Look up "classic adventure novel" in the dictionary and you'll find the strong and capable features of South Africa's own Wilbur Smith, who--in books as varied and enjoyable as River God, The Seventh Scroll, When the Lion Feeds, and The Diamond Hunters--displays an awesome storytelling ability. His latest is one of his best efforts: a richly detailed story of war and piracy on the high seas in 1667, 150 years before Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin books.
From Library Journal
In 1667, Sir Francis Courteney commands his ship off the coast of Africa in England's war against the Dutch. He has groomed his son Hal to succeed him as captain. Birds of Prey chronicles Hal's swift and bloody passage to manhood after his father's torture and death at the hands of the Dutch. Escaping with the remaining crew, Hal makes his way overland to claim his father's hidden treasure and confront the treacherous English captain who betrayed them. Men are hacked apart in sword fights, blown to bits in shipboard battles, mauled by crocodiles, and more in this tale from the prolific author of such historical fare as The Seventh Scroll (LJ 4/15/95). Short on character development and tight plotting, this meandering escapist novel will be relished by those who enjoy swashbuckling tales with nonstop action. For popular collections.?Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Smith, author of the best-sellers River God (1994) and The Seventh Scroll (1995), offers another meticulously researched, exhaustive adventure saga in this, his latest novel. Set in 1667, the story follows the escapades of the infamous pirate Sir Francis Courteney and his son, Hal. After the Courteneys and their rough-hewn pirate crew raid a Dutch East India Company ship (in the name of the British crown), they are pursued from one end of the African coast to the other. During the chase, treacherous sea battles ensue, with gory deaths and gruesome shark and crocodile attacks thrown in for good measure. Eventually, the pirates are captured, and Sir Francis is executed, forcing young Hal to take over as leader. A swashbuckling, epic tale of love, deceit, bravery, and drama on the high seas, this book is filled with menacing pirates, honorable sea captains, treacherous and greedy men and women, and sea galleons loaded with treasure. Fans of Smith's previous work will not be disappointed. Kathleen Hughes
From Kirkus Reviews
South African writer Smith leaves the Egyptian sands of River God (1994) and The Seventh Scroll (1995) to deliver a breathlessly plotted, clich‚-clogged swashbuckler of English pirates harrying Dutch traders off the Cape of Good Hope in 1667. After helping Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada, Sir Francis Courteney, his teenage son Hal, and their trusty African sidekick Aboli are roaming the seas aboard the Lady Edwinna as privateers--seamen licensed by King Charles II to prey on ships of the Dutch East India Company as part of England's war against the Dutch. After slipping past their scurrilous rival, Angus, Lord Cumbrae (a.k.a. the Buzzard), the Courteneys seize a Dutch trader and ransom its aristocratic passengers: the loathsomely fat Dutch colony governor Petrus Jacobus van de Velde; his sexy, sadistic wife Katrinka; and the mad, mustachioed musketeer Colonel Cornelius Schreuder, with whom Katrinka is having an affair. The governor whimpers, Katrinka seduces Hal, and Schreuder vows revenge. Meanwhile, Sam Bowles, a cowardly member of the crew, betrays the Courteneys to the Buzzard, who betrays everyone to Colonel Schreuder, who throws the Courteneys and their crew into prison. Sir Francis is tortured and executed, and Hal, Aboli, and the rest of the not-so-merry men are sold into slavery but manage to stage a dashing escape with Colonel Schreuder in hot pursuit. Everybody seeks revenge on everybody else; Hal discovers true love and loss and, in a stirring shipboard climax, faces down bad Colonel Schreuder in a sword-slashing duel to the death. Though Smith's 27th novel brims with his characteristic love of African flora and fauna, the clunky prose, tawdry sex scenes, and trite plotting make this well-researched, fast-paced epic nearly unreadable. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"Constant excitement...[A] fast-moving tale. What could be better for the beach or backyard?"--The Washington Post Book World
"[A] rousing adventure story...Smith is a captivating storyteller."--Orlando Sentinel
"Birds of Prey is a wonderful novel filled with excitement, pirates and vivid sea battles. The heroes are handsome and memorable and overcome tremendous odds to defeat unscrupulous enemies, to remain honorable and wise and always win the fair maiden in the end...In short, it is vintage Wilbur Smith."--Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX)
Review
"Constant excitement...[A] fast-moving tale. What could be better for the beach or backyard?"--The Washington Post Book World
"[A] rousing adventure story...Smith is a captivating storyteller."--Orlando Sentinel
"Birds of Prey is a wonderful novel filled with excitement, pirates and vivid sea battles. The heroes are handsome and memorable and overcome tremendous odds to defeat unscrupulous enemies, to remain honorable and wise and always win the fair maiden in the end...In short, it is vintage Wilbur Smith."--Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX)
Book Description
Deemed "one of the world's most popular and prolific adventure writers" by The Washington Post, bestselling author Wilbur Smith is at the height of his storytelling powers in Birds of Prey, a swashbuckling epic of adventure, intrigue and passion on the dangerous high seas of 1667.
