Snatching an Island Queen From a Miami Flight to Paradise.

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	• Leap into Darkness Part 5: The Morning of our Humiliation John W. Cassell Amazon, 2007 average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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Snatching an Island Queen From a Miami Flight to Paradise.

Joseph Way's review gives an astute synopsis of one side (the military, political, and island mystique) of "The Morning of our Humiliation," so I'll let his words reign there and focus my review on the other side of this part 5 of "Leap Into Darkness," the side of personal relationships and home.

This part dramatizes various ways for men and women to relate to each other and set up housekeeping. It was enlightening (and entertaining) to observe and experience the character, John Cassell struggling with the way he behaved toward Connie Vs the "Laying Hold" customs in the more primitive island setting. The plotting here exposes a great experiment in contrasting "civilized" ways, of being understanding and sensitive, like John was with Connie, as opposed to the woman, in a sense, being somewhat of a possession (I can understand the ease and acceptance there when many of the women are impoverished and without hope for anything better)

The author guides the reader to keep sight on the fact that the woman does have a choice, which is the key to that way also being "civilized," for want of a better word. In that sense, even though the man is the partner in charge, and holding the money (which he owns and brings to bear in the situation), the relationship seems fair due, to both knowing precisely what each gives and gets in the joining. Cassell explores some fascinating, realistic concepts within a highly entertaining story line here.

The contrast is set beautifully, of the wisdom in the island way of relating, compared to the irresponsible ways of sex with no ties, especially with the potential of children coming along unexpectedly with parents often having different ideas of how to deal with that.

A (somewhat) primitive island is set up here, not just to provide an entertaining adventure story with maximum danger and minimum ease in solution to problems, but also to explore some intriguing ways of living within cultures, looking at those ways from perspectives of individuals (showing how John becomes immersed within the island life), to perspectives of couples (John with Connie Vs John with Sybil... or both), to family (the Jacks), to community, and the whole island security, with military and political ramifications.

On a second read, I'm even more impressed with how Cassell set up and dramatized all that into an enthralling story to read.

As much as I see the benefit and sanity in the island way, though (and it makes a fantastic story), I cherish the type of life set up, and friendship-relationship as equals my husband and I have, even with its difficulties, and I love how we got together.

Cassell is exploring concepts here through fiction, concepts that he, himself, might choose to live, or not... What an imagination, accompanied by a capacity to organize it into his own entertaining paradigms come to life on paper, for lucky readers like us.

Fascinated with this uncertain paradise,
Linda Shelnutt
Autor of several Kindle books and Amazon Shorts, including:
Molasses Moon
Morning Comes: the Pre Dawn Blues - Part 1
Myrtle's Ultimate Mystery
Quarter Moon Dues: Book Two (The Books of Gem)

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Snatching Victory From the Jaws of Defeat

You can lose yourself on the isle of St. Margaret's. Cassell paints a vivid picture of life on a small caribbean island on the very verge of independence in 1973, when Castro's Cuba stood ready to aid indigenous guerilla movements.

The island itself comes alive with scenery, smells and personalities which certainly ring true for me. I know the author spent nearly ten years on a relatively isolated island. I've spent about half that time but am still there. I feel as if i know St. Margaret's VERY well.

This particular chapter, however, stands out for another reason. It shows the increasing nervousness of the colonial administration, whose orders from London are: "get us out on time, with a minimum of embarrassment." Governor david Phillips plays little or no role as a platoon of militia, the local army Britain is training to continue the fight with the communists once they leave, are wiped out in a surprise attack on the island's only airstrip.

Watch the skillfull interplay of luck, circumstance and spin-doctoring as the soon-to-be nation's minister of posts and telegraphs turns a defeat into a stunning victory in the eyes of the population. what has to be described as a politico-military novel of the first rank, LEAP INTO DARKNESS, plus the preceding segments Armageddon: 1973 and the later ones are well worth the price! Five Stars for an action-packed thriller!!

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A young American and his girlfriend, on the run from vengeful mobsters and the numbers?hunting FBI, flee to St. Margaret?s, an out of the way island in the Caribbean. Instead of refuge, however, they find a place fighting for its life against Communist guerrillas and themselves the target of the mysterious organization, Caribbean Horizons Ltd. The young man is immediately impressed into the island?s pathetic Air Militia, coming under enemy fire his first night. His girlfriend shortly disappears and he finds himself inexorably drawn into the deadly disputes that infest the island. ?Leap Into Darkness? is Part One of the ?St. Margaret?s Trilogy,? which together are the sequel to ?DeVilliers County Blues?, currently featured as a seventeen part serial at Amazon Shorts. ?The Flight Lieutenant?s Court Martial? is Part Two of the Trilogy and ?The Birth Of A [Small] Nation? is the third. An introduction to the island and its people is found in the independent two part Short ?Armaggedon: 1973.? Together they tell a story of love and hate, war and intrigue, ambition and survival as they can only exist in a very small, isolated society caught up in the process of nation?building, a process in which the traditional and modern segments of an island?s culture clash in ?winner take all? conflict.

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