Mondays Book Talk - The Secret Chamber

Written by Ben Kesp 

The Secret Chamber by Patrick Woodhead 

Patrick Woodhead was someone I had not heard of before I was given his book as a Christmas present, so I was interested in reading his short bio contained within. He is a professional climber who is also a team member of the White Desert Company. The White Desert Company arranges adventure expeditions to the Antarctica, where you are flown in comfort and style to the comfortably designed campsite in the wilds of the South Pole. If you are interested in learning more about them, visit their website at White Desert Adventures. Who knows a trip to the Antarctica might just be the thing you need to get away from the bustle of everyday life! 

The Secret Chamber is set in the Congo, Africa and is centred on two main characters. Luca Matthews a professional climber who travels to the Congo to rescue his best friend, a doctor who has gone missing, while working there. Beatrice Makuru a mining expert is sent into the Congo to investigate a mine and the substance it is producing. The mining industry across the region, mine for a substance called Coltan, which is a major component of mobile phones and laptops. The mine in the Ituri Forests, situated deep within the Congo is producing a specialised variant of the substance called Fire Coltan which is believed will revolutionise the mobile and communications industry, however with serious health implications. The mine is financed by leading Chinese families who are part of a guild in exchange for providing weapons to the local rebels. A Chinese General who is working on behalf of the Guild of Families is responsible for buying out the mine however he has his own agenda, which creates complications for the Chinese. Beatrice is asked to fly Luca into the Ituri Forests however crash on arrival. They unite on their task of finding the mine.

What was most fascinating about the story is the detail that Woodhead has of the location. As I read the book, I felt at times, that I was actually in the Congo with the characters. Woodhead has portrayed really well the wildness of the Congo, the brutally of the rebels against the local tribes, the darkness and the sense of no law existing, to protect the people. The hunger for power and greed is seen in many of the characters within the story as each man has his own agenda. Woodhead gives us a visually unique perspective of the Congo.

The story is written in great detail however there were some parts that dragged on. While reading many chapters I thought I would not get to the end soon enough as the outcomes were predictable. The pace of the story has a combination of being fast and slow, which changes the mood as I read it. The central characters are developed but at times perhaps a little shallow.

To recommend this book I would have mixed reviews. It does provide a very good insight into the ways of the Congo, the conditions of the local people fighting against their oppressors and of how children are forced to fight in rebel warfare. For the story itself, there were parts that lacked the interest and pace for me.