On my trip home last week I picked up a book by an author I had not previously heard of, Tony Park. The book was African Dawn, a novel about Zimbabwe and rhino poaching. For those that enjoy Wilbur Smith novels Tony Park writes in a similar style. Great book to just read and relax. I was sort of surprised I had not heard of Park before since he has apparently written a number of books that have an African theme or connection. For what it is worth, folks might give his books his read. A little tough to find some of them since he is an Australian author but with Amazon, Alibris, Abe's, EBay and other places you can find them.

http://www.tonypark.net/books/african-dawn/

Thanks for the heads up. I just ordered a couple on ebay. I love Wilbur Smith and you can only go back and re-read so many times.

I hope you enjoy them. I have four more coming via EBay, Alibris and Abe's. Let me know what you think after you get one.

Half way through The Delta. I really enjoy Park's books and they are easy reads. I just order the only other two I did not have this afternoon.

I have received one copy so far but I'm "saving it" for the flight to Bots this summer. I'm going to order another book soon though.

Really enjoying his books. I did stumble upon Deon Meyers and I'm impressed with his stuff as well. Might be worth a check. More "who done it" and less africa adventure but he still captures a lot of the african mindset.

I have now read Zambezi, African Dawn, The Delta and Ivory. I really enjoy his books. Very readable. Much better than Wilbur Smith in my view. Thanks for the lead on Meyers, I will check him out.

No problem Mike. I think you will like Deon's work. I owed you one for introducing me to Tony Park books.

I've got Silent Predator and African Dawn by Tony Parks. $15 and media mail shipping from Las Vegas.

quote:

Originally posted by poprivit:
I've got Silent Predator and African Dawn by Tony Parks. $15 and media mail shipping from Las Vegas.

Great deal. Someone ought to grab these up. He really is a very entertaining author.

Mike-
I just finished African Dawn, and have a few more coming. Thanks for the tip.
African Sky is actually the first book, Starting with the Bryants in WWII. I have a copy coming.

And I just finished Safari. I have now read all of his books with the exception of Dark Heart (reading now) and African Sky. In my view he puts Wilbur Smith to shame, there is no comparison. He has a new book coming out in November too. I wonder why I had never heard of him before, probably because his books are a bit of a pain to get here.

I've been in contact with Tony Parks. He's working on getting a US distributor for his books. He MAY be at SCI in Las Vegas in '14.
-----------------------------------------

Quote from his email ...

Thanks Tom, it would be fantastic to have local contact if I take a booth or share one at SCI, and always good to talk to another Africa addict. I hear what you're saying about publishers and agents!

I'm quite keen on SCI and when my US deal comes through I'd like to be able to hit the road and do a bit of promotional stuff so I'd like to pick your brains about the US market. The conventional wisdom I've been picking up is that America is not a big market for African based books but I'm sure there are many people like yourself who might be interested in some African ficiton.

And I'm always in need of help for research.

cheers

Tony
Tony Park
www.tonypark.net
www.tonyparkblog.blogspot.com

Thanks for sharing. I have found that with a little luck I can pick up new copies on EBay for a decent price. That said, it would sure be nice to have them available on B&N, Amazon, Kindle, etc. Sort of a moot point at this stage, since I have already gotten all of his books that are currently in print.

FYI, they are all available on Amazon and in Kindle version. I just downloaded all of them. So Mike, they better be good.

Wink, are you on www.amazon.com or an international amazon site? There is nothing showing on www.amazon.com for the Kindle. If you downloaded the wrong author I cannot be held liable.

O ye of little faith:

http://www.amazon.com/Tony-Park/e/B0034PD64K

And I am holding you liable.

Wink, you have been hanging around Money Bags Bruch too long. African Sky, $101.24, Far Horizon, $358.50? And there are no Kindle versions on www.amazon.com. I looked at www.amazon.fr and the books are available there in Kindle. I am still reeling from the realization that the French are one step ahead of us in something other than retreat.

Mike,

Just because you're banned from normal Kindle access doesn't mean the rest of the world is and my Kindle is pre-Bruch. The Kindle versions at $5.86 seem like the right price for these, so I'm sorry you're paying more. I bought ten so you'll only owe me $58.60 if they aren't any good.

You definitely need to get out of Texas and see the real France. Your general knowledge would increase slightly and your cultural knowledge would go up by leaps and bounds, sparing you the shock of learning that some things are actually better over here.

Wink, I would love to visit France, but I am afraid their hygiene habits will have to advance a bit before I will be prepared from an olfactory perspective for such a trip. Besides I am concerned that if I made such a trip I might end up going native and wearing one of those cute little berets and a vertically stripped shirts -- and someone might have a camera. Cultural knowledge? If I acquired any, it would go up exponentially in my case.

So let me ask you this, if I ordered one of the Kindle books off of the French Amazon site are they in French (duh) or English? I will gladly reimburse you the full purchase price in alcohol in Dallas if you decide you do not like the books.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Wink, I would love to visit France, but I am afraid their hygiene habits will have to advance a bit before I will be prepared from an olfactory perspective for such a trip. Besides I am concerned that if I made such a trip I might end up going native and wearing one of those cute little berets and a vertically stripped shirts -- and someone might have a camera. Cultural knowledge? If I acquired any, it would go up exponentially in my case.

So let me ask you this, if I ordered one of the Kindle books off of the French Amazon site are they in French (duh) or English? I will gladly reimburse you the full purchase price in alcohol in Dallas if you decide you do not like the books.

There you go again (to quote Ronald Reagan). Everybody knows the shirts have horizontal stripes. Walk around in any French city and you'll notice that only pleasant smells waft by when French women cross your path, if any of them allow someone like you to get any closer than your average restraining order distance. I do have a beret, which is a very good cap for both hunting and photography, since you don't have to turn it around like a baseball cap which makes you look like a dork.

You're on for the drinks in Dallas.

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
Walk around in any French city and you'll notice that only pleasant smells waft by when French women cross your path, if any of them allow someone like you to get any closer than your average restraining order distance. I do have a beret, which is a very good cap for both hunting and photography, since you don't have to turn it around like a baseball cap which makes you look like a dork.

You're on for the drinks in Dallas.

So sounds like in France I would be subject to the same sorts of restrictions relative to women that I am in the states. Dammit.

Help me out here, a beret is little more than an overgrown yarmulke. That being the case unless you are using it to cover a bald spot or are hunting in a rain forest, how is a beret good for giving you protection from the tropical sun while hunting? I know it would be good for jokes from the trackers and others, but its functionality is what I am struggling with. Must be a uniquely French thing.

[By the way, I noticed that Forrest is bathing less since he got home. Thanks . . . thanks a lot. Also says "Oui" to virtually anything you say to him.]

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Also says "Oui" to virtually anything you say to him.

Some people just don't know how to say "Non". But seriously, making light of Forrest's language skills on an international internet forum doesn't seem to be a generous way to treat a friend. As for the beret, I wouldn't wear it under a tropical sun, but you need to keep up with current events: there is hunting outside of the tropics. Not only that, but on my last hunt in Namibia it was about freezing when we set out each morning and I regret not having had a beret with me. It's a good thing all this light banter is going on in one of the forums that nobody reads or I'm sure some moderator would have moved it to the Hunting Media and Publications forum.

So let's see if we can get it moved to the Political Forum. Is it true that Jean-Marc Ayrault told Barack on Syria, "You guys go first, we will be right behind you. We have your back. I promise."

By the way Safari or African Dawn would be good books to start with.

I decided to start with Far Horizon, which I understand is the first book.

I will be interested in seeing what you think. They are just easy, relaxing reads.