Zanzibar by Giles Foden

Author : Giles Foden
Title : Zanzibar
Published : 2003
Publisher : Faber & Faber
Genre : Thriller
Pages : 400

     The year is 1998. Nick, a marine biologist, is working on coral reef protection off the idyllic island of Zanzibar. While on a trip to nearby Tanzania, he meets Miranda, who works in the US embassy there. They could be forgiven for thinking they are living in paradise - until they find themselves embroiled in a desperate terrorist conspiracy.

     So I came across a copy of this book nestled on the shelves of a local charity shop. I must confess It was going cheap as so many do there, and I bought it solely on its title. It brought up images of far-off lands drenched in sun and sand. Also, I can't say that I have read to many books about the African Continent so a part of me was hoping to maybe learn something. This is one of those books that is a thriller through and through. While some delve off into other places this book knows exactly what it wants to be.

     We get a collection of leads in this story, first and foremost are Nick and Miranda. They are your entry into the world or international terrorism. They are both likable and I fail to see any reason for you to have any problems with who they are or the actions they choose. But I guess this is the way they are written. You aren't supposed to get lost in some deep dark past. They are not broken or trying to fix some wrong. Add in a heavy dose of romance between the two are you have everything you want from this book. On the flip side we have the "villain " of the book, and to be honest I felt he could have done better. What you get is your stereotypical Islamic extremist, I wanted a bit more depth to him. A reason for his activities beyond the obvious. But when it comes to this book you are not going to be blown away by anything that takes place.

     This is a book with a light style which allowed me to get through the book at a fairly quick pace. There are plenty of big set pieces aces throughout as our heroes are in a race against time to stop a madman from blowing up the world. A lot of what takes place will not come as such a big surprise, but that ok when it comes to this story, There is still enough here to keep you entertained. The other thing that did feel off to me was the fact that there appeared to be no locals involved. If you set a book in a very specific location you want to be able to read about the locals and the merriment which it is set. In this case, why not talk about some place or local foods. But by the time I was halfway through I had given up all hope of this. Short of giving a countries name, these people could have been anywhere in the world and it probably would have made little difference. 

     So having read all this you would have thought that this book was not for me. But sometimes on a cold wet night in the middle of winter, this is precisely the sort of thing you need to spend a couple of hours with. As I said, it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, But if you are looking for a book that's a bit of fun and escapism then Zanzibar might just be what you are looking for, Just remember to not take it too seriously.