A. J. Pires Novels

Dialing...
Ten o'clock in the morning. As he always does since started attending classes at university, Fernando was seated at the table in the coffee shop eating his toast and drinking the milk with coffee. He sipped carefully and in small amounts to appreciate the taste of the blend. He loved coffee, but in the morning, he was unable to drink it plain. As for the toast, he had this habit of eating the outside slices first, which were the ones he liked the least. Only then he ate the remaining centre slices full of butter in a near liquid state. For the time being, he needed not to be concerned about fat. His body worked like a swiss clock.

He was in a good mood. Ideas flashed in his mind like lightning. They were bright and thorough, allowing him to glimpse the future with optimism. A very well prepared future thought with care and planned like an engineer of computer science would develop a network of computers. Fernando was submerged in his thoughts with no contact, whatsoever, with the real world. The noisy people, in their daily busy working schedules, didn't affect his thinking. He had always been like this only to his contentment. He could keep concentration in various environments. It worked like camouflage to protect him so he could think.

Synopsis
Would you die to save your family? How far is legitimate to use all the means at your disposal to claim what you think it's yours? How would you handle the continuous loss of your dear ones that make up your life?
Each one of us faces problems differently, and while some are willing to do anything to protect the family, others are willing to do everything to honor the memory of their family. Some protect the living while others, in their attempt to keep the illusion of bringing peace to the memory of the ones who are gone, endure an inner fight. If both succeed their goal is a matter of which side you're in and how to analyze reality.

Synopsis (continue)
Despite all that, honour is a noble feeling still present in peoples lives.

One mission, one accident, one adventure, and one revelation are the key moments behind the novel Vale das Sombras (Valley of the Shadows), a place attracted by all, but for different reasons.

Read an excerpt of the 1st chapter next.

The noise of a car engine, oblivious to all of it, tore apart the silence of the night, strolled on the tarred section of the road and out of the city. With the lights on, wipers running at medium speed, windshield fogged by moisture from the heater turned on, it progressed sturdy but cautious. Sighting the enormous gate, darkened by dirt, could only mean one thing, the end of the tarmac road, as for the lights they disappeared long ago. Devoid of any use of protection the metal railing allowed entry to those who had the audacity to leave the asphalt and to delve into the narrow path.

The vehicle could not get into speed and the scant illumination of headlights disguised the mud that oozes from the bushes, already tired by the age and the aggressiveness of the weather, projected from the impact of tires in the holes, invisibly dyed with the same color as the ground. The suspension complained about the extreme driving and age altogether but the vehicle, indifferent and insensitive to protests, obeyed the wishes of his driver and proceeds for a few more meters. Behind the steering wheel, feeling the discomfort of the seat, the car owner was cursing the lack of visibility.

Synopsis (continue).
No reveals that the city of Lisbon is paralysed by traffic, and its key points are well identified by whoever is responsible for the events.
NO is also about uniting around a common goal, as it should always be, isn't it?