High Season: The Learnings of Mohammad Wang is a semi-fictional Historial fiction and first novel by Chazzy Patel. Available for preorder today.
Mohammed Wang lives an idyllic and relatively uneventful life. Lounging in the sun on one of Mexico’s premiere beaches and drinking the night away has left him as the posterboy of carefree living. So it is all the more troubling when he learns a terrifying and alarming truth from his therapist and closest friends—he isn’t Mohammed Wang.
Beaten and left for dead in Isla Mujeres, Charles King disappeared into the recesses of his own mind after dedicating his life to uncovering the lost treasure that is rumored to be buried somewhere nearby. Now identifying as Mohammed Wang, Charles’ memory of the treasure—or even his own identity—are lost to those who remember Charles and deeply miss him. Encouraged to explore his lost memories and the events of his past, Mohammed struggles to come to terms with his split identity. Torn between the man he knows and the man he truly is, Mohammed must make a difficult choice: remain the ghost of a missing man or unlock the secrets of Charles King’s life.
Uncertain and afraid, Mohammed must unwittingly answer the call of the missing Charles King and aid him in his quest to locate the missing gold as well as the truth behind the fateful attack that split the man in two...
Excerpt
1571, Yucatan, Mexico
The Spanish church altar was a rock symbolizing the strength, steadfastness, and the foundation of the establishment. The roughness of the outer edges—like myself—was smoothed, polished and beautiful on the surface. A reflection of Jesus Christ looked down on us. It is here that we celebrate the marriage feast of His lambs. It is at this altar that Christ, working through His priests, becomes present to these new lands and its native Indians through body, blood, soul, and divinity. We saw it as our right to turn it into a temple to enslave this New World. They will watch me and my men use their precious church as my bedroom. It is fitting to celebrate their holy week in such lavish welcoming.
"Next time, you talk to your silly pope, let him know how I fuck in his house and adorn it with my lovely paintings!" I laughed as I drove deeper into my delightful Madeline while my brothers desecrated the walls of this crooked sanctuary. His priest and lamb watched me in the heat of acting out my primitive lusts.
Our men had run amok, whipping the ones who refused our requests by these lambs chained to their knees. They urinated and defecated inside the building created by this ruthless pope- king and his silly puppets. When their robes and altar cloths were taken, one of the crew members laughed at the embarrassment and worthless dignity their pope bestowed upon them. I felt justice.
So this was where the great Francisco Cordoba first landed in this chaos. Leave it to the Catholics to be sentimental. He was a privateer like the rest of us in these waters. I was also from noble origin. The son of Charles Sanfroy—a Catholic man, but nevertheless, my father. I had been baptized Pierre Sanfroy of Saint-Vigor, Normandy, and had been raised Catholic as well. I liked eating meat on Fridays, reading the psalms of David before I slept at sea, and mocking the Holy Mass and the sacraments that weren‘t sins to my saviour.
Captain Pierre Chuetot was also a former Catholic, but he had freed himself as had all who sailed the black with us. He and the crew tried to indoctrinate the Indians. Catholics gathered outside once we took the settlement. It only took half of our 40 crew to subdue them. My mission, secret to that of our captain and crew, had been to distract the population and divide the loot and make sure to occupy the settlement for as long as possible. My orders were strict, but fucking sweet Madeline in front of the almighty in His home was a rare pleasure. Had God even come to such a barbaric land? I wondered
My discreet employer had left strict instructions. The job didn‘t betray my brothers. The gold and land promised would be the perfect beginning in this new world. Before the expedition to this New World, I had received correspondence from a Catholic Captain Forian I had served together with against the Protestants in France. The mission had become a priority for the New World nobleman. Discretion was essential.
Professional Reviews
Stephen Fisher for Readers' Favorite
Mr. Patel does a lost memory justice, while replacing it with a new identity. When one of Mohammad/Charles's friends suggests he call his daughter, he finds it easier not to be tied down to his memories by his phone, especially since he lost it. For him, that in itself gave him a sense of sympathetic relief. When Mr. Wang began taking interest in the University of London's online classes, Chazzy cleverly wrote, "I was soaking up things like a sponge into the space that was once filled with another man's life." Charles King's family is trying to find answers to help restore his memory.
High Season by Chazzy Patel is brilliantly written account of what could happen to a man that survives an attack, and allows himself to lead an alternative life through eyes that have just opened for the first time, and to a life style that is far more appealing. Just when you think you have it all figured out, High Season pleasantly surprises you in the end. Well done!
Faridah Nassozi for Readers’ Favorite
After a brutal incident that left him for dead on an island in Mexico, a man wakes up with no memory of his past or who he is. He decides to go by a new name, Mohammad Wang, that just happens to be in his wallet, and build his new life around that new identity. He is not completely comfortable in his new identity, but he is not eager to bring back the old one either. However, at his therapist's insistence and due to the brief clips of his past life that keep flashing in his mind, he is forced to dig deep inside himself for the buried memories of his previous life. How can he continue to just live as Mohammad Wang when his old and real identity is strongly beckoning him to remember the past. And it is only by doing so that he will solve the mystery of the night Charles King disappeared and Mohammad Wang was born.
High Season - The Learnings of Mohammad Wang by Chazzy Patel is an exciting read with a very fascinating plot that lures you into the quest of solving the mystery together with the central character. Chazzy Patel created a memorable setting, an intriguing plot, and engaging characters, all of which he blended into one captivating mystery. I enjoyed following the story of the two-in-one character as he rediscovered himself and began to live again. High Season - The Learnings of Mohammad Wang is, from the very start, set to be an interesting read and at several points it delivers on that promise.
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