5 out of 5 stars
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Candles in an African Wind by Allan Webb follows the story of William Brady, a humble prisoner who was tried by the Queen's court and found guilty of being in possession of arms belonging to Her Majesty. He was given the option of being deported from England under the bond of Military Colonel Milton or spending five years in prison. Instead of spending five years in jail, William chose to move to South Africa with Colonel Milton. While on their journey to South Africa, their ship got disrupted by a storm, and Brady leveraged that to gain his freedom. He was saved by a certain Miss Anna by the seaside. Brady was captivated by her beauty, but unfortunately, she had been given to someone else. Find out if Brady can win the heart of a lady betrothed to another while trying to live in his newfound freedom.
I would first like to commend the author on the writing style he chose for this book. He wasn’t after making the story come off as sensational and running the risk of delivering an unrealistic storyline in the process. It was impressive to see that he made realism top on his list of requirements for this story, especially as regards the era the story was based on. The author wrote about the events in this book in such a way that a reader who knew about the life of early settlers could very much relate to the story. Nothing looked fabricated or so out of the ordinary. For Africans from other parts other than the south, this book will spike their curiosity to know all that transpired in Southern Africa in those times. There is no doubt that Alann is very knowledgeable about Southern African history. The geography of the events in this book can all be found on the map. Also, the wars and diseases that claimed the lives of livestock and threatened human civilization and historical events are not just fictional but factual. Alann made his descriptions better by providing us with pictorial representations of some events.
The characterization in this book was just perfect, I must say. I believe all the characters were relevant in bringing this book to its full potential. I loved the romance between Anna and Brady, especially its progression. It was slow and steady and later blossomed into something really beautiful.
I found it challenging to keep up with the names of a lot of the places mentioned in the book, but I guess that's what comes with historical books.
Based on the apparent fact that the positives of Candles in an African Wind far outway the negatives, it's only suitable for me to rate it 5 out of 5 stars. The negative point is too slight to cause me to remove a star from such an intriguing book. Also, it was professionally edited. I found just one error in it.
I recommend this book to those interested in historical events, especially those in Africa. They will learn about historical events in Southern Africa.
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Candles In an African Wind
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