The Last Savanna is another entry in Mike Bond's exciting oeuvre. I appreciate the way Bond uses personal narrative and experiences here, and I also appreciate the resonant messages about the world that the author shows (rather than tells). I'm always on board for a Mike Bond adventure.

From the book jacket, "As ivory poachers are gunning down Africa’s last elephants, former SAS officer Ian MacAdam leads a commando squad against them. He pursues the poachers through jungled mountains and searing deserts, only to find they have kidnapped a young archaeologist, Rebecca Hecht, whom he once loved and bitterly lost..."

I thought the book would be about saving the elephants, but it turns out to be a journey into saving the woman he lost and what seems to be a last hurrah for himself.

The writing is wonderful, I am not sure I enjoyed the white savior complex or the sexist quotes from the hero. I could see the desperation of the poachers and wished that would have been explained more. The power struggle of the politicians was explained well. I received this book from Net Galley. The views are my own.

THE LAST SAVANNA – by Mike Bond

Let me start by saying the beginning of the book is *chefs kiss perfection*; from the vivid setting to the characters, I could not put the book down. Unfortunately, by sixty-six percent, I found myself skimming through pages, the pulsating landscape and wildlife that thrived propelling the beginning of the book were missing, and the storyline, for me, fell flat.

Thank you, NetGalley and Mandevilla Press, for providing me with an eBook of THE LAST SAVANNA at the request of an honest review.

When I read the synopsis for this book,
I was definitely interested. Then, reading that it’s based off the author’s own experiences of chasing poachers, I knew I had to read it! This book was fascinating with a lot of information that was heartbreaking and eye opening. The author did a great job of really making you feel as if you were in Africa (I will admit, I’ve never been there, but the descriptions were great and had my imagination going). The story follows a former SAS officer as he goes after the poachers who have also kidnapped an archaeologist. The story was interesting and held my interest throughout!

The Last Savanna will take you on a trip to look for poachers in Africa. These poacher have not only killed animals but also people to take anything they can.
When the poachers kidnap an archeologist, Rebecca, they let her husband live so he can pay them a large ransom for her safety. You can visualize the scenes with the author's descipti9ons and he seems to take you there as he tries to figure out why poachers do what they are doing and how to find Rebecca and save her before it is too late.

With Africa's last elephants being killed for their ivory, Kenya rancher and ex-SAS officer Ian MacAdam leads a commando squad to hunt down the poachers. Pursuing them through jungled mountains and searing deserts he battles thirst, solitude, terror and lethal animals, only to find they have kidnapped a young archaeologist, Rebecca Hecht, whom he once loved and bitterly lost. McAdam embarks upon a desperate trek to save not only Rebecca but his own soul in an Africa torn apart by wars, overpopulation, and the slaughter of its last wildlife.
It was a great read.
Recommended.

The Last Savanna by Mike Bond

I think elephants are fascinating and I hate to hear about them being killed for their tusks. So when I read the description of The Last Savanna, I thought it sounded like a book I would enjoy reading.

The main character is Ian MacAdam, a former officer in the Special Air Service, now a rancher in Kenya. He and a team of men go in search of ivory poachers. The story covers their adventures and misadventures as well as those of the poachers themselves. A group of archaeologists just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and pay a heavy price.

Bond moves the story along quickly and I found it hard to put the book down. The characters were well-developed. The topic of elephant poaching is timely, although the action quickly morphs into a cat-and-mouse game between poachers and anti-poachers, with an added focus on the fate of the archaeological team.

I recommend The Last Savanna. I don't usually read this kind of story so can't compare it to other books of this genre, but can say it's a well-written, exciting read.

THE LAST SAVANNA is an authentic memoir of Africa (sometimes a bit too graphic). Excellent descriptions of a continent which remains wild and uncharted. Unfortunately, it seems as if greed and human survival will cost mankind most of the flora and fauna of this magnificent continent. I received an ARC from Net Galley and the opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed this. Extremely descriptive, colorful, and evocative, the novel looked at issues from several different directions, which was appreciated. First novel I've read from the author, and won't be the last.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Very descriptive novel. In some parts I loved the descriptions as they transported me to Africa. Other sections, it slowed the story down and was a bit to much for me. I can easily see this as a movie. Interesting read.

What more can be said about this book that has not already been said? It is a step back in time, visiting the continent of Africa and the Last Savanna. The brutality and raw essence of nature is visible in every chapter. An interesting story of survival and death in the sun, brush, and sand of Africa. In the end, we are all just animals doing our best to scratch out a meaningful life in a meaningless existence.

