Ballad of Steve Biker is the second volume of the Greatest Game series, which recounts an exciting overseas holiday of the Pack, who are friends of the central character Rupertheimer. There is the Englishman Nick Jarvis and Peter Khumalo the Zulu, along with an enigmatic Afrikaner named Hofmeyr, who travel abroad where they meet their future wives. Rupertheimer receives a harsh lesson in Ireland, from the media tycoon Darby O'Gill, while Khumalo falls under the influence of a mysterious motorcyclist named Steve Biker. This alter ego of the famous Steve Biko, has a profound impact on the Pack, especially on young Peter Khumalo who returns home to join the Struggle.
Peter Khumalo joins up with his fiery Aunt Willie Khumalo and her husband Matthew, who lead an South African liberation group named AZIPPO, but Peter's liberation struggle ends abruptly at Rupertheimer's wedding. When a series of bizarre events culminate, in a fierce standoff with counterinsurgency forces, where freedom fighter Peter Khumalo surrenders to fearsome police Colonel Kokkenbull. So the Rupertheimer wedding ends with a message of hope for South Africa, that violence will be renounced and democratic negotiations will come about, which portends the pivotal rote that Rupertheimer must play in the future transition to democracy.
These inexplicable events in Rupertheimer's life seem to point the way, to the vital contribution he will make to democratic negotiations, because Rupertheimer is destined to become a key player in the 1994 democratic elections. The South African liberal press has covered this historic event extensively, with hastily scrawled cover-ups, but unfortunately for the press there remain the newspaper archives. Where the craven journalistic scepticism is starkly portrayed, which impacted negatively on the transition to democracy, so it was indeed fortunate that our man Rupertheimer was there. To unerringly guide his troubled land, and steer the good ship South Africa to a democratic landing.
About the Author: Pat Stevens was born in Johannesburg in the same month as Steve Biko, December 1946 was also the month Alan Paton completed his great novel Cry, the Beloved Country, so some characters in The Greatest Game series derive from both sources. Today the author lives in England, but the river between Africa and Pat Stevens runs deep, his books are all set in Africa. The Greatest Game anthology counterpoints the lives of four characters, against four decades in a changing South Africa, culminating in the historic 1994 democratic elections. The book also details the scepticism of the Johannesburg liberal press, that almost derailed the democratic transition, unfortunately these purveyors of doubt are still around. So a follow up novel titled Hero of the Struggle, describes the complicity of the press in the eight year persecution of Jacob Zuma, and the long struggle to effect the dropping of charges against an innocent man. The hero is writer Will Powers who obtains intercepted phone calls, these so called Spy Tapes prove political interference in the case, so all charges are dropped and Jacob Zuma becomes president. A semi-autobiographical book titled White Bird Under the Sun, describes a journey through fifties Africa that will warm your heart, as it recounts the joy and travails of a boyhood in the Rhodesian bush. The story continues in seventies Johannesburg through a sequel titled Dice of Life, a coming of age novel revolving around a group of apprentices, and dealing with the complexity of a racist society. The book examines apartheid South Africa, through the eyes of protagonist Harry Cheals, counterpointing his concerns against the easy attitude of friends. The novel Zulu Vampire recounts an outbreak of killing in rural Zululand, reputed to be the work of the vampiric Impundulu Lightning Bird, so police captain Jake Smit and journalist Marlin Madison track down the real killers. Continuing the theme of African fables is Cloud Eater, traditional stories told by an African seer named Thulani, while Parables and Poems is a collection of essays with political and religious themes. Greatest Book Ever Written includes Absalom's Tomb which uses a new style of Biblical writing, where the narrative is modern romantic style but for the dialogue, the King James English is retained imparting a lovely Shakespearian veneer. There is a wide array of books for you to choose from, whatever the taste of the reader, there is sure to be a fit among the books of Pat Stevens.