Customer Reviews

Birds of Prey

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am an avid reader of adventure and historical novels and have recently found Wilbur Smith through a recommendation of a friend. I recently read Birds of Prey and Monsoon back to back. I couldn't wait to read on and was saddened when I completed the two books. I anxiously hope and wait for a sequel to Monsoon. Now I have ordered the entire Courtneys of Africa series. I just completed The Sound of Thunder and while good (3 star)was not up to the excitement and adventure of Birds of Prey and Monsoon (both 5 stars). Perhaps it was the adventure on the high seas as opposed to the Boer War that I enjoyed but I think it was more the writing style and great decriptive and story telling skill that made the difference. I can't imagine a more exciting or better written novel than Smith's latest two books. Tomorrow I will begin A Time to Die.

In BIRDS OF PREY, it is the year 1667, and we are introduced to the 17-year old Englishman, Hal Courteney. Hal is a crewmember on his father's ship, the "Lady Edwina", as it sails the high seas off the southern tip of Africa. England is at war with the Dutch Republic, and the ship's captain, Sir Francis Courteney, has been given license by the British Admiralty to prey on Dutch trading ships of the United East India Company as they return to Amsterdam from the East Indies via the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. Sir Francis captures a Dutch ship carrying the newly appointed Governor of Good Hope and his wife, Katinka. During the period when the Governor and his wife are held for ransom, Hal loses his virginity to Katinka, a sadistic, treacherous, highborn slut. (Well, good breeding isn't everything.) Subsequently, Sir Francis, Hal and the rest of the Lady Edwina's company are betrayed by a former ally, the Scottish Earl of Cumbrae, with the help of a former crewmember, Sam Bowles, and imprisoned at Good Hope. Sir Francis is brutally tortured and executed. Hal and a handful of survivors later escape, acquire another ship, and go on to defeat their primary tormentors, Cumbrae and a Dutch army colonel named Schreuder, against the backdrop of a war between the Christian Emperor of Ethiopia and the Moslem Sultan of Oman. Along the way, Hal inherits his father's captaincy and finds true love (as opposed to hormonal-driven sex with Katinka) - twice.

As painted by the author, Wilbur Smith, the chief characters of this swashbuckling adventure are almost caricatures. The "good guys" - principally Hal and his loyal buddies, Aboli, Ned, and Daniel - are brave, noble and heroic. The "bad guys" - Katinka, Governor van de Velde, Bowles, Cumbrae, and Schreuder - are cruel, dishonorable and totally vile. The action, much as in Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones film trilogy, is wildly improbable, especially over the book's latter half. Similarly, however, that same action is scripted with such exuberance and energy that it's totally engaging. Finally, I read to be transported to places that, in most cases, I will never visit. I doubt that I shall ever ply the Indian Ocean or South Atlantic aboard a frigate under sail. This book took me there in grand style.

BIRDS OF PREY is no doubt the very best novel Wilbur Smith has ever written. Although it is a bit too long, you must read it; it has all of the right ingredience a novel needs - it sure is a flawless masterpiece. I have read ALL of Wilbur Smith's books, and this one is his greatest. Want more? Read the sequel: MONSOON. Read BIRDS OF PREY & MONSOON now and see for yourself what I mean. I hope BIRDS OF PREY eventually gets made into a major movie. It's good and powerful, believe me. I can't wait for Smith's next book! Other books by Wilbur Smith I highly recommend are EAGLE IN THE SKY, ELEPHANT SONG, RIVER GOD, and THE SEVENTH SCROLL. Smith is the most talented author in the world - he meticulously researches many things and never rushes his job. His books are therefor almost perfect. Buy BIRDS OF PREY, be patient with it, and you'll see what I mean.

I believe Wilbur Smith has written in the vicinity of 30 novels. I should go home and count them tonight as I have every one of them, and I am starting his most recent, Monsoon, this evening. My dear wife gave me his novel, Rage, about 11 years ago and I have been hooked ever since. He simply has never written a book that was not a delight to read and an educational experience as well. The history of South Africa is woven through many of his books and you will not find an easier way to learn it. This book is a rolliking story of the sea which contains all of the elements he weaves so effortlessly into his books. Adventure, romance, sex (there is a difference), mystery and suspence come in many measures, all palatable and more than enjoyable. The outline of the story has been told by other reviews. Suffice it to say, you always get more than your money's worth from Mr. Smith...even at today's prices!

I really enjoyed this book. It's not the type of book I usually read, but it was recommended to me by my brother. I found it to be very fast paced and exciting. You follow the hero (Hal) on his seafaring adventures set in the mid 1600s. It gives great insight as to what life in this period was like and so makes for a fascinating read. It has great battle scenes, heartbreaking torture, and a good amount of lust! The only thing I found slightly tedious were the constant references to the ship's construction and operation. It would have been really interesting, if you knew what they were talking about. They should definitely have included a little diagram of a ship with all of the parts labeled. I bought this book for my ocean loving brother-in-law and am sure he'll love it. I thought it was very well written and would recommend it, especially for the guys out there who like history and stories of the pirate days.

