Monsoon
Monsoon continues the story begun in the bestselling Birds of Prey. Set in the dawn of the eighteenth century in England, East Africa, and Arabia, it relates the lives and loves of the three sons of Hal Courtney--hero of the bestselling Birds of Prey. The East Indies at the dawn of the eighteenth century. And at the farthest edges of the known world, the mighty East India Trading Company suffers catastrophic losses at the hands of pirates on the high seas. Master mariner Sir Hal Courtney, after four years away from service, prepares for his latest and most dangerous voyage--a death or glory mission in the name of the crown. But Hal must also think about the fate of his three sons. Each is very different from the others, but all will have a crucial part to play in shaping the Courtneys' destiny, as the family vies for a prize beyond any of their dreams. Like their father before them, Tom, Dorian, and Guy are drawn inexorably to Africa. When fate decrees that they must all leave England forever, they set sail for the dark and unexplored continent, seduced by the allure and mystery of this new, magnificent, but savage land. In a story of anger and passion, peace and war, Wilbur Smith evinces himself at the height of his storytelling powers as he carries all the drama and rich emotions of a bygone time into his action-packed tale of the sea.
South Africa's master storyteller Wilbur Smith has been writing his exotic historical sagas for so long that he's in danger of being taken for granted and typecast as an author of adventure stories for and about overgrown boys. But there's a lot more to Smith's books than mere blood, thunder, swash, and buckle. He might not be as thoughtful or as philosophical as Patrick O'Brian, but his stories have a wider geographical and chronological range and lots more action. Monsoon is the latest chronicle in Smith's Courteney series. In it, Hal Courteney is sent by the East India Trading Company to attack Arab pirates who are harassing trade off the East African coast. He takes three of his four sons, but one of them absconds to Bombay and another is taken prisoner by the Arabs. Although the mission is an eventual success, Hal himself is seriously injured and returns to England. His son Tom becomes the real hero of the story, gallantly rescuing his captured brother from the infidel. Like his heroes, Smith's prose pulls no punches: "Aboli swung the axe in a wide, flashing arc. It took the man full in the side of his neck, severing it cleanly. His head toppled forward and rolled down his chest, while his trunk stood erect before it slumped to the deck. The air escaped from his lungs in a whistling blast of frothy blood from the open windpipe." It may not be pretty, but it certainly grabs your attention. --Dick Adler
Monsoon Accessories
Monsoon Reviews
A friend gave me Smith's (Assegai) as a gift. Not bad but not great.
After reviewing (When the Lion Feeds) and seeing all of the favorable opinions
from readers, I went and got it. (Better) but certainly not worthy of all
the praise. I'm an avid reader and particularly enjoy sailing adventures,
so naturally I read MONSOON. WHAT A MISTAKE! This book would make a fairly good
TV soap, such as Day's Of Our Lives, if in fact you could even follow the
the shallow and one dimensional characters and story. Don't waist your time!
Monsoon is the best historical fiction novel I've read in quite a long time. The talented author develops his characters masterfully, with a very plausible plot. One can't help becoming wrapped-up in the lives of the characters, and following developments with baited breath. One thing about this author is he doesn't have a lot of grey characters... its quite easy to empathize with the 'good guys' and despise the 'bad guys' in his yarns.
The rich colorful detail provided by Smith, about the background settings of events, is a characteristic of this author. He paints the setting masterfully, using the pallette of evocative words to invite you into his reality. Highly recommended!!!
For any Wilburn Smith fans this book is a delightful story that builds a tale of seafaring adventures and challenges, and develops the English based family roots for the well-known Courtneys of Africa.
MONSOON? TITLE SOUNDS GOOD, I`LL TRY IT. BUT WHO IS WILBUR SMITH? I NEVER HEARD OF HIM, NOR HAVE ANY OF MY FRIENDS. WELL, I`LL TRY THE BOOK, WHAT CAN I LOSE? I`LL TELL YOU WHAT I LOST ONCE I STARTED THE NOVEL- SLEEP!!, I JUST COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I READ THRU THE NIGHT. WHEN FINISHED, THE FIRST THING I DID WAS GO ON AMAZON & STARTED TO ORDER AS MANY OF HIS BOOKS THAT I COULD FIND. I HAVE READ THEM ALL, & HAVE TURNED ALL MY FRIENDS ONTO WILBUR SMITH. OTHER THEN TRAVANIAN, HE`S MY FAVORITE. IF YOU LIKE EXCITING ADVENTURE, EXQUISITE WRITING, CHARACTERS (who jump out of the book & involve you in their lives, the african life as you could never have dreamed.) LOOK I COULD GO ON FOR DAYS, BUT JUST TRY MOONSOON FIRST & GO ON FROM THERE.....I PROMISE YOU`LL THANK ME. R R
Page 339 in the edition of Monsoon I have: The footmen set down the litter down next to the carriage and there was a moment of confusion when nobody seemed certain what to do next.
I am astonished at the reviews that Wilbur Smith is getting. Quite frankly I'm astonished Wilbur Smith has been published. The story is amateurish in its presentation and completely without direction.
The characters are without any sort of psychological depth whatsoever and it was probably two hundred pages in before I finally was able to figure out if there was even a main character. Smith jumps from shallow heroic character to shallow cliche-evil character on a whim and with total disregard for narrative restriction or structure.
Anyway a friend lent me this book hoping I would like it and I rarely leave a book unfinished once I start it, but this one is really hammering away at my patience and taste. I'm half way through this book now and I swear to God if Tom recites his vow to get poor Dorry back one more time then I vow to bury this book at sea. And by that I mean flush it down the toilet.
I swear Wilbur, I swear I will flush Monsoon down the toilet if it takes me the rest of my life, I swear it.
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