{"product_id":"the-spectral-island-paperback","title":"The Spectral Island - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eStephen Deburges\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe mountains and waters of Ivundé, in the Indian Ocean, contain something of immense value. To gain control of the Island, a shadowy Middle East group uses the cover of a madrassas-building project to arrange what at first sight is a local extremist takeover. The UK\/US, with the help of local sources, and a retired academic and a professional intelligence officer - who discover the truth - use their Special Forces, re-gain control of the Island. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a story of deception. Power deceives as it manipulates reality. Those who wield it - the diplomats and politicians - can only behave as their experience and allegiances allow them to, and the Island looks certain to be dragged from its idyllic existence, where time is of little essence, into a hectic Nauruesque future. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSome of those who live on the Island will see only clouds, others, silver linings. They include: Rosalie, a smart, if unsophisticated semi-local, and her US cowboy husband; 'free-thinkers', Valli and Meera, who, with their 'daughters', dispense wisdom and Darjeeling from their Emporium in the town; and Madame Lemesurier, owner of the Mirabile, who seeks guidance from her husband, at rest under a marble slab below a baobab in the Hotel gardens. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the centre of the conspiracy, and under the control of the shadowy Middle East group, is a Chinese scientist. From enforced exile in North Korea, he has been 'lent' to the group and compelled to carry out 'disturbing' research from his prison on a madrassa site. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe wild landscape of the Island, its madrassas' construction sites and its hotel, the run-down Mirabilé, provide much of the setting for the story, though the exercise of deception also pushes the action from place-to-place: a faceless office in London, GCHQ, the military bases of Djibouti and Diego Garcia, and the Presidential Palace in the mainland capital.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 376\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.78 x 7.81 x 5.06 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 28, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47409457201330,"sku":"9781800463868","price":18.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/3a6cb59551b401416233a22bd667f90b.webp?v=1778265937","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/the-spectral-island-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}