{"product_id":"the-spectral-island-stephen-deburges-9781800463868","title":"The Spectral Island","description":"\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stephen Deburges\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1800463863\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781800463868\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Troubador Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/28\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.81h x 5.06w x 0.78d","brand":"Stephen Deburges","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44077503774975,"sku":"9781800463868","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3c82c5a2-1335-43de-90ee-3536944b1603.jpg?v=1685470330","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-spectral-island-stephen-deburges-9781800463868","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}