Customer Reviews

Shout at the Devil

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Flynn O'Flynn is an American that has been living for years as a poacher in the veldts of East Africa. Sabastian Oldsmith is a 22 year old lad from England out to make is fortune in Australia, who ends up partnered with O'flynn in another of his money making schemes, against the lands of the German Kaiser. With the initiation of WW II the 'hostilities' between the Germans and O'Flynn is instantly escalated to new deadly levels, and with the murder of Olsmith's new baby daughter, O'Flynn's granddaughter, Germany has started a 'personal' war the results of which it can't conceive. A war of revenge that could be disastrous for the German Navy...

A terrific adventure novel set in the first dark days of WWI. Great characters, some nasty Germans, sharp dialog and an exciting raid on a German warship that was based on actual hair-raising events. Darn good film with Lee Marvin, check it out.

WILBUR SMITH IS BRILLIANTLY DESCRIPTIVE AND SURE KNOWS HOW TOO CAPTIVATE HIS READERS!A BOOK WELL WORTH READING!

If your tired of all the unrealistic 'and they lived happily ever after' crap, this is it. This book is a spliff laced with hard reality. O'Flynn is a drunk Irish American Elephant hunter living in Mozambique, who crosses paths with the ruthless Askari in German Tanzania.
This book is like a reminder that in life hapiness is always short lived. And he sets it up so well!
If this is the first Wilbur Smith book you're gonna read, your not wasting your time.I give this book 3 stars just because I'm comparing it to other Smith books I've read. O.k, i'ts not his best, but It's still good.
Get this experience under your belts kids, you won't regret it.

My first Wilbur Smith novel and I was pleasantly surprised. More depth, more action, more violence, and better characterization than I'd expected out of an action book written in the 1960s. "Shout at the Devil" is set in east Africa in and near the Rufiji delta just around the start of World War I. The bold, selfish, hot-tempered American O'Flynn organizes the massacre of a large elephant herd in order to collect the ivory tusks. Problem is, the herd belongs to the Germans and so the raid precipitates a deadly conflict between the two sides.

The events of the second half of the novel are actually based loosely on the story of the German light cruiser Königsberg, eventually sunk by the British in 1915. It is evident particulary during this part of the book that Smith researched details of how the Königsberg survived in the delta for as long as it did.

A great action novel to read while on vacation. The pages turn quickly and the story is informative and well-written. Also, nothing in the book is so outlandishly fictional as to not be believable.

This work is another brilliant action/adventure story from Wilbur Smith. While it did have Mr. Smith's typical assortment of blood and violence, what made it stand out so much to me was O'Flynn's hilarious antics.

I never thought about Africa being a fun place to visit until I traveled there on a merchant ship in 2008. We went completely around Africa twice stopping in Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Cameroon. I had so much fun there I went back to Kenya on a holiday when my time on the ship was over. A friend told me about Wilbur Smith and in 2009 I read all 32 books he has written on Africa and surrounding areas. I highly recommend all his books especially the ones on the Courtney family!

Not one of my favorite Wilbur Smith novels but a middle of the line novel by him. Too fanciful a plot lacking any of the historical fiction that I enjoy in most of his Africa series books.

This is one of Wilbur Smith's best. I laughed 3/4 of the way through it. It was then I realized that the story was very subtely based as much on WWII, and what the Germans did to families at that time, as it was on WWI. The story became very serious and the comedy was no longer applicable in the last quarter of the story. But that doesn't mean I lost interest in that part of the book. The ending was perfect. Smith is an expert. If you want to read fairy tales where everyone lives happily ever after, this book is not for you. It's reality. If there is any doubt about that, read some of the stories that were written by the survivors of WWII.

I've only read a couple of Wilbur A Smith's book, but have enjoyed them. I realize he will use violence and heartbreak to help the story to fit within the historical period and regional area he's writing about. However this book went way over the top. I could only imagine he must have been in a lousy mood when he wrote the ending.

The book starts off quite well introducing us to the characters. Although one of the main characters, O'Flynn, has your typical "Smith" qualities, he is also rather a cad. Brave for one instace cowardly in another. Always looking out only himself no matter who it hurts whether it's his daughter, his partner Sebastian, or his faithful companion Mohammed. The adventure in the book is exciting and does keep you on the edge of your seat. Part II is about rage and revenge, with each character tetering on madness. The pace continues to build to an explosive climax.

******SPOILER ALERT**************

Sounds I liked the book, right? Well I did until the end. There is no satisfaction here. Yes I know Smith tends to kill off a hero or two, however usually the book ends with a somewhat happy, or at least normal, ending. Not here. Quite simply: EVERYBODY DIES. The good, the bad, and even the ugly. The villian doesn't even die horribly. He just vanishes. You sit reading the last couple of pages feeling depressed and empty. I bought this book in London to read on a flight back to Los Angeles. I just left it on the plane. Take my advice. Smith has so many better books than this. If you're looking for something along this line, try his book "Cry Wolf". It's just as exciting and also has a clever and satisfying ending.