a brand new epic historical fantasy
February, 1898. The sanguine Lt. Col. Patterson sails to East Africa with a mission straight from London: to build a railway bridge at Tsavo, 100 miles inland. It is hard work on loathsome territory. Then something picks off his men one by one no matter where they sleep. A man-eater. It is clever, hungry, and soon things go from hard to dangerous to personal.
Enter Kifa, a Bogomo girl ostracized for her gift of cheating death. She's on a dead-end quest when a mysterious figure known as Saka offers her much needed purpose and a glimpse of Goma, creatures of the spirit world. If she helps deal with that man-eater.
So begins the dance with an unpredictable and unknown villain. Patterson and Kifa tangle with ancient powers in a tense square mile shared by the Mohammedan, the Christian, the Hindu, and the African. They learn hard that a simple mission always has devils in the details.
kifa
Kifa and her estranged twin brother had an uncommonly hard childhood. Twins here always do. Her narrow escape from death brings a mysterious character to her doorstep with a proposition: put the search for her brother aside for just a minute and help everyone else, that infernal 'greater good.' Time matters, and slavers are never too far off. Yet that minute grows longer by the day, and the fine print by the yard.
Patterson's brittle dream of Africa is cracking. The land's harder than he thought, the nights hungrier. The fear of the dark grows untenable, the nights sleepless. But the project's indefensibly late and Lord Salisbury, the premiere of England, wants that bridge done yesterday. As tensions rise, Patterson can have rapport or schedule, but not both.
patterson
The railway camp's young interpreter wears religion like a hat. It's kept slavers away, but he's secretly tormented. His nose can sniff out Goma, meaning only he knows what the camp is up against. It makes him an ideal asset for the frontline with Patterson and some unlikely allies, but he's a city boy. It might tear him apart.
wanyama
Baboo Purshotam Hurjee Purmar, the Clerk-of-works on the project and a shepherd to thousands of Indian laborers. A stalwart of propriety, he quietly loathes the Englishman in general and Patterson in particular. He has good reasons, more with every fallen man. Call it a grudge. A festering, bubbling grudge.
the baboo
hits bookshelves in 2026!
about the author
Peter. K. Gikandi was born and raised in Kenya, two hours’ drive from Tsavo, the bleak setting of his debut novel. Addicted to the dark-wholesome, the bittersweet, and anything ancient, he’s a recipient of both a Society of Illustrators and Microsoft Gold Star award. While living in Canada, he created 3D models and concept art for the video games industry, and animated several fun music videos. He branched out and found himself in Vietnam, creating hundreds of illustrated children's tales that landed him on Vietnamese TV. His short fiction has earned him modest accolades and has been published in Colorado.
Peter writes daily, still draws, and lives in Thailand where he gets around on his bicycle, chugs hot peppers and torments his girlfriend with dad jokes. To relax, a stiff cocktail and pile-driving research into the obscure does the trick.
Photo by James de la Cloche