Product Description

In this book set in southern Africa, an adventurer and his missionary sister establish a legacy that will dominate part of a continent for decades to come, and a soldier meets his destiny in a battle that will forever scar two opposing races.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #672701 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-12
• Released on: 2001-01-20
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio Cassette

Review
The third - and apparently final - installment in Smith's Rhodesia trilogy, following Flight of the Falcon and Men of Men; here the 19th-century Ballantyne saga reaches a bloody conclusion circa 1896, with an equally bloody 200-page 1977 epilogue also tacked on. The chief hero of the 1890s sequence is elephant-hunter Zouga's son Ralph, now a rich entrepreneur who's after more gold and coal - with opposition from greedy power-broker Cecil Rhodes: Ralph will steal Rhodes' top engineer Harry Mellow (soon husband of Ralph's sister-in-law Vicky); he'll get even more vengeful when he finally realizes (awfully slow on the uptake) that his handsome brother Jordan is more than just a private-secretary to Rhodes; and when Rhodes pressures Ralph into handling gun-transport in anticipation of the Boer War, Ralph betrays Rhodes - making a fortune in the process (by selling Rhodes-shares short). Meanwhile, however, more dangerous machinations are afoot: the conquered Matabeles, led by Ralph's blood-brother Bazo, are secretly planning a bloody uprising, based on magical signs - their angers fueled by a cattle plague (and the insensitive governorship of General Mungo St. John). So, while Ralph is off wheeling and dealing, his pregnant wife Cathy will be savagely murdered by the massacre-mad rebels; St. John will die colorfully too, though his estranged wife, missionary-doctor Robyn Ballantyne (Cathy's mother), will survive, thanks to a warning from Bazo's mother Juba. And, after Ralph takes grisly revenge on Bazo and finds new love with Cathy's sister, there'll be peace between the Matabeles and the English. The end? Not quite. Because Smith then jumps ahead to 1977 Rhodesia, with the focus on the great-grandsons of Ralph (who became So. Rhodesia's first PM, we're told) and his brother/enemy Bazo. One of Ralph's descendants is mild-mannered wildlife worker Craig Mellow. The other is swaggering Roland Ballantyne (son of Inn Smith's Agriculture Minister), who leads a 600-man security team in forays against the terrorists of the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army. And Bazo's great-grandson is Craig's friend Samson Kumalo, a quiet chap resistant to invitations from terroristically inclined friends. But when Samson's beloved Constance is killed by Roland's raiders, he becomes the fiercest of the rebels - subjecting Roland's bride Janine (whom Craig loves too) to gang-rape and joining in bloody battles. . . before the oddly upbeat ending: reconciliation between Samson (now a Zimbabwe Cabinet minister) and his old Anglo friends; love between widow Janine and Craig - who has written a family-history in-jokily titled Flight of the Falcon. Throughout, in fact, Smith's politics are curious and slippery - more having-it-both-ways than truly balanced. But, with lots of gory action and a minimum of exotica-and-passion, this is the most readable volume of the trilogy: lively, unpretentious, and pleasantly predictable. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Outstanding
This is an outstanding novel, probably the best of the Ballantyne trilogy which first began with A FALCON FLIES followed by MEN OF MEN. When it comes to describing the African way of life in the 19th century, Wilbur Smith simply is the best. Zouga and Ralph set out to explore the land in search of empire and wealth during the settlement of Rhodesia and after the Matabale are defeated but along the way they are involved with the violent fighting that still exists between the native tribes and the overwhelming white government who is destined to run their lives. Page after page the excitement just keeps coming and you just wont want to put the book down.

The Angels Weep
The third in the quartet of Wilbur Smith's books about the formation of Rhodesia in the 1860's into more recent 20th century Zimbabwe history. This copy was bought as a replacement for a much loved and much read older book, which literally fell apart. A really good adventure story with lots of interesting history interwoven with the fictional characters.

The Angels weep
Good clean product delivered. I read this in one sitting, just couldn't put it down. Brillient.