R K Raker

Not Too Late for Paradise R K Raker

"Not too late for Paradise" is set in Micronesia in the 1970s and throughout the South Pacific in the middle of the 19th century. It is a coming-of-age story that includes Buccaneers, the tragic practice of Blackbirding, an ancestral ghost, a magic notebook and buried treasure. Richard, the main character, does not want to be traveling with his archaeologist mother and her colleagues through the South Pacific. He gets terribly seasick and would much rather be home on Guam with his friends and modern conveniences. While scuba diving a Japanese submarine shipwrecked in Chuuk Lagoon, he discovers artifacts left by the notorious Captain William Henry "Bully" Hayes and his cabin boy, Daniel. Intrigued, Richard and his Kosraean brother, Tolenna, decide to investigate further. With the help of a six hundred-year-old Spirit Uncle and several other unique island characters, they reach the conclusion that Captain Hayes has left buried treasure for his cabin boy somewhere on the island of Kosrae. Richard is guided by a series of "coincidences" to secret messages and other clues left by the captain, but they are too difficult to decipher until he finds a magical journal that allows him to communicate with Daniel, living one hundred years earlier. Together, across time, they search for the captain's buried treasure, fall in love with beautiful island girls, and learn the true meaning of paradise.