Reading the World discussion

Country: Benin (West Africa)

From Kirkus Reviews: "Richard and Robin Mariner have another close encounter with a dangerous Russian mercenary they’ve crossed swords with before.

Benin Light is the beacon that guides ships to remote and forbidding Granville Harbour, on the western coast of Africa, close to key business interests of suave shipping magnate Mariner ... who helps Captain Morgan Hand maneuver his supertanker, Prometheus V, into dock... The political picture is murky, with unsettling evidence that the mercenaries [hanging around] are henchmen of the president or, worse, control him. Arrested on a trumped-up charge, Mariner is no sooner extricated than he’s thrown into a life-or-death chase to rescue some kidnapped members of his party.

Another brisk retro caper from Tonkin, with a colorful cast, abundant action and many, many close calls."

Although it is a later installment of a series, this should be able to be read as a stand-alone novel.

Thank you for adding this description Gail W. Once again, I lost track of the time. 😘

Celia wrote: "Thank you for adding this description Gail W. Once again, I lost track of the time. 😘"

That's what you "hired" me for! And you know, it was 2 am, I couldn't sleep and thought, may as well do this one.

Well, once I got past all the introductions with pages and pages about clothing, cars and cleavage the story turned into a bit of a romp with our Main Character, Mariner, getting caught up in a Western African civil war. The country, harbor, delta all seem to be fictional composites. The Benin Light of the title refers to a lighthouse and a very fine grade of crude oil drilled off the coast of Nigeria. The river delta could be Nigeria but the country described could never be. Benin itself has an oil exporting harbor with a lighthouse in Cotonou but no delta. So I don’t think I can use this book for the country of Benin.
It has been a long time since I have read a book like this. One that is not trying to be anything but reading entertainment with some education about the conditions of western exploitation and post colonial African corruption thrown in. I have to admit it was a nice break from my usual fare.

Gail wrote: "Well, once I got past all the introductions with pages and pages about clothing, cars and cleavage the story turned into a bit of a romp with our Main Character, Mariner, getting caught up in a Wes..." Yes, it seemed like a James Bond type story & characters! So many guns,too. Agree, a romp. lol

I finished and read your review with much interest, Gail. I too wondered how accurately it depicted Benin. But I am going to count it for Benin because the book caused me to do lots of research on Benin and I now have a firm idea of Benin's location and the shape of the country. I do have two other Benin books on my list, so might read one of those as well.