This was my first Smith book, but not my last. In the past I'd never read this type of book -- dealing with sailors (unless of course they were in an historical romance novel), but I decided to give it a try. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. This book has it all -- action, adventure, romance, some sorrow, loyalty, you name it. The characters are very well developed so that you come to know and care about them. The loyalty between some characters and what they would do for each other brought me to tears. The plot twists and turns in such a delightful manner that you never want to the book to end. But when it does, don't despair -- just pick up Monsoon -- the sequel. You won't be disappointed!

This has to be one of my favourite books. It was my first Smith book and he definitely lives up to the hype. Its every thing a good adventure novel should be, with well defined characters, loads of sword swinging action, intrigue, betrayal and even a heavy dose of eroticism thrown in for good measure.

I like his style of writing. He possesses an almost liquid command of prose that seems to flow from one sentence to the other, never yielding to monotony. That is the mark of a good writer, a talent that a lot of modern-day authors lack.

Since 'Birds of Prey',I have read a list of other Wilbur Smith books and I'm yet to be dissapointed. If you like a good Indiana Jones/James Bond/Treasure Island/Historically correct book, check out Smith without hesitation.

The man is the Stephen Spielberg of adventure novels, not the mention an engrossing storyteller. He'll hook you from the first page.

AHHH,the pleasures of a good read are underrated!

A top notch adventure from a top notch author, Birds of Prey is undoubtably a superb epic. Sure the sex scenes can seem overdone, but who cares? The entire story cackles with energy and escapism with grand action sequences that have rarely been as vivid. It is cliche-clogged and sometimes predictable, but to tell you the truth, if I wanted to read a literary suspense novel I would have picked Frederick Forsyth or Nelson Demille. What I expected from Birds of Prey was mind blowing action and a fast paced book, both of which exceeded expectaions.

Chronologically the first in Smith's prolific Courtney series (for now atleast), the book opens by introducing us to Hal and Francis Courtney, son and father, one a growing man and the other an accomplished privateer. After that, the duo and their crew spot a dutch ship carrying potentially tremendous cargo, and the reader is then treated to an epic action-fest journey like never seen before. Duels to the death, explosive jail breaks, wild animal hunting, battles with pirates, religious warfare, non-religious warfare, ancient relics, astrological prophecies, torture chambers, lakes filled with writhing crocodiles, fights with lion herds, explorations into the unknown african wilderness, confrontations with ancient tribes, christian empires, muslim armies and MUCH more shape this epic, filled with almost ridiculous acts of courage and skill by the protoganists, though tremendously enjoyable too. Much to the reader's pleasure, the good guys laugh at impossible odds and dispatch them with almost as much ease and for those looking for some action, this story is a definite must.

The tale is primarily about Hal's journey from teenage to manhood and about how he becomes a great warrior. He's charismatic, the best fighter alive, a natutral leader, he never turns away from his duty, no obstacle can hold him back and the rest of his characteristics are just about anything you can attribute to the classic good guy. The tale is of course also choke-full of utterly hateable villains. Colonel Schreuder the master swordsman who has never lost a fight, The Buzzard the cunning and greedy pirate, Slow John the almost inhuman yellow eyed executioner, Sam Bowles the cowardly traitor, Van De Velde the obese governor of Good Hope, Katinka the sexy and sadistic wife of the governor and lots more constantly face the protoganists for some reason or the other.

One thing that I should emphazize is that this is not a tale about just sailors and pirates. Though a huge part is full of sea battles, a chunky portion of the action also takes place on land too and to classify this as sea adventure would be a gross inaccuracy.

And talking of accuracy, whether some people are obliged to admit it or not, Smith has undertaken some heavy research on this book. It is totally unfair to say that this book is not well researched just because he got a technical term wrong about a 17th century ship according to a reviewer. From geographical locations like Trincomalee and Elephant Lagoon to the information about African wildlife, Smith has done his homework before penning this tale, and despite some faults, has managed to do a commendable job.

Overall, if you want great literature with three dimensional characters who teach you something about the morals of life, you would be better of with something else. If you just want to sit back, relax and read an action-packed adventure epic like a mega-budget summer blockbuster, Birds of Prey will definitely rank among your favourites.

The book was great! The only bad thing was that there is a reference on the back cover to something fairly major that doesn't happen until about halfway through the book. I couldn't believe it was taking so long for it to happen. You'll also find yourself waiting and realizing that you'd be enjoying the potential possibilities if you didn't know the inevitable.

Read this book, it's excellent , but don't read the back cover.

I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

"Birds of Prey" is the first book I have read by Wilbur Smith, and it won't be the last. I became thoroughly engrossed in Hal's adventures and was very disappointed when the last page came so quickly. This book deserves 5 stars for Mr. Smith's immaculate research and story-telling ability, its outstanding character development, and its plot-twisting emotional involvement. I can't wait to get started on his others.