Product Description

Monsoon, set in the dawn of the 18th century in England, East Africa and Arabia, takes over where "Birds of Prey" left off and follows the lives of the three sons of Hal Courteney.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26960 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 680 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Before there was empire, there was trade, and military force to protect that trade. Wilbur Smith's new, full-blooded historical novel starts with the commissioning, by King William III of Sir Hal Franklin. Franklin's mission is to rid the Indian Ocean of the pirate known as al-Aouf, the Bad One, and tells us more than we knew about the East India trade, Channel smuggling, the Arab slave trade and the struggle to keep Oman free from the Ottoman Empire.

Smith's solid, competent prose does not always avoid the hackneyed, but effectively conveys both the heat of battle and the savoury smells of lands experienced for the first time. Hal Franklin has four sons and the complex tragedy of their relationships dominates the book as brother is pitted against brother in love, and war, and treachery. The plot, though, is only a part of what is important here; the Indian Ocean trade was the site of one of the great confrontations between the English-speaking world and Islam--a conflict, between the brash mariners with their shiny new guns and the long-established, scholarly, brave, pious rulers of Arabia and the East African coast. A conflict whose outcome was open to doubt.--Roz Kaveney

Customer Reviews

Wilbur Smith - Master of Action Yet Again
I've been an avid follower of Wilbur Smith for many years now and i'm glad to say that this book lived up to my very high expectations of him.

Whilst writing this review I don't want to ruin any of the immense enjoyment that the reader should get from reading this book, so I won't write anyting about what happens. Instead I'll try to set the picture of what the reader should come to expect from such a fine book:

This book should come with a warning sticker on the cover - "MAY SERIOUSLY AFFECT SLEEPING PATTERNS" - I just couldn't put it down and often ended up reading till the 'wee small hours of the morning'. Action, romance, death, scandal; this book has it all...and more.

'Monsoon' starts off at a fast pace and maintains the momentum throughout. Ranging from the South coast of England to the plains of Africa, deserts of Asia and the seas of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, Wilbur Smith manages to set the picture for all of these locations beautifully.

It's been a while since I read a book that can make the hairs stand on end and not since 'When The Lion Feeds" have i felt so shocked and saddened by the death of a fictional character. The way Wilbur draws the reader to one conclusion then throws a totally different one back at them is amazing.

Wilbur got the fine line between a fast paced read and allowing the reader to understand and follow the numerous plots in this fine book just right. The only bad thing that I can possibly say about 'Monsoon' is that it actually came to an end; I can't wait till his next release. I can't praise this book enough; the best book of an excellent bunch!

Absolutely brilliant!
This book is totally captivating - the research and detail is just amazing! It is the first Wilbur Smith book I read - I just saw it laying about one day at work, read the first line and could not put it down! I love the way he writes, he is so passionate and raw and in turn the characters are the same.This book really makes you crave adventure and experience the mysticism and awe of the 18th century.

I would personally like to thank Wilbur Smith for creating Tom Courtney because I am totally in love with him!

Brilliant!!! Captivating!! I became addicted to this book.
What a book, I became so engrossed in this that I found myself reading it in any spare moment I had.
I found myself almost living the emotions of Tom and Dorian Courtney, so brilliant is this tale told by the ever brilliant Wilbur Smith. Make sure you read Birds of prey first though.