There are no bad guys or good guys, only nature in it's most raw form. This one will exhaust your emotions and scintillate your mind. Brilliantly researched, heart wrenching, and well written. Highly recommend.

I just took a trip through the last Savanna and it was one tough trip! Lions, hyenas, snakes, poachers and human predators. You'd better sleep with one eye open with this one! Looking for poachers became a hunt for a missing woman. This was a very descriptive story. The story was eye opening and just a little too descriptive in the romance scene but what hardships and how real were the life taking scenes.
I was gifted a copy from the publisher through NetGalley, my opinion and review is voluntary.

The story centers around the very real battle against elephant poaching in Africa. Told from both points of view, those working to stop the poaching and those for whom poaching is their only way of life, Mike Bond gives some very real characters who also have to work around the problems in the personal lives. The stories merge to form a compelling thriller that I found so good I read it in two days.

The Last Savanna by Mike Bond

227 Pages
Publisher: Mandevilla Press
Release Date: August 15, 2013

Fiction, General Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Poachers, Africa, Kidnapping

The book begins with a young Samburu killing a lion for its pelt to pay for his son’s school tuition. When Warwar, a young Somali, and his poaching team come across the Samburu, the kill him for the pelt.

The poachers come across several tents. The people, a White archelogy couple and several Black workers, were packing up their site when the poachers attacked. The workers were killed and the woman, Rebecca, was kidnapped. They allowed her husband to get away so he could collect a ransom.

MacAdams is a former SAS officer and is approached by Nehemiah from the local police to help round out the group of poachers killing elephants. Out on the hunt, they come across several dead elephants with their tusks removed. MacAdams knew Rebecca years ago and heads out to find her and the poachers.

The story has a steady pace, somewhat developed characters, descriptive landscapes, and it is written in the third person point of view. The writing style made me feel as if I was seeing the view through the author’s eyes. This was a very different style than other books by Mike Bond. If you like adventure books or Africa, you may like this book.l

Bond uses his international settings to point out political and environmental problems that affect the people and their world. This book is no exception. Going after poachers from Somalia, who enter into Kenya to gather valuable elephant tusks, the main character is involved in a tortuous journey to save a female archaeologist kidnapped by the Somali poachers on their way back to Ethiopia.

The novel is both an adventure, a thriller, and a romance.

This book was very interesting and definitely a thriller that I could imagine being made into a very good movie! I learned so much about the Ivory trade and illegal poaching, and really enjoyed the backstory between the characters - which made the present time in the movie so much more poignant. I will definitely be reading more of this author!

I received a free copy from NetGalley along with two others by the same author and this was worse of the three and I struggled to finish it. I had trouble rooting for any of the characters. It wasn't what I thought it would be after reading another book by the same author.

The Last Savannah is quiet an atmospheric book and I really did feel transported to Africa, which I thought was fascinating. I'd definitely read books by this author in the future!

I received a free copy of this book from the author. I had the opportunity to review or not.

I have always loved stories about Africa, and this one did not disappoint. The descriptions of the wilderness, the animals, the plains were vivid and enthralling. The characters are engaging and believable. Even the “bad guys” are interesting as we learn about their culture, their desires, and their reasons for doing what they do.

As we enter the African world we are introduced to white settlers, game wardens, native hunters, poachers. Husbands and wives in turmoil, nature in demise, wardens determined to save the environment, and greed, an enemy of them all. Poachers are killing off all the elephants for their ivory. In the process of that endeavor they kill a group of archeologists and their support teams, kidnap the female leader, leave her husband without supplies letting him try to bring help, and then destroyed all means of transportation. Their callous behavior with the elephants, the humans and each other gives us a sense of the danger they bring with them.

But nothing prepares us for the horrors and the beauty of the savanna. Defiled by the greed of the poachers, the savanna becomes a place of death and fear. We travel with the wardens, the farmer/warden, the poachers and the kidnapped victim as their stories unfolds. Their hopes, fears, insights and their deaths are writ large on the pages.

The ending is filled with twists and turns as each member seeks to put an end to the other. This book is an exciting look into the wildness of Africa and all its inhabitants. Pick this book up for an intense adventure into the unknown.

I personally can’t recommend this book though I’m sure there will be many who enjoy. I couldn’t get into it with the overdone descriptions. I like details but being too vivid and describing everything gets very tiring to read and I want to paint my own picture in my head.