Amazon Strong Roads G.E.M. Thomas Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: G. E. M. Thomas ISBN-10:  1458391019 Type: Fiction Pages: 380 ISBN-13: 9781458391018 Alonso Truylos, and his three friends are out to find adventure wherever it exists. These men sail to the New World to find adventure. As time goes on, events and occurrences reshape their relationships. Alonso Truylos finds himself going deeper into the New World. Eventually, joining a galleon in the hopes of attaining riches, only to discover how the world really works.       Excerpt All of a sudden, the world was upside down to me. A bright light flashed and I felt a force hit me. Darkness and silence were all I perceived. Sounds returned and I awoke to a piercing numbness that overtook me. I lost memory of where I was. My lungs refused to draw a breath. I thought I was dead. No matter how much I tried, inhaling was impossible. I rolled onto my back. Air returned, and with that air came anger. I looked around and saw that the deck had been damaged. I groaned in a fully-numbing pain. I could smell gunsmoke and see people running towards me. I scanned my vicinity and saw a wounded man. I pulled him onto his blood-soaked back. “He's done.” I callously said to anyone listening. I came to my feet and leaned against the destroyed rail, coughing up blood and saliva onto my palm.

Lubna Kably


The author dedicates this book to Google Inc. I presume one can travel far and wide in cyberspace, just as the main character in this book, Alonso Truylos did but on a ship or rather many ships. Further, for Alonso and his four friends the New World were the strange lands that spread before them, waiting to be seen, just as cyberspace is relatively speaking a New World for us.

I am not a fan of history, but love adventure and while this book had all its historical facts intact, it was no boring history book. I could smell the foam of the sea, the sweat of the sailors, the fear of the slaves or the wounded soldiers lying close to death. I could sense the excitement that Alonso felt, each and every time fate or his own calling brought him to a new path, a new sea voyage. He loves his wife Maria, whom he has left behind on shore, yet, he cannot resist the temptations of new adventures and the lure of becoming wealthy.

My favourite character in this book is Pedro, who is what we in the modern world may call a maverick - he does have a tendency to speak his own mind, to behave rationally and get into trouble. He questions things, such as why are slaves ill-treated? He decides to continue with the same ship and crew that Alonso, Philip, and Antonio had first embarked upon. The other three move on.

As the book moves on, even Antonio decides to stay back with a woman he met at a tavern. Then it is just Alonso and Philip who remain to embark upon the open sea on newer adventures. Through his journeys, Alonso continues to evolve as a more mature person. As their journey goes on, Philip unfortunately dies in battle.

Alonso, moves on towards achieving his goal. His goal is best elucidated in this sentence when he is questioned about his objective in life: Yes, I have a goal to make my wife proud. I want to return to her, in two years time, with a fortune. I want to settle down and be happy. I feel I am on the right road to reach that objective."

Just before he is to set sail for Manila, a voyage that promises him tons of riches, he runs into an elderly Oriental woman. She predicts: You will get treasures, but not the treasures you have chosen.

As the title of the book indicates, Alonso is the sole survivor of this voyage. He finds himself on a beautiful island. Here the tribes live for today, they soak in the sun, they surf on the waves, there is sharing and caring and laughter.

The last sentence of the book is poignant. Alonso remarks: I made it to where they share food and ride the waves. I made it to my new home which is Owhyhee (Hawaii).

This book made me think. How many of us are caught up in this corporate rat race. Just like Alonso we want to attain a goal, be it riches or promotions. In our race towards these, we forget to be happy.

It was a very interesting book and I enjoyed reading it.