Monsoon - Wilbur Smith

~ ~ As a teenager I remember devouring the novels of author Wilbur Smith and his chronicles of the adventuresome and ambitious Courtney family throughout the different generations as they battled and schemed to establish their commercial empire in Africa. Books such as “When the Lion Feeds” and “The Sound Of Thunder” were true epics set in the Dark Continent, and enthralled and captivated my young imagination. ~ ~ But I sort of “outgrew” Smith as I got older, and he wasn’t an author I would rush to when perusing the shelves of a bookshop. But while in holiday in Tuscany last summer, I ran out of reading ...  Read the complete review

As a long time devotee of Wilbur Smith novels I was a little wary when he switched periods from the 19th - 20th century to the 17th century. However I need not have worried as he has obviously developed a marvellous feel for the upheaval of those times. Anyway on to the book….. Monsoon continues on from its predecessor (Birds of Prey) and yet again the Courtney family make up the main cast of central characters. They are presented as one of the great seafaring families of English society making their fortune by raiding the shipping routes of their country’s enemies under letters of marque (basically a licence for piracy) and by trade. ...  Read the complete review

The story of Monsoon goes like this: Near the end of the seventeenth century, any Englishman who makes part or all of his fortune in Africa or Arabia, knows not to trust anyone but family to protect the holdings. Sir Hal Courtney realizes that so he sets a plan in motion to protect what he and his family already own and to make an even greater fortune. His oldest son stays behind in England to manage the vast landholdings. His other three boys accompany him on his seemingly hopeless quest for an inordinate size treasure. However, more likely, Hal and his four children will face death, betrayal, and dishonor as the sibling rivalry is so fierce that nothing, ...  Read the complete review

After the slight disappointment of "Birds of Prey", I couldn't wait to get my little paws on "Monsoon". I'm a confirmed Wilbur Smith fanatic (see my op on "The Sunbird", one of my favourite books of all time) and read and reread his offerings. I think very few novellists can spin a gripping tale like this man. But I found Monsoon to be flabby, predictable and poorly written. The characters were cardboard - and many were pale reflections of characters from other Smith novels. He is an author that likes to reinvent sections of his earlier work, but it's usually to improve on it. Here, I think he failed. ...  Read the complete review

I started reading Monsoon in the thrid week of August and the near 1000 pages kept me busy for two weeks solid. The storylines are so gripping that you can hardly put it down - in my case only to go to school, to sleep and eat. Wilbur Smith uses words to keep you entertained for hours. The book centers around a family of a father and three boys who go on a journey round the southern africa coast and encounter all sorts of troubles. At the end the father is dead and all the boys have been separated but the three separate storylines concerning them join together. I have read many other Smith books such as Seventh Scroll, River God and when the Lion Feeds and if you ...  Read the complete review