Quintessential 1950s adventure novel. A time when the French still governed in Morocco. A time when the Foreign Legion still exerted its will in France's colonies. A time when explorers, renegades, and those on the run from their past could find seclusion in the barren wilderness bordering the desert. And only a frequently washed out road and unreliable single phone line to connect with civilization. Then, the Berbers rebel.

This book is fun to read and takes you back to what was for it the contemporary setting of the early to mid 1950s. The residue of the war years lingers over the politics and the people of the story. Casablanca and Marrakesh and Tangier fill out the exotic place names, alongside the Atlas Mountains and wastes of the desert. Deserted ancient cities and the prospects for lost mines and archeaological treasures are part of the atmosphere. Within it are two love stories. One of a Czech scientist on the run from Communist agents with his wife. Another about a troubled missionary and the brokenhearted sister of a friend.

I have seen this scenario develop in literally dozens of postwar adventure films and novels. And I've enjoyed most of them. The Strange Land didn't let me down either. ( )