs do not fill with water as described.
This novel desperately needs extensive editing. It has letters and words transposed throughout. Lungs do not fill with water as described.
June 8, 2020
Island life can be dangerous
This is first book I have read by this author and had to give it 5 stars great story and can recommend you to read it.
This is first book I have read by this author and had to give it 5 stars great story and can recommend you to read it.
January 14, 2022
Although great description of the island and it's people the actual plot of rescuing the girls was over too quick and didn't grab me into the book .
October 14, 2025
Quite an exciting action/adventure novella which I just couldn't put down. A very unsavoury topic dealt with quite tastefully. Worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews