From Booklist
Buckingham’s first novel is an atmospheric caper tale set among the lush islands of Indonesia. Sam Rivers, a gullible ex-pat English teacher, allows his soft heart to draw him into a scheme to sell a captured mythical creature to Australia, even though it endangers his engagement to Jakartan native and former student Fon. Things go wrong from the start as Sam falls ill with a fever, and the Gulag, the mythical Indonesian creature, escapes. The exotic setting and abundance of supernatural elements contrast divinely with the delightful and fully fleshed village characters, from the austere Dutch priest to the elderly witch doctor, who heals Sam of his fever. In an increasingly comic train of events, Sam and his fellows track the creature across the island, following reports of blissfully happy but apparently ravaged young maidens. The supernatural elements, exotic setting, and Sam’s feverish mind all lend a touch of the surreal, leaving the reader wondering at the end if it was all a dream. Great fun for general-fiction readers with a taste for comic adventure. --Jessica Moyer
Product Description
Buckingham's first novel is an atmospheric caper tale set among the lush islands of Indonesia. . . Great fun for general-fiction readers with a taste for comic adventure."" --Booklist
