Product Description

It is 1913 and ex-soldier turned professional big game hunter, Leon Courtney, is in British East Africa guiding rich and powerful men from America and Europe on safaris in the Masai tribe territories. One of his clients, German industrialist Count Otto Von Meerbach, has a company which builds aircraft and vehicles for the Kaiser’s burgeoning army. But Leon had not bargained for falling passionately in love with Eva, the Count’s beautiful and enigmatic mistress.

Just prior to the outbreak of World War I, Leon is recruited by his uncle, Penrod Ballantyne, Commander of the British Forces in East Africa , to gather information from Von Meerbach. He stumbles on a plot against the British involving the disenchanted survivors of the Boer War, but it is only when Eva and Von Meerbach return to Africa that Leon finds out who and what is really behind the conspiracy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 672 pages

About the Author

Wilbur Smith was born in Central Africa in 1933. He was educated at Michaelhouse and Rhodes University. He became a full-time writer in 1964 after the successful publication of When the Lion Feeds, and has since written over thirty novels, all meticulously researched on his numerous expeditions worldwide. His books are now translated into twenty-six languages.

Customer Reviews

Well I couldn't put it down...
Wilbur Smith's story of a young big game hunter captivates you from the opening pages with its distinguished, convincing and evocative descriptions of colonial Africa. Whether you have visited Africa or not, an enriching experience of the continent is in store as the author transports you to confrontations with the big five, altercations with rebels, and the ghostly visions from the hero, Leon Courtney's, past, present and future.

The book is a page turner not just for an well-conceived plot. As 'Assegai' demonstrates in every lucid description, Wilbur Smith is a genuine writer, and a stylist of distinction. The writing is a joy to read. The cultural details expand upon the plot and never seem tacked on. The novel illuminates a crucial juncture in early twentieth century history, the steep incline to the First World War, the problems and pitfalls of imperialism.

What is most impressive is the way in which Smith marshalls and orchestrates the structure of this plot and his characters. The way the novel segues from a straightforward action and suspense largely focussed on Masai rituals and customs, to a Western intrigue in which Courteney is essentially the outsider looking in on the west is seemless. This deepens the characterisation of Courtney and genuinely questions ideas of national identity.

I have a few issues with some of the characters (Snell is your archetypal pen-pushing underachiever with an axe to grind), and sometimes the portrayal of Africans and their deference to the physically and morally excellent Courtney is a bit too conventional, but what's important is their interrelationships and interiorirty, and these have a palapable veracity at their core.

If you're a fan of Smith work then this is another winner. For new readers, expect a well-orchestrated plot where the perspective and identity of the protagonist is adjusted by the uncontrollable events around him, either by supernatural fate or the growing, undeniable reality of war. Above all, expect good writing and an enveloping experience.

Assegai
Really rather disappointing. I am a Smith fan, but he seems to have run out of ideas recently. To me this seemed like two, if not three or four, separate stories that were not really linked, other than by the central character. The middle section, concerning an ex American President's son and a then rich German Princess, is just pointless and has no relation to the final part of the story. I also do not understand why Smith seems to have become obsessed with mysticism, his stories were better without this. I think it is now time for Mr. Smith to retire so that his deserved reputation, created by his earlier novels, remains intact.

Back to basics
I'm one of those who felt that WS had "lost" his way.
When I read the first page and saw the names Courtney and Ballantyne I thought it was going to be one of his family interlaced novels- and my heart sank. Many might enjoy the latter sagas but I got bored after the Rhodesian Civil War books.

So, as I turned the pages, I was delighted to realise he had just used surnames.
This story whilst not up to the very early Courtney books- Sound of Thunder etc- is a very good read.

Yes there are the "usual suspects",
Beautiful woman- murky history
Powerful villain- but unstable
Heroic young officer- dashing/brave/lucky/impulsive
Trusted companions
Wise woman/soothsayer
Crusty benefactors
4 or so pages where the main 2 characters "find" each other and swear undying love- adds nothing to the story because WS leads you so well you know how the outcome without having to see a picture;
and some interesting- and not always entirely believable- moments and twists


"Well Done" Mr Smith.
A very good book
So descriptive I can taste the dust, feel the heat and smell the aroma of Africa.

You are back on my book shelf!