ECLIPSE

Attorney Damon Pierce specializes in international litigation in San Francisco. When his former lover asks him to defend her husband, Bobbi Okari, a rebel activist in the African country of Luandia, Pierce agrees, eager to escape his recent divorce. Peter Francis James’s powerful characterization of the oppressed Luandian population—rich in oil reserves but experiencing ecological disaster—is especially believable. His polished performance, complete with accents, captures the brutal dictator's absolute rule and his henchmen's delight in torture. The lynching of three oil workers from Okari’s village is violently depicted but authentically portrays the rising tensions of civil unrest in a totalitarian state. Patterson fans are in for a treat with James’s powerful performance, and the nightmare atmosphere the duo creates will live long in listeners’ memories. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2011]