Born in suburban Los Angeles, Joseph Y. Roberts describes himself as “a small town boy from a big city.” His interests are eclectic, like the subjects of his fiction, which reflect an ongoing fascination with the less-traveled places of the world and history. His goal is to bring the forgotten and ignored into the light with his tales, many being historic fiction with a literary spin.
Joseph's favorite subjects include science fiction, military and ancient history, archeology, progressive rock, astronomy, and table-top role-playing games. His favorite bands are Hawkwind, U2, and Pink Floyd.
Among his pursuits and occupations have been college radio DJ, actor, vacation resort sketch artist, and newspaper graphic artist. He still hopes to learn horseback riding, archery, and Kendo. Like a watermelon dropped from a great height, he's all over the map.
The life experiences of Jacob Vanderhoek as a Selous Scout in the Rhodesian Bush War and as an archaeologist in the world of academia. As a Scout, he was known by the code designation "Echo Four."
Once a man has betrayed his cause, can he be trusted?
Southeastern Rhodesia, September 1978 - Jacob and Tambo are on a simple “milk run” mission: escorting a team of converted ZANLA terrorists to a suspected training camp to infiltrate as moles. But in the fluid circumstances of the Bush War, can anything be simple?
It is 1978 in western Rhodesia and a civil war rages. To fulfill his undercover mission, Jacob Vanderhoek must betray a farm family that trusts him. Can he accept the consequences of such an act? And is the regime he defends worth it?
Humans are social creatures, reying on each other for a sense of self and community. Jacob Vanderhoek is no different. So what happens when a man of few friends is left with none by time and ill fortune? When a strong man stumbles into a moment of weakness?
These are tales for those left behind.
Johannesburg 1999. Not all battles are fought in the field between armies arrayed side to side. Some are fought inside, where no one can see, a war of the soul. Every conflict has a victor, but it must also have its vanquished.
Jacob must help an old friend from long ago find his way. Does he have the resources to succeed? Can he defeat an enemy he neither sees nor understands?
Zambia 1977. An undercover, cross-border mission to infiltrate a Communist insurgent training camp goes sour, Jacob and Sergeant Tannhauser are forced to run a deadly cat-and-mouse flight across the Zambian wilderness back to Rhodesia without aid or allies. Every step of the way, they are dogged by angry terrorists thirsting for their blood.
In Rhodesia 1977, Private Jacob Vanderhoek of the Selous Scouts faces his first solo mission, guarding an isolated farming family from Communist insurgents. Lives are on the line, including his own. Will he succeed or will his career end before it really begins?