Customer Reviews

The Ballantynes: " Falcon Flies " and " Men of Men "

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wilbur Smith is my favorite author, and "A Falcon Flies" is one of his best. You are introduced to the Ballentyne's, Maj. Zouga Ballentyne and his sister, Dr. Robin Ballentyne as they search Africa for their missing father, the famous missonary and anti-slavery cruscader Fuller Ballentyne and have the bad luck to travel to Africa on board the ship of Mungo St.John, who it turns out, is a infamous slave trader himself...With that breathless start, you would expect action and lots of it, and you won't be disappointed. Duels, attack by slave traders on the Ballentyne safari, and ship to ship battles with thundering broadsides are but some of what is in store for the reader. Smith has never been afraid to write a strong woman character, and Robin Ballentyne certainly qualifes, coming close to unsympathic, being saved mainly by her constant concern for human life, never hestiating to place her own in jepoardy to help the ill or injured, but always sure of being right and never hestiating to say so. Neither is Zouga perfect, being more concerned with making the expedition profitable,from gold and ivory, than finding his father.All of Wilbur Smith's books are of the "keep you up late reading it" variety but "Falcon" is ones of his best, which makes it one of THE best, period.....

This book is, beleive it or not, right on par with Smith's other breathtaking adventures like Birds of Prey, Monsoon, Blue Horizon, Seventh Scroll etc. Only River God can be considered better (and even that is close). None of the books in the Courtneys of Africa series or the others in the Ballantyne series can even come close to this book. A truely marvellous adventure yarn and one of the overlooked gems in the entire genre, A Falcon Flies is a masterpeice which, if had been published after Smith became internatioanlly famous (that is, after River God), would have done as well as any of Smith's other monster bestsellers.

I must say as a fan of Wilbur Smith, this book captures anyone's imagination from the first page to the last and it leaves you wanting to start on the next one in the series. As an African and Zimbabwean in which most of this story takes place I am left with no option but to salute Mr. Smith. He is a briliant researcher and an accurate writer of our historical stories even though he calls them fiction. Some of the facts are so true that you really feel you're in that age. He gives vivid descriptions of the Ndebele state as if he was there during that time. I have no problem rating it 5 out of 5!!!

I am a 49 year old man who has recently taken up reading after an absence of too many years. I have found that Wilbur Smith's books have filled the void of recent changes in my lifestyle. Although I started with Angry as The Sea some ten years ago, I cannot read Mr. Smith's novels quickly enough. Each thought or phrase summons me into it's very existance. My only regret is that memory will not allow me the pleasure of re-visiting Mr. Smith's adventures.

This audiobook is way too abridged for the length of the written book plus the web site didn't make it clear that it was abridged. Read the book instead.

Having lived in Southern Africa and talked to people who had knowledge of those events this is a good account of what went on for a historical point of view. I would recommend reading the entire series. A very good read!

Being a big fan of Tom Clancy, I like intertwining multi-plot stories that come together at the conclusion. Mr. Smith puts together plots of intrigue, romance, terror, and corruption all in this one story. It was very difficult to stop reading because of the way he was regularly adding in new characters and situations. He did a great job of tying up all the plots at the end and even added a happy ending! If you like pre-1900 stories about the high seas and world travel, with romance and sex added in, you'll like A Falcon Flies

This is the first book of the Ballantyne series (the next two are Men of Men and Angels Weep). It is a excellent tale of the conquest and colonization of Southern Africa, as seen trought the eyes of characters with different worldviews. The ruthless, egotistic Mungo St-John, shows us how a slaveowner/trader of the begining of last century saw the world, The Ballantynes, and in particular Robyn, shows us a more familiar world view, in defense of the weak. The Africans' (Bazo's in particular) caracters sow us how good a grasp Smith has of the different African cultures. It is refreshing to see a non-ideological novel. Each viewpoint is presented by its holder and no judgement is emitted. The only negative point I see about this book is Robyn's incapacity to control her libido, a trait which I find in contradiction with the rest of her caracter and which makes her a bit out-of-this world, but which will no doubt appeal to many other readers

This book and the other 20+ books that Wilbur Smith has written are incredible. I have a website dedicated to Smith at www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/wilbur.html If you are a big fan also please visit, and make sure you e-mail me. This is one of my favorite books EVER