The Lost Tribe

Not only a page-turner that includes adventure, a quest, and danger at every turn, this book is also beautifully written, believable and has a moral element.

There are a lot of books, but only a select few have the ability to impact the reader as this. One is invited into a surreal world of powerful images and concepts. On one hand it's a page-turning adventure. On the other, it left me musing about life and death. I eagerly wait for his next book.

A friend recommended Mark Lee's first novel to me and I am grateful. What a great book! THE LOST TRIBE is the suspenseful story of a group of travellers seeking the lost tribes of Israel, hoping that if they find them they can bring a new message of faith to the world. It says a lot about the book that, with all the danger and narrow escapes on their journey, the most intriguing part of the novel for me was the search for meaning. Who would've thought someone who could write such compelling adventure would also be capable of such many-layered, deeply symbolic poetry? I also appreciated the insight into the the real Africa - a modern HEART OF DARKNESS both contemporary and timeless. I eagerly anticipate the next from Mark Lee, wherever he goes!

Author Mark Lee has the poet's touch for lyric and the journalist's eye for detail. "The Lost Tribe" is one of those all too rare novels of American experience in Africa. Africa wasn't the American colonial experience, and for many Americans it really is the "forgotten continent." Still, there is that small cadre of relief workers, missionaries, spooks and the journalist drawn by the suspected romance of Africa's vastness. This is a wonderful portrait painted by Lee. And like "The Canterbury Tales," it's a story about pilgrims on a journey to a place they can't even dimly guess at. It's an absorbing read for people who know the continent, and for those who have never been there. The book contains a fascinating chapter about a family of French planters who treat the land they've claimed like vampires sucking blood. Oddly, Francis Ford Coppola filmed a similar sequence that never made the final cut of "Apocalypse Now," but can be seen in the documentary "Hearts of Darkness." Both Lee and Coppola's scenes have an eerie accuracy reminiscent of Conradesque description. Both works owe a nod to Conrad. The Lost Tribe, written with spareness and control, would make a terrific movie, a journey to a lost land.

You can feel, taste, and smell Africa in this wonderful story. Masterfully written. Leaves you wanting more.