Overland

By Mark Levy

Family & Relationships

General Fiction

Language: English Not Rated (NR)

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Overview Ratings & Reviews

After Danny Benson finishes medical school he wants nothingmore than to start his residency and settle down to marry his fiancée, Heather.But on the day of his final exam, Danny receives a letter.

The engagement is off. Heather's baffling explanation: she's going to London where she will travel overland on the Magic Bus to Kathmandu.

His plans shattered, Danny finds himself on a journey thousands of miles fromhome, in search of the woman he loves. When he discovers her on a bus somewhereeast of Europe the reunion is less than stellar. They spend the entireride to Afghanistan debating whether to stay together or break up forever.

Now, arriving in Kabul, exhausted from their long bus trip, fate will decidetheir dispute for them. The following day, December 27th, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

What happens next is their moment of truth as Danny and Heather collide withhistory.

Readers willhave a much better understanding of …

How the world was 30 years ago, a differenttime.

OVERLAND appeals to multiple groups of people with variedinterests, and appeals to both women and men. It is a very nice love story, butnot in the Harlequin’ish way (with all due respect to Harlequin romances). Butthere’s so much more: History of the Soviet Union’s actual invasionof Afghanistan on December 27,1979. This is where Danny and Heather, two of the main characters are caught inthe wrong place in the wrong time. The story has loads of adventures and lotsof traveling and cultural diversity.

Also, it will appeal to cultures around the world as Islam,Christianity, Hindu and Buddhism just weave and merge in and out of the story.There are some moral and human lessons that even though we may be defined byour culture or religion, or both, we’re all just people…and especially now, weall need to be reminded of that.

The Story Behind This Book

Mark was a worker bee, but yearned to travel. He went to bookstores to research his trip. He bought an India travel guide and absorbed it as if it were a page turning novel. He read that the monsoon season ended in India the end of August. It was May 30th when he left the US, and spent three months in Europe, just biding his time, while having the time of his life. On his birthday, August 16, at age 32, he flew to India. A mishap caused his backpack to not make the flight on a brief transit stop from Sri Lanka to Southern India. He spent two frustrating hours in the Trivandrum airport lining up his backpack with hopes it would show up a few days later. Resigned to the fact that there was nothing he could do, he took his trusty India guide and asked an auto rickshaw driver take him to the Hotel Blue Sea. As he was whisked through the balmy palm lined, slow paced, exotic streets, he completely forgot about his backpack. In that moment, his life had changed forever. From there he met a French girl some weeks later in Jaipur, India. They spent only five days together and said goodbye never really knowing they would see each other again. They did, as she is now his wife and they have a beautiful eighteen year old daughter. Mark is originally from Los Angeles and he and his family live in Denver, Colorado. Overland is a result of a many of his adventures and a vivid imagination.

Praise and Reviews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sara Wolf Stevens' Review of Overland

What a magical story! Mark not only gives us a story about love, he also provides action, adventure, and suspense. I found this book to flow as I turned each page and was taken away to far away places by Mark's vivid descriptions and incorporation of historical events. I would highly recommend this book to fans of all genres for its appeal to entertain the reader and keep you hooked all the way to the end.

From Jennifer Foust:

"Your story was so intoxicating...your writing so picturesque without being wordy, the locales were postcard perfect, you really not just painted the image with your words, but I could hear the sounds and smell the scents of each scene that you described...I really felt as though I was there, as though I was Danny. I adore Emily, even the briefly introduced Anna. That's what I mean, you described each character, that they became people in my world. I even found myself weeping at the Tea Garden when they embrace at the end. And although you realistically described the horrific personal tradgies of war, I loved the way the doctors and towns folks were united and had the intimate relationships that this environment created. And you made it realistic but not gory where you want to skip thru it, I wanted to read every word because even with the bad you worked in a bit of compassion/good over evil/humanity at it's best a the time when it was it's worst. And the village story where Emily and Danny have their hut was such a romantic and perfectly time respite from the realistic war. From the birth then it went to the war and threat of death but ended in the escape...I just didn't want to put it down but at the same time I didn't want to read it too fast because each section was so wonderful I didn't want it to end. Your story has everything...one minute I was laughing, then teary-eyed. This would make one heck of a movie, like "The Notebook" quality movie.

From Lindsey Landis:

"Mark, I just finished your book! What a page-turner! You did a fantastic job! "