For two generations of men, the Summerhill Reach rubber plantation in Malaya is a place of unbridled lust and the source of power. Finally, four men are locked in a struggle for control of each other and the wealth and power the plantation offers. As they seduce, mesmerize, and take their conquests, they are seduced in turn, against the background of the steamy Malayan jungle and the strange ceremonial rites of the full moon practiced by the dangerous Farhan. Will the one man among them who has sought love more than power finally triumph in this four-way struggle?
It’s tough to give a rating to a book like this. People are either going to get a kick out of it—like I did—or be totally turned off. If you are in the mood for steamy jungles, beating drums, and throbbing manhoods, then this might be the book for you.
reviewsbyjessewave, 4 stars
Dinner that night was tense and silent, the only sound being the clinking of silver on china and the slapping of Farhan’s bare feet as he moved back and forth between kitchen and table. The table sat twelve, and I was at one end and Bill was at the other, as far away as we could get from each other.
Immediately after dinner, I went directly to my room. Farhan appeared shortly thereafter and told me that Bill wanted to see me in his study.
He was there, sitting in a leather wing chair, smoking a cigar, with a book open on his lap. The scent of the tobacco brought back memories of my childhood, sitting on his lap with Edith at his feet, telling us stories of his many international adventures—or at least the ones he could tell children.
“Yes, what do you want?” he asked gruffly when I entered the room. A flash of lightning lit up the room through the open doors out onto the encircling veranda. Rain was in the air. It would be storming within minutes.
“Farhan said you wanted to see me,” I answered.
Bill looked surprised, but then he looked up and saw Farhan standing in the doorway behind me.
“It is time,” was all that Farhan said.
Bill sighed and said, “Come here, boy. Come closer.”
I walked to within a hand’s length of his chair and stood there, trembling a little, having a bit of trouble breathing. Tension was in the air. Tension and sex. Yes, sex was in the air. I was wound up so tight that I could hardly breathe.
“You know why we took you out of Hatterfield, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “Now I do. I didn’t then.”
“And do you know why I pulled you away from that sailor on the ship?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Oh, do you think you do? Do you remember what I asked you at the time?”
“Umm, no, I don’t think so,” I answered. I was confused now.
“It was important,” Bill whispered. . . .
