David H Rothman

No Taller than My Gun David H Rothman

Kidnapped for his brilliance, a fifteen-year-old genius must fight as a drone whiz and sea-going pirate to keep his family safe.

Can he escape and get to his imperiled twin sister in time?

Earlier he worked as an Internet guy in the mega-city of Kinshasa, while the gifted sister aspired to be a rumba star. But murderous gun-worshippers chloroformed him and whisked him away.

Now, to save his mother and father from a machete blade, Lemba must fight for the wrong side on land and sea. The crazies know exactly where his parents and dog live.

Josiane meanwhile faces dangers in some ways as scary as Lemba's. Only her brother can save her. But for now, he is a captive of the thuggish Congolese Purification Army--led by a seven-foot-tall whackjob all too handy with an AK-47 and oversized blades.

Fighting both the Purifiers and their enemies, Lemba also battles to keep his humanity while protecting the people he loves.

A compelling, inspirational novel, a young adult military thriller for older readers, too. A scary YA book with a happy ending to reward you for rooting for the witty, likable hero amid the horrors. Full of chilling twists along the way. But hope and dreams as well!

Told as Lemba's war memoir looking back on his life as a child soldier and modern pirate 25 years earlier in the late 2020s.

Fact-checked and critiqued by Junior Boweya, a translator, software localization expert, and businessman in Kinshasa. Jean Felix Mwema Ngandu, a former Mandela Fellow and a leading civic activist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also vetted Gun.