The Greatest Game is the first of a four-book anthology, counterpointing the lives of four main characters, against a transforming South Africa. Depicting a scenario you may not have encountered before, because thus far the South African transition, has been written exclusively by liberal journalists. Books written by clowns are good for a belly laugh, but a political event of such magnitude normally produces great novels, and the four books of The Greatest Game quartet are serious contenders. The main character in the series, is the scion of the wealthy Rupertheimer family, and the bane of his famous uncle Randlord Rupertheimer. This first book is set in the sixties, it introduces you to the zany schoolboy Rupertheimer, and his friends called the Pack. They are the Englishman Nick Jarvis and Peter Khumalo the Zulu, along with the Afrikaner Hofmeyr, who is a talented rugby player. Unfortunately there are also the selfish liberals Thorn Thompson and Dick Clott, who would engender in Rupertheimer, a lifelong abhorrence of posturing neoliberalism. This opening book describes the sixties schooldays, where Rupertheimer scores a rugby penalty with a piano, then comes military service where Rupertheimer manages to sink a South African Navy ship. This makes a mortal enemy of navy Killick Vokop which continues through the series., but despite these many misfortunes Rupertheimer shows early signs of the remarkable prescience, he'd one day employ to guide his country to an embryonic democracy. Although these books are fiction they are set solidly against history, and the picture painted of the Johannesburg liberal press is one of cowed compliance with apartheid, rather than valiantly opposing it as they claim. If you prefer your fiction laced with a semblance of historical truth, ignore the feeble excuses of liberal journalists, and rather read the novels of Pat Stevens.
About the Author: Pat Stevens was born in Johannesburg in the same month as Steve Biko, December 1946 was also the month Alan Paton completed his great novel Cry, the Beloved Country, so some characters in The Greatest Game series derive from both sources. Today the author lives in England, but the river between Africa and Pat Stevens runs deep, his books are all set in Africa. The Greatest Game anthology counterpoints the lives of four characters, against four decades in a changing South Africa, culminating in the historic 1994 democratic elections. The book also details the scepticism of the Johannesburg liberal press, that almost derailed the democratic transition, unfortunately these purveyors of doubt are still around. So a follow up novel titled Hero of the Struggle, describes the complicity of the press in the eight year persecution of Jacob Zuma, and the long struggle to effect the dropping of charges against an innocent man. The hero is writer Will Powers who obtains intercepted phone calls, these so called Spy Tapes prove political interference in the case, so all charges are dropped and Jacob Zuma becomes president. A semi-autobiographical book titled White Bird Under the Sun, describes a journey through fifties Africa that will warm your heart, as it recounts the joy and travails of a boyhood in the Rhodesian bush. The story continues in seventies Johannesburg through a sequel titled Dice of Life, a coming of age novel revolving around a group of apprentices, and dealing with the complexity of a racist society. The book examines apartheid South Africa, through the eyes of protagonist Harry Cheals, counterpointing his concerns against the easy attitude of friends. The novel Zulu Vampire recounts an outbreak of killing in rural Zululand, reputed to be the work of the vampiric Impundulu Lightning Bird, so police captain Jake Smit and journalist Marlin Madison track down the real killers. Continuing the theme of African fables is Cloud Eater, traditional stories told by an African seer named Thulani, while Parables and Poems is a collection of essays with political and religious themes. Greatest Book Ever Written includes Absalom's Tomb which uses a new style of Biblical writing, where the narrative is modern romantic style but for the dialogue, the King James English is retained imparting a lovely Shakespearian veneer. There is a wide array of books for you to choose from, whatever the taste of the reader, there is sure to be a fit among the books of Pat Stevens.