Book Info
Format
Paperback224 pages
Author's Website
www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/Publisher
Andersen Press LtdPublication date
3rd September 2009ISBN
9781842708842Children's Author 'Like-for-Like' recommendations
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Hacking Timbuktu
Stephen Davies
This title is in stock
Lovereading4kids Price: £4.49
RRP: £5.99 Saving £1.50 (25%)Julia Eccleshare's comment:
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.
Who is Julia Eccleshare ?
Synopsis
Hacking Timbuktu by Stephen DaviesLong 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.
About The Author
Stephen Davies is a missionary who lives amongst Fulani herders in West Africa, one of the poorest regions of the world. He speaks Fulfulde, eats millet, accompanies cattle-drives and preaches the gospel in culturally relevant ways and lives a life just like those others who live there. He writes for the Guardian Weekly (letters from Bukina Faso) and occasionally for the Sunday Times.
VOICE IN THE DESERT - A Day in the Life of Stephen Davies:
I live in Djibo, a small town on the edge of the Sahara desert. Most of the year it is simply too hot to sleep inside the house, so my wife Charlie hangs a mosquito net from a tree in our back yard. We wake up to the usual early-morning soundtrack of donkeys, cockerels and cows. Lie-ins are rare because we have animals of our own to feed: three French hens, two black and white kittens and a hungry stallion called Silalé. Greeting is important in African societies, so I first go round saying hello to our neighbours: Jam waali (Did you pass the night in peace?), Noy koreeji maa (How is your family?), we sing the long greeting sequence back and forth. The answer to these questions is invariably Jam tan (Peace only). When they answer ‘Jam tan’, my neighbours are putting a brave face on things: in reality this region is one of the poorest in the world.
My work here as a missionary includes humanitarian relief: grain handouts, yes, but also working with individuals to find creative ways out of poverty. A donkey and cart for Bukari, a sheep for Mariama, school fees for Adama – the slow, intangible work of development.
A missionary is also a storyteller, and I love sharing stories with people – ancient stories which still have incredible power to inspire and transform the human heart.
In the afternoon, I write. I bash away on my laptop with sweat dripping off my elbows. I’m so grateful to my friends and neighbours here for sharing their lives with me – it’s their truth which inspires my fiction.
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