Tom Davis (4) (1970–)

This novel is a prime example of agenda fiction. The point of view alternates between two first-person accounts: photojournalist Stuart Daniels, who has come to Swaziland hoping to take a career-resurrecting photo, and twelve-year-old Adanna, a Swazi girl barely surviving in a land of starvation and abuse. The plot isn't so much a linear arc as a series of events demonstrating the plight of Africa. Stuart arrives skeptical and jaded and leaves transformed by all that he's witnessed.

The author succeeds in transporting his readers to a bleak landscape unfamiliar to most. American readers "know" that daily life in Africa is a struggle, but the events depicted here give stark detail to abstract knowledge. As agenda fiction goes, the purpose here is one that can't be argued with or, hopefully, shrugged away.

As a novel, though, the book's craft didn't satisfy me. For the first 80-something pages, the reader is forced to swim through a soup of similes. Every single description is a comparison. This improves later in the book, but similes are still overused, often two or more in a paragraph. The characters are not individuals with quirks but rather mouthpieces for the author's message. The majority of the dialogue reads like a nonfiction essay on the horrors of African village life. Character conversations usually consist of sharing information or planning what to do next.

The themes/content and potential of the book rate four stars, but the prose, dialogue, and characterization earn two. I'm glad I read it, though. I learned a lot, especially from the afterword interview with the author. This book provides American readers with a needed education.… (más)

Tom Davis writes his fiction in a way that takes you there. With Scared, I arrived in Africa to the smells, With Priceless I can see the sites and almost hear the music. Priceless is the second book in the Edge of the World series. In this novel, Tom introduces us to Marina, a young orphan, rescued out of child slavery/prostitution and her story. Her story is told alongside Stuarts. Stuart a father, husband and international photojournalist, has landed himself right in the midst of a battle between right and wrong, a battle of trying to rescue young orphan girls out of the child prostitution ring in Russia. A ring which the local law enforcement and governing authorities have accepted large amounts of money to ignore. Like his first book, this is a must read that will leave you thinking differently but more importantly, cause you to want to make a difference. Fortunately, there is a website you can visit at the end of the book where you can help bring about that change. Read it, but only if you dare.… (más)