Description: Alan is another author that I read as a teenager. I distinctly remember reading all the Pip and Flinx novels.
Alan does not however just write science fiction, this was a more standard adventure story, along the lines of Clive Cussler. Your usual moral tale, obsession, lust, priorities, betrayal, death, murder and most of all gold. All set in PNG, Papua New Guinea. Foster as usual turns a fine tale that is entertaining and educational.
One striking thing about this book is the visceral sense of detail that Foster paints of PNG. I have read several books on polar exploration and as harsh and stark as the artic environment, PNG seems so in the opposite direction. Where the land of ice and snow are a dearth of life and variety, New Guinea is an overwhelming explosion of life. Where the environment threatens to kill you just as quickly.