Eclipse by Richard North Patterson

Legal Thriller Based in Africa From Prolific, Bestselling Author

Sep 24, 2009

This thought provoking legal thriller is based in Luandia, a fictional Nigeria.

Californian lawyer Damon Pierce is on the cusp of middle age and has just signed his divorce papers. He is re-examining his life and pines for a lost love and wishes he had children. Work does not give him satisfaction anymore. Nevertheless, he is living the American dream but leaves it all behind when he receives a disturbing e-mail from the woman he once loved.

Damon met Marissa Brand at a writers group twelve years before. They forged a friendship which proceeded no further because she was about to marry Bobby Okari, a novelist and gifted speaker from the West African country of Luandia, a fictional Nigeria.

In the first part of the story little happens. Damon Pierce is looking back at his meeting with Marisa and how what never happened might have been. The highlight of this rather slow segment, set in America, is when Bobby addresses an American audience and tells them what is done in his homeland in their name and because of their love of oil.

Volatile Luandian Delta

Bobby Okari comes from Asariland in the Luandian Delta. He is consumed by the cause of his people, the Asari, cursed by the oil that flows beneath their soil.

Bobby is set on a collision course with a ruthless dictator when he goes back home to fight the Luandian government and its partner PGL, the giant American petrol company whose oil ventures poison the environment.

The Asaris do not get a penny in revenue or compensation for the degradation of their land and the pollution of the air they breathe. All the profit is pocketed by the state which pays soldiers to act like mercenaries and torture squads rather than defence forces.

Despite this being a fictional account, the collusion of a corrupt and brutal state machinery with American corporate greed while the American government looks on because of geopolitical considerations and a national addiction to oil is reminiscent of slave buyers and sellers of previous centuries.

Protest and Punishment

Bobby's character is loosely based on Ken Saro Wiwa. He organises a protest rally during an eclipse despite a government ban. A saidstic colonel and his minions massacre all the people of Goro, Bobby’s village, rape the women and burn all the huts.

The Okaris are spared to face more injustice. Bobby is accused of murdering three PGL workers and faces certain death. It is then that Marissa asks Damon Pierce to help her husband.

Damon Pierce

As soon as he steps into the delta, Damon’s fears are confirmed. It is one of the most dangerous places on earth, especially for a white man. He cannot trust anyone and that includes the man he has come to help and the woman who asked him to do so.

It is obvious to Damon that he is fighting a lost cause from the beginning but his love for Marrisa sustains him. His arguments in court are powerful and persuasive within the narrow boundaries set by an angry dictator, General Saviour Karama.

An Expected End

The novel moves mainly through dialogue both in and outside the courtroom. Bobby Okari’s charisma captivates. His passion for his cause and his people redeems a tale about Nigeria's darkest hour under Abacha because no matter how fictionalised the account here is, it reminds the informed reader about General Sani Abacha and his grip on the West African country.

This is a book that provokes the reader to think deeply about today’s political and economic issues and why Africa is a supplier in the world rather than a player.

The end is dramatic but expected and suits the mood and the setting of the story.

About Richard North Patterson

Richard North Patterson is a former trial lawyer. He quit his practice to devote to full time to writing. He is the author of 17 novels including eight consecutive international bestsellers. He is a frequent speaker on political, legal and social issues. His articles on politics and literature have appeared in prominent publications on both sides of the Atlantic. Richard North Patterson lives on Martha's vineyard and San Francisco.

The copyright of the article Eclipse by Richard North Patterson in Thriller Fiction is owned by Farai Muchemwa. Permission to republish Eclipse by Richard North Patterson in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.