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The Overlanders: An African Journey
What was he seeking in the wilds of Africa . . . the journey of a lifetime, or something greater?
“It sure makes me want to experience a similar adventure.”—Michael Garrett (Stephen King’s first editor), author of Keeper.
Breaking away from his office job in London, Alex Thompson joins a dozen other would-be adventurers on an overland expedition from Cairo to Johannesburg. His journey soon becomes a quest for courage as he confronts deserts, swamps, a civil war . . . and a few of his fellow passengers.
Buy your copy today and climb aboard the overland truck!
“It sure makes me want to experience a similar adventure.”—Michael Garrett (Stephen King’s first editor), author of Keeper.
Breaking away from his office job in London, Alex Thompson joins a dozen other would-be adventurers on an overland expedition from Cairo to Johannesburg. His journey soon becomes a quest for courage as he confronts deserts, swamps, a civil war . . . and a few of his fellow passengers.
Buy your copy today and climb aboard the overland truck!
393 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2021
24 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Michael Leytonstone
2 books1 followerMichael Leytonstone traveled throughout Africa in the 1980s, before the best overland routes were blocked by civil war and tribal conflict. His novels take the reader on a grand tour of the Dark Continent . . . and a spiritual journey as well.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 28, 2023
From Fact to Fiction
The Overlanders –
Michael Leytonstone has created a novel out of a real-life overland journey from England to South Africa in the early 1980s. Alex Thompson, disillusioned with his humdrum life in London, uprooted himself in order to see the world. How right he was to do so is played out in The Overlanders, and in Michael’s follow up novel - ‘Africa Overland - the journey home’. As one who took a similar journey (see Africa North to South) albeit in the opposite direction and ten years earlier - I have nothing but praise for Michael, both for his enthusiastic rendering and his ability to convert fact into a very readable novel. The fictional Alex Thompson describes most graphically his various encounters, both with local people and his fellow passengers, as vividly as his real-life counterpart, no doubt, did. Sadly, that small window of opportunity to see those same countries in such relative safety - if not comfort - is no longer open. Africa has changed so much over the past fifty years, and so, too, have the lives of those young people who might wish to do what we did. I thoroughly recommend both books to anyone who might have wished they’d made similar journeys, or who were so fortunate to have done so.
The Overlanders –
Michael Leytonstone has created a novel out of a real-life overland journey from England to South Africa in the early 1980s. Alex Thompson, disillusioned with his humdrum life in London, uprooted himself in order to see the world. How right he was to do so is played out in The Overlanders, and in Michael’s follow up novel - ‘Africa Overland - the journey home’. As one who took a similar journey (see Africa North to South) albeit in the opposite direction and ten years earlier - I have nothing but praise for Michael, both for his enthusiastic rendering and his ability to convert fact into a very readable novel. The fictional Alex Thompson describes most graphically his various encounters, both with local people and his fellow passengers, as vividly as his real-life counterpart, no doubt, did. Sadly, that small window of opportunity to see those same countries in such relative safety - if not comfort - is no longer open. Africa has changed so much over the past fifty years, and so, too, have the lives of those young people who might wish to do what we did. I thoroughly recommend both books to anyone who might have wished they’d made similar journeys, or who were so fortunate to have done so.
June 22, 2022
This novel begins as an amusing tale of a dozen mismatched overlanders on a six month journey across Africa via the Nile. The tone gradually becomes more philosophical as the characters struggle to resolve their conflicts with each other as well as their inner conflicts. The book is an excellent travel log for anyone interested in Africa, but it's also enlightening and thought-provoking, as well as informative and entertaining. I give it five stars!
Peggy Badlato, PhD
Peggy Badlato, PhD
February 24, 2023
Was not impressed with this book. The main character was an immature fearful person and kind of nasty at times. Here let me kick you hard under the table because I want you to stop talking but seconds later I realize I love you…. Please!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews