Zusa, a young herds boy is severely injured defending his father's lives stock from a leopard attack. Once he recovers, he is summoned to his nation's capital, Nyazimba, the city of stone, to be presented an award for bravery by his King. Travelling with his mentor Gemba, he is enthralled to experience the wonders outside of his community. As he goes through the African low veldt towards his nations capital he begins to understand the extent of his tribes influence on the land. From newly developed farming techniques, the mining of iron and gold to the unique industry which quarries countless granite stone bricks, the construction material this Bantu nation uses to construct their gigantic communities and monuments throughout the region, many of which are still evident today, leaving forever the indications of their advancements in the untamed wild. While at the city his nation is clandestinely attacked by a neighbouring tribe who through a surprise assaults manages to secure a number of key towns and villages. Zusa realises that the enemy had raided his family's community he rushes home to find the kraal destroyed, his father and brother murdered and mother and sibling taken into captivity. Returning to the capital, the city is defenceless and in panic, after the attackers manages to subdue the hastily assembled Nyazimbian army leaving the developing nation virtually defenceless. The brave young man proposes a concept, born from desperation, which offers a glimmer of hope to the impeding defeat and Zusa marches to war.
About the Author: Born in Gloucestershire, I moved with my family to Rhodesia in 1974 where I had the fortune to grow up in a changing cultural environment. After Zimbabwean independence in 1980, I continued with my schooling gaining a qualification in microelectronic engineering, specialising in radio and telephone communications. During this time I had the privilege of travelling throughout Zimbabwe and the surrounding countries such as Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa where I experienced firsthand much of that described in the publication. As a senior manager of a multinational company I was involved in many development programmes from supplying solar power and communications to rural clinics to installing equipment in some of the deepest mines in the region and it left me with an incredible sense of fulfilment. My broad exposure to this beautiful country allowed me to live life to the full and this story has always been in my heart to write. Married with two children I moved to the UK in 2000 where I am the owner of a telecommunications company; however the heartbeat of Africa will always be with me.