Spanning over a hundred and twenty years, this first novel of Jans Rautenbach is filled with dark secrets and sinister plots, as the "love me, hate me" saga of three generations of the Scheepers family unfolds in this action-packed political thriller, where the line between truth and fiction is so closely intertwined that it will give the reader chills down his spine at times and at times bring the reader to tears. The reader may find it hard to rip himself away from the story line and put the book down. This African adventure is full of twists and turns and will captivate the reader to the very last page.Frans Scheepers is fifteen years old when he witnesses the murder of his father just after the Second Boer War in 1903, while, on his own property, he tried to save a white rhino and her calf from Zulu warriors (at a time when the rhino species was nearly extinct). Planning revenge, while trying to save a farm and the endangered white rhino species, this breathtaking, action-filled saga takes so many unexpected turns, that the reader will be shocked to silence at times, and sometimes driven to tears, as the drama unfolds in a war-torn country, with an ending that will take the reader's breath away."Intriguing and insightful story, tricking the reader into forgetting it is fiction!" - J. Theron"Not only a work of art, but a masterpiece. Two words to conclude: brilliant and extraordinary." - S. Neethling"The intrigue and suspense were exhilarating." - A. Christy"This is a monumental work from a very fertile imagination. It will keep the reader enthralled throughout." - C. Elgin (Author)
Author Biography:
Johannes "Jans" Rautenbach was born in Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape, and grew up on a farm. Since there were quite a few males named "Johannes" in the family, he was called Jans from an early age, and does not even answer to the name Johannes anymore. Jans comes from a family with deep roots in South Africa's history. His great-grandfather on his mother's side, Johannes Jacobus Dorfling, fought in the Second Anglo-Boer War against the British, during which he was taken captive, and was held as a prisoner of war at the St. Helena Island. His great-grandmother and his grandmother were held in concentration camps in South Africa. Jans grew up among black people; his friends on the farm were mostly Xhosa boys. As a youngster he did not even understand political ramifications of the word "Apartheid". Only during the past 20 years has he learned what some of the blacks experienced under earlier white-controlled administrations of South Africa's government. In so learning, he has also now realized that the current black-controlled administration began using a type of "reverse-Apartheid" against the whites through affirmative action and various types of laws and practices. However, though the world had outright condemned Apartheid during the white-controlled government, now for some reason, the world is hypocritically silent about the new oppression against whites, though it is not "officially" called Apartheid. Although he is the "wrong colour" in the new South Africa, Jans has not been a "racist"; but you could definitely call him a realist. Jans was a driver / tour guide for the SA Railways for over ten years, and he and his wife, Lizelle, even started their own touring company. They love the outdoors, gardening, touring and nature, and have visited every nature reserve and game park in South Africa. They have traveled extensively, and Jans has visited more than 35 countries, from Europe to the East and Middle East. The happily married couple has no children except for their three cats and one dog, and lives in the Western Cape with the most beautiful views of the Outeniqua Mountains. Jans is 100% deaf due to a genetic disorder, that had slowly but surely taken away his hearing, and he also has emphysema and a heart condition. Adding his chronic asthma and hypertension, he is nearly 100% dependant on Lizelle. Jans has two mottos in life: "Just one day at a time", and "Do today what you can, as tomorrow may never be".
