David Robbins
© 2014


If you follow my blog or are a member of the Asylum, you’re all too familiar with my lament about the many fine writers who have fallen by the wayside over the years. Once popular, once widely read, now not so much.
William Mulvihill is a writer you might not have heard of, but if you like a riveting story, have I got a beaut for you. THE SANDS OF THE KALAHARI burns into your brain with a searing tale of survival in one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet, the Kalahari Desert.
Published in 1960, the story holds up well even today. A plane crash sets the tale in motion. Half a dozen passengers suddenly find themselves in a brutal struggle to stay alive. Mulvihill creates vivid characters the reader can relate to, and in most cases, sympathize with their plight.

[The cover at the top is from a paperback version. This is the hardback.]
The survivors stumble on an outcropping where there is a cave and water and food. They see it as their salvation. But a troop of large baboons already occupy the outcropping, and they see the humans as invaders. 
This is a multilayered tale, violent at times, rife with sexual tension. The theme might be called ‘survival of the fittest’, only with a unique twist.
A movie was made starring Stuart Whitman, Stanley Baker and Susannah York. Surprisingly, Hollywood stuck true to the story---except for the ending. They completely changed it, which was a shame. The ending of the novel is like a punch to the gut, a visceral, emotional climax that screams an elemental truth.

[Did I mention a certain kind of tension? The movie got that part exactly right.]
But don’t take my word for it. Philip Wylie, of GLADIATOR fame, praised it as “One of the most vivid and imaginative adventure stories……I have read in many years.”

[Survival of the fittest? You have no inkling how far he will take it.] 
So if you’ve read every book in your library twice and you're looking for a story that once you start reading, you can’t put it down, permit me to recommend SANDS OF THE KALAHARI. Just keep a bucket of water handy. I wasn’t kidding about it burning into your brain. J [The art for the DVD and the Blu-ray. Mess with ferocious baboons and you better be ready for some fang and claw.][image error]