Down to the Wire

Ben Maddox, television journalist for Zephon, is sent to investigate what is happening in Lansana, a west African country where the Yoori people of the north are agitating for independence. Maddox, and his cameraman, Jonny Aaranovitch, with the help of a local reporter Rebekah Arens, soon find that that there is plenty of trouble stirring with the activities of Yoori terrorist organization Red Fire, and then what lies behind the presence of former football international Eamonn Reilly in Lansana?

Football has a big following in Lansana, and star player, 16-year-old Mujiba Kalala, has the possibility of a career with one of the great European clubs if his religiously zealous father will agree. Initially the political situation does not impinge greatly on Muj, but other young people are forced into the army of Red Fire against their wills. One of these is Joyce Avoka, captured by Red Fire and taken to the isolated training camp where child soldiers are trained to kill their country people.

All of these voices are heard: Joyce is illiterate but her story is written up by Rebekah; from his diary we learn how Muj struggles with his longing to play the game at which he excels and about his desire to please his father and serve the prophet Yusa; Ben Maddox’s story is told in a lively third-person narrative. These are interspersed with transcripts of Ben’s broadcasts back to the Zephon studio, Rebekah’s reportage for her newspaper, reports of matches featuring Muj from the same paper, and transcripts of Lansana Security Services reports. Plenty of examples of different styles of writing here.

Together, these cohere to make an exciting thriller, and one which should encourage readers who are daunted by long passages to engage with the text. Ashley is too skilled a writer to make any of this seem contrived. On the contrary, these devices create a sense of immediacy and tension suited to the genre.