Take a look around and discover Rob Dakin's new novel Vale of Shadows. Learn about the background of the story, read excerpts, and see photos of places written into the story as a backdrop.
Vale of Shadows
Vale of Shadows is also available as a Kindle e-book
Synopsis
Altin Guler stood unable to move as the distance between him and the shadow hovering over the lifeless body of the unknown man diminished. He and his five teenaged companions had witnessed a murder, but the extraordinary circumstances surrounding them on that dark street in Istanbul would hurl them into a saga started over five hundred years before. Altin felt a connection with the entity inhabiting the shadow. The terror that gripped him from that moment forward forced him to flee to America, change his name, and never return to his native Turkey.
Now forty-four years later his son, Jeff Smith, arrives in Turkey as part of earthquake relief efforts. Jeff reunites with his college room mate Orhan Aziz who is the nephew of Umet; friend of Altin, and co-witness to the murder. The two friends learn their destinies have been carefully manipulated to bring them to this exact place and time. Soon they find themselves on a terrifying journey in pursuit of the means to keep themselves alive for the next thirty days; the amount of time set by a five hundred and forty year old curse placed on their two families during the Ottoman invasion of Albania.
When Jeff and Orhan are joined by two other relief workers, Aubrey and Jonathan, they set off on a hapless odyssey that puts their very survival in the hands of a clan of Roma sworn to protect the family of Orhan. Despite Jeff's western ideals and cynicism he is forced to believe in the magic that has been cast and is now working against them. Jeff's growing affection for Aubrey and his indomitable humor sustain him through mystery, treachery, devastating loss, inconsolable loneliness, and a paradigm shift in the understanding of his very identity.
Vale of Shadows will catapult the reader into a desperate race along with the four companions against the power of a force set in motion by the treachery of the ancestors of Jeff and Orhan. Their pursuit will take them from the black and white melancholy of Istanbul in winter to the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. Their company will be tragically separated by the forces they can neither comprehend nor overcome on a mysterious island in the Aegean Sea. Finally in the remote mountains of northern Albania the vortex of destiny throws them back together in a desperate battle for survival.
Cover design by Aubrey Dakin
Biography
First let me tell you a little about myself. I have been a dentist in Wichita, Kansas for twenty-six years. I have been married to Karen for thirty-four years. We have five children. Four boys and one girl ranging in ages from twenty-nine to seventeen. We also have two grandchildren with our oldest two sons and their wives.
I enjoy just about everything outdoorsy; hunting, hiking, four-wheeling, running, biking, and anything I can do with my wife, kids, and/or grandkids. I have had many hobbies over the years, but one passion that has been consistent has been dental missions in areas of the world where dentistry is sparse or nonexistent. I have worked in remote villages of Albania. I set up a couple of dental clinics in Turkey after their earthquake in 1999. I have also worked in villages and orphanages in Kazakhstan, Liberia, and most recently in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, Kenya.
Having been in so many places as a non-tourist I have had the opportunity to sit and talk with the people of the villages for hours on end about their religious beliefs, folklore, legends, myths, and superstitions. I used many of their stories to add color to the story of Vale of Shadows.
Rob and his daughter Aubrey in Liberia, Africa
Interested in more photos of Rob and his family on some of their mission trips?
Check out Rob's photo albums on Facebook.com
My first published critique:
Don L. : "For those who have yet to read 'Vale of Shadows' I can tell you it is highly riveting ( I read through it in about four days of interupted reading), and if you have ever been in either of the two countries, you will find yourself 'there'. Down to the border crossing! Great detail without getting stuck in one spot."
Other reviews:
**ForeWord Clarion Review: "Dakin's story is steeped in Old World culture and paranormal superstition."
"...an entertaining romp..."
"Dental missions in Albania and Turkey, as well as other parts of the world, have provided him with the narrative details to bring this fascinating setting to life. His writing is rich in description, evoking the sinister mood and unsettling ambiance typical of psycho thrillers."
"This author emphasizes setting as much as character, allowing his audience to explore each nook and cavern in meticulous detail. Every object, every piece of furniture, is given a prominent spot for the reader to contemplate its attributes. He alternates between moments of pondering and intense action, which never seems to end, bringing to life this exhilarating jaunt into the unknown."
**Gary P. : "Author Amira El-Zein writes, "The concept of the Jinn is fundamental to understanding Muslim culture and tradition." As Americans, we are land-locked in our culture of over-confident scientism and antiseptic Christianity, while more than half the world lives with a parallel race of God-created beings that cross over into our world, often with vengeance and agendas of their own. Strange to us, they are an everyday reality in the life of the Muslim.
Vale of Shadows is a story of two young Americans sucked into the ghastly world of the Jinni, aided by Turkish friends, Gypsies, neighborhood witches, and casualties of circumstances, they race through impassable mountains, subterrainean caverns, ocean currents, and atmospheric impossibilities, grasping for reality and survival in the eastern European etherworld.
Set in a collage of 500 year tension between defiant Albania and the territorially ambitious Ottoman Turks, Vale of Shadows is a non-stop roller coaster ride that won't let you go until the end... and then hints that there is more!
Only Rob's many treks into the northern backwater of Albanian villages, often accessible only by foot, donkey, or heliocopter has enabled him to write such a story. His many nights in stone huts listening to the personal experiences of the real people of these remote regions have been pieced together to take us there.
An EXPLOSIVE book, begging to be a movie, Vale of Shadows cannot not be ignored in our quests to experience the rest of the world!"
**Lisa D.: "One word...WOW! I am SO enjoying reading your book. You are one great author!"