Blurb
Colm Reid is a journalist working for the Irish Telegraph. He writes an article on an Irish brown bear and that gets Kennet Haven from a conservancy in Kenya's attention. Kennet is going to head on an expedition to Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo in search of the last surviving wild northern white rhinos,and he is looking for journalists to document this. Colm’s editor gives him the chance to cover the story.
Colm heads off to the dangerous location,there are lots of terorrists' groups living in the jungle, and poachers who won’t hesitate to shoot anyone in their path. The station where Colm, Kennet ,Kennet'sister Jane,Belgian journalist Fatou Ba and other rangers are based soon becomes under attack from a terrorist group. Colm and his party are taken as hostages. But in their close pursuit is another rebel group..... Will Colm be able to survive from the war-zone?
Review
BORN THE SAME is the prequel to Hunted which features Jane as the main character. Since I've read it,I really enjoyed BORN THE SAME. We can encounter Jane, Kennet, Jomo, Tony, even Francois(!)again. If you haven't read Hunted yet I recommend reading it before reading BORN THE SAME so that you would enjoy this more.
The first half of the story is very educational. We can see the beautiful flora of this region and at the same time harsh natural environment including animals, insects, rain, mud, stars, grassland....etc through Colm's eyes. But this part is little dramatic so readers' frustration may grow. Hey, readers, be patient. You'll be recompensated for your patience later.
The story escalates quickly on page 141(kindle version). And...
HOLY SHIT!! I WAS TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY on page 290!
I acually screamed at midnight in the middle of nowhere in Japan. I was absolutely ecstatic on page 290. I laughed along with Kennet.
After the page 290, things happen like a raging storm. I very much appreciate the chemistry between Jane and Jomo. The interaction between Fatou and one of Garamba rangers Agoyo is so impressive. That makes us cry. Then brilliant ending. I love this ending.
This novel makes us think a lot about the subject. I'm a Japanese and I know Japan undermines efforts to stop the illegal ivory trade. For myself,I am not interested in ivory stuff though Japan's ivory industry is to blame. This subject is a serious lesson into why we need conservation.
Jane is the only character of its kind.
Lastly there is one more thing that we can't ignore. Jane has some of characteristics that makes her stand out this genre. But the author describes her without bias. Neurological differences are to be respected like any other human variation. In that sense,Jane is an epok-making character in the thriller history. Antony gets ahead of the times. When the times will catch up with him？
(Yu Noda,translator of Jay Qasim series written by Khurrum Rahman)
