This is an excellent, fast-paced adventure fusing past and present in a swift moving plot which tells how a sixteen year old contemporary hacker gets involved in the story of a daring gold robbery from an ancient temple in Timbuktu. Contemporary Danny is not only quick with computers he is also quick on his feet and his code breaking is only successful because he is able to keep one step ahead of his pursuers as they chase him from London to Africa in the hope of getting to the gold first.
Lovereading comment:
The best thing though about Stephen’s writing is that you really feel a part of the boy protagonist as he runs headlong through the book. This is almost certainly because the author, although English, lives a nomadic life in West Africa among the herders and speaks their language. For younger readers try his series of novels featuring the adventurer Sophie, again set in Africa. Click here to see all his titles.
Long ago in the ancient city of Timbuktu a student pulled off the most daring heist in African history, the theft of 100 million pounds worth of gold. The stolen treasure has remained hidden until now, when teenage hacker Danny Temple discovers a cryptic Arabic manuscript. It's a good job that Danny is a keen traceur (free runner) because he has to run across rooftops and leap from buildings to stay one step ahead of his pursuers. His nightmarish and adrenalin-charged quest leads him all the way to Africa, and the mysterious cliffs of Bandiagara.
Stephen Davies writes picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, TV tie-ins and educational books. Many of his books are set in West Africa on the edge of the Sahara Desert, where he lived and worked for thirteen years. His first book Sophie and the Albino Camel won the Glen Dimplex Prize for best debut children's book. Since then he has written more than twenty books, including a series of six Hilda novels to accompany the popular Netflix animation.
Stephen lives in London with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys visiting schools in the UK and overseas, helping students with their own creative writing.