As the choppy sea lanes of the African coast are rife with bloody battles over trade booty, Sir Francis Courteney and his 17-year-old son Hal embark on a seafaring quest for the treasure-laden galleons of the Dutch East India Company. But soon the horrific torture and execution of the elder Courteney catapults Hal into the role of captain. And the heavy burden of avenging his father's death-- along with the lusty pleasures he shares with three beautiful women-- will swiftly, irrevocably transform Hal from boy to man...
Richly detailed, breathlessly plotted, and rich with the color of the time and place, Birds of Prey is an unforgettable saga that will transport you to one of the most fascinating, action-packed eras in world history.
From the Publisher
These audiobooks from Macmillan UK offer abridged readings of some of the world's most popular authors. Handsomely packaged, they feature readings by eminent actors of the stage and screen, including James Fox, Martin Shaw, Tim Pigott-Smith and David Rintoul.
About the Author
Wilbur Smith has written twenty-six novels, meticulously researched during his numerous worldwide expeditions. His books are now published in twenty-seven countries and have sold more than 65 million copies.
Birds of Prey
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The year is 1667; Sir Francis Courteney and his son Hal are on patrol in their fighting caravel off the Agulhas Cape of South Africa. They are lying in wait for one of the treasure-laden galleons of the Dutch East India Company returning from the Orient. So begins a quest for adventure and the spoils of war that sweeps them from the settlement of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa to the Great Horn of Ethiopia far to the north - at a time when international maritime law permitted acts of piracy, rape, and murder otherwise punishable by death. Wilbur Smith introduces a generation of the indomitable Courteneys and thrillingly re-creates their part in the struggle for supremacy and riches on the high seas.
SYNOPSIS
The author of The River God and The Seventh Scroll turns his hand to swashbucking adventure on the high seas.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Swashbuckling adventures at sea and on land highlight Smith's latest (after The Seventh Scroll), a number-one bestseller in England that's likely to climb the charts here. Set along the African coast during the mid-1600s, this fierce and bloody yarn features Hal Courteney, a classic seafaring hero in the making. The young sailor has been raised under the stern tutelage of his father, Sir Francis Courteney, and the somewhat gentler guidance of his African-born mentor, Aboli. Word of a truce between England and Holland doesn't reach Sir Francis in time to prevent him from capturing a treasure-laden Dutch galleon. Falsely accused of piracy, the Corteneys soon have more enemies than they can handle, including the insatiable libertine Katinka van de Velde, who sets her sights on the Courteney charge. Hal's coming-of-age is predictably spiced with romance, sea battles, imprisonments, daring escapes and an exotic voyage from Southern Africa to the Red Sea; even buried treasure and the Holy Grail figure into the plot, as befits a tale of uncompromising good guys and their irredeemably evil enemies. Smith's depiction of the African coast, and of life aboard ship, is vivid and believable. He handles the action sequences well, opting for short, trenchant paragraphs to sustain momentum. After 27 novels, Smith knows what his readers want, and once again he delivers the goods.
Kirkus Reviews
South African writer Smith leaves the Egyptian sands of River God (1994) and The Seventh Scroll (1995) to deliver a breathlessly plotted, cliché-clogged swashbuckler of English pirates harrying Dutch traders off the Cape of Good Hope in 1667.
After helping Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada, Sir Francis Courteney, his teenage son Hal, and their trusty African sidekick Aboli are roaming the seas aboard the Lady Edwinna as privateers—seamen licensed by King Charles II to prey on ships of the Dutch East India Company as part of England's war against the Dutch. After slipping past their scurrilous rival, Angus, Lord Cumbrae (a.k.a. the Buzzard), the Courteneys seize a Dutch trader and ransom its aristocratic passengers: the loathsomely fat Dutch colony governor Petrus Jacobus van de Velde; his sexy, sadistic wife Katrinka; and the mad, mustachioed musketeer Colonel Cornelius Schreuder, with whom Katrinka is having an affair. The governor whimpers, Katrinka seduces Hal, and Schreuder vows revenge. Meanwhile, Sam Bowles, a cowardly member of the crew, betrays the Courteneys to the Buzzard, who betrays everyone to Colonel Schreuder, who throws the Courteneys and their crew into prison. Sir Francis is tortured and executed, and Hal, Aboli, and the rest of the not-so-merry men are sold into slavery but manage to stage a dashing escape with Colonel Schreuder in hot pursuit. Everybody seeks revenge on everybody else; Hal discovers true love and loss and, in a stirring shipboard climax, faces down bad Colonel Schreuder in a sword-slashing duel to the death.
Though Smith's 27th novel brims with his characteristic love of African flora and fauna, the clunky prose, tawdry sex scenes, and trite plotting make this well-researched, fast-paced epic nearly unreadable.
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