Bear Grylls writes new action-packed tale

The latest book in Bear Grylls' Mission Survival series takes 14-year-old Beck Granger on a trip to South Africa to make a video aimed at saving its rhinos from poachers.

I haven't read any of the others in the series, which feature Granger, his family and friends in a long-running battle to prevent multinational company Lumos from pillaging the earth's natural resources in the name of profit.

The author updates readers on previous events, however, so I wasn't too inconvenienced.

Pitched at younger action-lovers, especially boys, this is an easy read and takes Beck into Kruger National Park, one of the wonders of nature. But I don't fancy Beck's retrieval of water from fresh elephant dung, however thirsty!

Ages 12+.

- By René Nol