Ant Cook is a young boy who is confused, isolated and struggling to make sense in a world of life infused with African magic. Trying to make sense of life in a boarding school setting, he battles for good against evil, assisted by the love of his loyal friends. He is innocently propelled into a world of dangerous intrigue and wizardry, stirred up by vicious teachers and pupils who are openly hostile. Ant often feels like an outsider who does not fit into the school. At other times he is like an action man, tied into a world of phantasy. He has to judge who is the more dangerous - the pupils who hate him or the faceless, Tnanababawana, Lord of all Evil.
“Isn’t that incredible,” whispered Bongani, beneath his breath.
It was a dazzling, gleaming, sparking diamond about the size of a pigeon’s egg! Slightly flat and about an inch long, the extraordinary jewel sparkled in the candle light, sometimes a dark blue colour and sometimes a phosphorescent red. It was bordered by 20 splendid smaller white diamonds that each by itself must have been worth a prince’s fortune.
“My God,” thought Ant. “The Kruger Millions!”
Reggie stretched out to pick up the magnificent jewel.
“No you don’t!” shouted Ant, as he leaped forward angrily to grab the prize that was rightfully his.
But nobody had noticed the ghostly form of Mantatisi looming up beside them in the dark. As quick as a wink she snatched the sparkling diamond from between the boy’s grabbing fingers and held it aloft for all to see. She seemed to have a startling effect on the jewel, for it came alive and began to sparkle and turn all colours of the rainbow, which made the whole thing seem all the more incredible.
“This grand diamond is rightfully mine,” her loud voice boomed. “It was taken from my tribe in a great battle between the Boers and the famous King Dingane in Zululand. I am going to keep it and anyone who tries to take it from me will be cursed for ever. Whoever touches the diamond will be haunted by bad luck forever, as well as a vicious death by being torn apart by wild dogs!”
As if to put emphasis on what her terrible words meant, the four guarding Cape Cobras that were coiled around her arms, raised their hoods and hissed menacingly, their black forked tongues flicking out at the petrified boys. Blood stained with her evil, she spun on her toes like a nimble ballerina and with remarkable agility for her enormous size, began to twirl upwards. Faster and faster and faster she spun, gyrating like a wild dervish until she vanished in thin air, like a puff of smoke in the wind.
Mantatisi, the Kruger Millions and the diamond were gone! How would Ant ever get them back?
About Glen Greenway
Glen Greenway is an ex teacher and headmaster, wielding the written craft to enrapture the mind of teenagers, much like an artist wields a brush. The pages are a canvas on which to draw from a talent matched only by an imagination that rises to the task. ANT COOK AND THE GIANT SANGOMA is the first in a series of recent pursuits, with other works progressing quickly on the follow-up.
Ant Cook is a young boy who is confused, isolated and struggling to make sense in a world of life infused with African magic. Trying to make sense of life in a boarding school setting, he battles for good against evil, assisted by the love of his loyal friends. He is innocently propelled into a world of dangerous intrigue and wizardry, stirred up by vicious teachers and pupils who are openly hostile. Ant often feels like an outsider who does not fit into the school. At other times he is like an action man, tied into a world of phantasy. He has to judge who is the more dangerous - the pupils who hate him or the faceless, Tnanababawana, Lord of all Evil.
Glen Greenway is an ex teacher and headmaster, wielding the written craft to enrapture the mind of teenagers, much like an artist wields a brush. The pages are a canvas on which to draw from a talent matched only by an imagination that rises to the task. ANT COOK AND THE GIANT SANGOMA is the first in a series of recent pursuits, with other works progressing quickly on the follow-up.