‘Scatterlings of Africa’ is a novel by former soldier Peter Davies, that draws on his experience in Rhodesia in the early 1970’s. In a powerful take on the conflict, the novel is still relevant in the political climate of Zimbabwe today and reminds us of the atrocious brutality that human kind is capable of.

A fast-paced action adventure novel that focuses on the realities of war, ‘Scatterlings of Africa’ questions are raised about the ethics and tactics employed by both sides, and is far from being a mere criticism of the behaviour of the insurgents. The novel reveals the true price of war, paid by so many. Death is a constant reality and families are torn apart through vicious greed and corruption.

This is far more that a merely political novel, but a depiction of humanity under the intense circumstances of civil war. As the narrative unfolds the reader is able to empathise with the difficult and sometimes fatal decisions taken by each character. As personal lives are interrupted by politically stimulated change, a whole country creaks. Davies is an expert storyteller, switching adroitly between various strands of the novel seamlessly.

At times the pace of the novel is urgently frenetic and at others it drifts along effortlessly, building towards several crescendos. Bursting into life from the very first page and remaining wholly absorbing up until the last line, this novel is a absolute must-read.

Author Peter Davies had a first-hand experience about the hard times in Africa described in the novel. He doesn’t report anything real but just transform in fiction his own experiences. He’s now writing his second novel, called Zimbabwe.