Primal Shadows

by Alan Dean Foster

"They're all dead now--except me, of course . . . . "

Thus begins Bohannon's story. His wallet stolen by a one-night-stand, Bohannon still believes her to be the girl of his dreams. This weary world traveler decides as a matter of honor that he must pursue her. Recruiting a scout from the roughneck Caucasian castoffs of the New Guinea port he pursues her farther and farther up country, to areas where headhunter still roam and law and order play by entirely different rules.

Beyond the natural threats of poisonous reptiles and bugs, floods, and the jungle, Bohannon encounters the various evils of men, as he winds up in the middle of a hunt for gold that proves that more than lust or love, greed is man's most primal instinct.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

Bestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.

Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.

Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of the books written by Alan Dean Foster and they were all science fiction books. I picked this one up expecting it to have SF elements. Not at all. This is straight action-adventure and, as far as I'm concerned, Foster has done it as well or better than anyone else. A big part of my interest in this story is that it's set in New Guinea, the last place on Earth where you can find unexplored land and people who have never had contact with the outside world. And Foster shows that he himself has been there and knows the place well as he brings the incredible island vividly--and frighteningly--to life. Sometimes you read about a place and you want to go there but reading about New Guinea, I think I'll take a pass. Reading this book is the closest I think I want to come to visiting this hellish jungle world.
Our hero, Bohannon, is a guy from the civilized world of San Diego. Following one amazing night with a beautiful woman in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Bohannon awakens to find the woman gone and his wallet missing. He decides to track down the woman to get his money back and this leads him farther and farther "upcountry," into the savage interior of PNG. Besides the rough terrain and terrible heat and humidity, there are the poisonous snakes and bugs. In the rivers are man (and woman)-eating saltwater crocodiles ("salties"), which don't stay in saltwater. But the greatest danger of all is that posed by humans. As Bohannon joins a hunt for gold, he will face man's most primal instinct, which is greed.

[miteypen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unforgettable book, especially if you know nothing about Papua New Guinea. This is fiction of course and from what I understand PNG is more civilized than it used to be, but it still doesn't sound like a place I'd like to visit--except in a novel. It's scary and fascinating in equal measures. I highly recommend this for people who like to learn about other cultures AND who love suspense novels.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thriller rather than crime fiction, Alan Dean Foster's Primal Shadows is also a Papua New Guinea travelogue. The flora, fauna, geography, geology and native cultures are incredible. Characters are somewhat one dimensional, and writing is a little awkward at times.

--Ashland Mystery

[Winston Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting interpretation of New Guinea culture from an American author's interpretation. I am in grave doubt of this being his first hand knoweledge. Good story.