The Way of the Kings — Andre Malraux

One of Malraux's most exotic novels, The Way of Kings is a perfect companion to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. When Claude and Perken meet on a ship heading for Indochina, they decide to throw in their lots to form a dual expedition into the perilous jungles of Cambodia. Claude, a young Frenchman, is seeking adventure, fame, and fortune. Perken, a veteran Dutch explorer, is returning to his own little patch of Siam; appalled at the effects of age, he is aiming to recapture his former masculine pride. Facing death at every turn from the seething forest and �"bestial” tribes people, they are nonetheless driven to leave their stamp on a world on the eve of its demise. Novelist, art historian, and statesman André Malraux is best known for his psychological masterpiece, Man's Fate.