Amazon Scribes Smith Publishing Scribes-Smith's books Category:  Literary Fiction Publisher: Scribes-Smith Publishing ISBN-10:  0981747604 Type: Fiction Pages: 357 Copyright: 2007 ISBN-13: 9780981747606 Among the group of American students who were chosen to be a part a significant archaeological dig, Raine marsh had the most prejudicial outlook on Africa. What made matters even worse is admitting them to a powerful and arrogant sheik who believes that she needed to be taken down a notch. Raine's path is crossed by this Sheik whose intentions are to bend Raine to his will and to deceive his nephew out of his inheritance. Raine finds herself as a temporary guardian to the sheik's nine-year-old nephew, and soon discovers that her involvement with the boy will thrust her in the midst of a war between two relentless, rivaling tribes. Oracle of the Sun Gods is a story that follows several young African-American college students as they embark on their summer school exchange program to Sudan. They are forced to take a look at life, love, the unquenchable thirst of youthful ambitions, and examine how the most simple and innocuous decisions can change one’s life forever. The trip to the Motherland was to educate them on the subject of Natural History and to gain an invaluable experience working on a very significant archeological site.  But while there, each young woman realizes her dreams, explores her passions, tastes the sweet grapes of glory and discovers hidden talents when faced with adversity.   For Raine Marsh in particular, she discovers the awful reality of how the unexpected twist of fate can deposit her in a predicament which she, in her wildest dream, would ever have imagined.  Raine’s path is crossed by a mysterious and sinister Sheik, whose intentions are to bend Raine to his will and to deceive his nephew out of his inheritance.  Raine finds herself as a temporary guardian to the sheik’s nine-year-old nephew, and soon discovers that her involvement with the boy will thrust her in the midst of a war between two relentless, rivaling tribes.      Excerpt Raine woke up feeling as if she had been run over by a truck while in hibernation for a year, and Ari woke up in a foul and devilish temper. The entire household was in upheaval. Even the most assertive servants were running around like beheaded chickens. Ari seemed to have argued with and yelled at everyone who came within his presence. The older servants had seen his temper before, but they too could scarcely cope. The newly hired servants were at a breaking point and drew the attention of Mayan, who promised to speak to Ari as soon as he was through with his official business for the morning. One might ask why Ari was in such a mood. To understand this, one might want to go back to the night before. Ari had just retired to bed after his tedious trip to the Swami. By sheer instinct, he decided to peer through his window. Ari saw the shadow of a figure darting around and hiding behind the trees in the dark. His initial reaction was that one of his servant girls was sneaking around for a late-night rendezvous. But the only thing was that he did not see the customary braids that the women among his clan wore; nor did he see a skirt. Ari looked closer, and then he swallowed hard. “That is no woman!” he thought. It was the boy, trying to escape. He was furious, for after all, many people had been killed in the process of getting the boy safely away from the Amara. Ari admitted that he had been too tired to ask about the boy’s whereabouts when he arrived, but he had been certain that Rehad had the good sense to keep the boy under close guard. Ari had slowly sneaked up on the boy just as he was about to slip out through the main gate. Obviously, he did not consider this fun, and so one could not genuinely blame him for his early morning fit of rage. Now in his office, he sat listening to the early morning chatter of birds and the persistent gnawing of his inner thoughts. He was still tightly wound up with all these negative thoughts and feelings, so he rang for his captain and the young lieutenant, Jeruh. He needed to set them straight. When the two approached the entrance to the prince’s office, the captain wore a serious expression, but the young lieutenant followed with his usual blithe spirit. He seemed unperturbed by the sudden call to the prince’s office. They shoved the door open and Jeruh stood at the door with a lingering grin. “Does Jeruh think this is the norm, to be called into Ari’s office?” Rehad thought to himself. But Sheik Ari had already noticed the younger man’s jovial expression and that incensed him even more. As soon as the door was closed behind them and they walked towards Ari’s desk, a loud roar emanated from “Ari the terrible.” “What the hell happened last night?” he yelled. “Was this trip to the Swami a vacation for both of you?” Rehad stood at attention, and did not utter so much as a word. He knew it was pointless to speak to Ari while he was in such a temper—besides, Ari was absolutely right. “Keep the boy locked up,” Ari snapped as he spun restlessly in his chair. “We did not think the boy would try to run away after his trip in the Swami,” Jeruh replied. This drew a cold stare from Ari as he stirred uncomfortably in his chair. “Are you serious?” Ari asked sardonically. “What kind of asinine answer is that?” he continued as his gaze became colder by the minute. Jeruh flushed the color of a ripened plum, and he attempted to say something more, but Rehad saved him for making yet another blunder. “It won’t happen again, my prince,” replied Rehad with a rigid note of formality. Ari’s eyes suddenly darkened. It drew a penetrating stare from Rehad. “Please leave,” Ari commanded in a low voice, for he was unable to think under Rehad's watchful eyes.

Africa's Pride
This book, Oracle of the Sun Gods, gave me a sense of pride in how it represents African as well as African America in a light that is not often seen or written about. The experiences the young ladies encountered while in Africa aided these young students to grow into strong young women. Seeing them experiencing the culture and richness and the pride they took of being apart of such a strong country.

Oracle of the Sun Gods began as a story about six students who traveled to Africa on an archaeological dig; however, each one of the ladies discovered their true destinies through their own personal adventures. The novel shows layers being stripped away from these affluent ladies to expose their true natural beauty in a place that reflect the beauty in each of them. Rain's destiny proved to be a very difficult and oppressive one at first glance, but the saying "to whom much is given, much is expected" ... It is as if Africa had a way of removing what it must from each young woman in order to fulfill their destinies. I found this book to be fascinating, informative and most surprising, one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read.