Publisher's Synopsis
House of Drums is the tale of two monsters-each unaware of the other's dark hungers as they careen down parallel paths toward the unforgettable climax of this disturbing psycho-supernatural story of ambition, compulsion, and Destiny. **************************************** SYNOPSIS In Zaire, the locals whisper about a hermetic mountain tribe rumored to have the ability to transfer the entirety of its dying elders' knowledge directly into the minds of its younger members. Legend has it that the Shantu were visited by a traveling Hindu raja, who engaged in a series of spiritual debates with their chief regarding the nature of the soul. The chief believed that the soul was contained within the flesh; therefore one could absorb the strength of an enemy by eating his heart. The raja argued that the soul was a bright, ethereal smoke which rose from the body and rejoined the universal pool of life essences upon the body's demise. The old raja never emerged from the jungle, but the locals claim that they've caught glimpses of Shantu children peering out from the trees at the edge of the jungle: children with eerily ancient and luminescent eyes. Allan Steele is twenty four, hopelessly insecure, and the great-grandson of a Hindu raja. He is desperate to acquire knowledge by any means necessary-despite his severe learning disabilities-so when he is given the opportunity to tag along with his lifelong mentor on an anthropological expedition to study the Shantu, Allan jumps at the chance. But the knowledge Allan gains at the hands of the tribal chief comes at a gruesome price. Argus Steele, Allan's father, developed a taste for blood and purchased sex in Vietnam. But his attention is torn away from his addictions by the miraculous transformation of his estranged son upon Allan's return from Africa. Long convinced that Allan has been sent by God to punish him for his sins, Argus becomes determined to discover Allan's secret-and to destroy "God's messenger."
