Customer Reviews

Sparrow Falls

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When it comes to adventure novels and novels about Africa (especially South Africa and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia)) no one can compare to Wilbur Smith. Wilbur Smith's understanding and knowledge of the people, animals and history of Africa is unmatched.

Wilbur Smith's first novel was When The Lion Feeds (and is still one of my all time favorite novels). When The Lion Feeds introduces us to his most memorable character-Sean Courtney. The series starts in the mid to late 1800's when Sean and his brother Gary are children. Without going into too much detail, the first book covers young Sean's life through the Zulu wars and the great gold rush. After the gold rush (and after Sean looses millions and millions of dollars) Sean starts his career as an ivory hunter (this is just prior to the boer wars). There is one scene in "When The Lion Feeds" where a close friend of Sean's sucomes to rabies and is one of the most vivid and frightening narratives that I've read). "The Sound of Thunder" is the next book in the series, and without getting into to much detail, deals with the Boer Wars, and his estrainment with his twin brother Gary and his son Dirk.

Then of course comes "A Sparrow Falls". "A Sparrow Falls" begins in the trenches of France during WWI where Sean meats Mark Anders who comes to take the place of Seans estranged son Dirk (and his dead son Michael). "A Sparrow Falls" is about the building of South Africa after WWI. It covers everything from the start of the unions in South Africa, to the start of the Game Department. All three books ("When The Lion Feeds", "The Sound Of Thunder", and "A Sparrow Falls") cover the history of South Africa and the adventures and fortunes of Sean Courtney from the mid 1800 to the early 1900's. The only reason I gave "A Sparrow Falls" a four star rating is because it put to an end my favorite series.

I have read all of Wilbur Smith's novels, and this trilogy is by far my favorite (although his series about the Ballantynes and Rhodesia, "A Falcon Flies", "Men Of Men", "The Angels Weep", and "The Leopard Hunts in Darkness" comes in a close second). Unfortunately, some of these books are no longer in print and can be hard to find. I think "When The Lion Feeds" is no longer in print, and "A Sparrow Falls" can be very difficult to find, but Amazon did manage to find it for me after looking for almost a year.

This review is pretty vague because it covers about 60 years of South African history (a very active time) and a very complex character (Sean Courtney). Suffice to say, if you like adventure books, and if you have any interest in the history of South Africa, you should run out and find these books (If you can).

im an avid wilbur smith fan and i have read all his books, starting ten years ago. due to lack of availability, i have had to acquire many of them out of country, including canada, britain, the far east, and south africa, where i started reading them. it seems like wilbur only became popular in the US with river god. I consider a sparrow falls to be his weakest book. after reading a number of books on south african history, fictionalized or not, i find a sparrow falls to be much fiction, little history, as opposed to lion feeds and sound of thunder. its like this story was made only to finish off the series and tie up the loose ends. my favorite of his novels were the next five courtneys and elephant song. of course, anyone interested in the fictionalized history of southern africa, the worlds most fascinating, also has to read the covenant. try robert ruark as well for eastern africa.

This is the third novel dealing with Sean Courntney and is the best of the Courtney novels. To me Sean is a much more likeable character than in previous novels, while Dirk is as evil as any of the arch villans that Smith has had in any of his books.

However, this book tends to be difficult to find in print, but if you get an oppertunity to read it, do so, because it will make the other books that deal with the Courtneys more enjoyable.

"A sparrow falls" is the third book in the Sean Courtney series. The main character, Mark Anders, returns from the first-world war to discover that his grandfather has been killed and that the farm that is now supposed to belong to Mark is owned by the Ladyburg Farmers' Bank. Mark travels to Ladyburg to find out who could have been responsible

for killing his grandfather and for taking the farm.

He comes to suspect that Dirk Courtney, the son of Sean Courtney, must have killed his grandfather since he needed the farm to expand his business. When Dirk becomes aware of Mark's investigations, he starts sending several of his hit men to hunt Mark down and kill him. Even Mark's employment by the influencial businessman and politician, Sean Courtney, does not prevent Dirk from going after Mark in order to keep the murder of his grandfather and the theft of the farm a secret. The conflict between Mark and Dirk comes to a violent climax on a stormy evening when Mark and Sean learn the truth about Dirks' activities from one of Dirks' own hit men.

"A sparrow falls" is mostly an action/suspense book, but it includes several subplots. One of the subplots is romance, in the form of Mark's relationship with Sean Courtney's daughter, Storm. The book also has a strong focus on nature and nature lovers living in nature. A very good book for those who have read and enjoyed the other Sean Courtney novels. It will make you treasure the familiar characters even more and will answer family questions left hanging in "When a lion feeds" and especially in "sound of thunder". Those unfamiliar with Sean and his family can enjoy it as a standalone action novel. If you're looking for a shorter book organised around one focussed plot, however, then this is probably one to steer clear of.

If you've never read a Wilbur Smith novel, take a chance and you'll be hooked . . . action, clever plots, characters, location, Smith writes with a style all his own and is never predictable. A Sparrow Falls is as good a read as any of his other novels. If a trip to Africa is out of reach, let Wilbur Smith take you there with his vast knowledge of the continent and his descriptive words. You will feel like you're part of the story.

If you like Wilbur Smith you will like this book it is typical of his africa stories,a little rushed at the end could have been a little better ending.

In reading the reviews, I was dismayed that some readers experienced trouble obtaining some of these books (Trilogy). How can that be? - this Courtney Trilogy is or should be considered a classic. I read the series when they were first published and I still remember the stories. To the powers that be, please do not stop publishing this trilogy. I gave away my set and will make sure I have another set purchased soon.

I've read about 20 of Wilbur Smith's books and this one is my favorite. The characters, the history, the wildlife descriptions, and the occasional humor combine to make this book unforgetable.

I am a big Wilbur Smith fan.
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. Use capital A's in the web address please

This is a MUST for Wilbur Smith lovers. It is one of his first books and lays the groundwork for so many more, all wonderfully accurate about South Africa. I encourage everyone who likes "real life adventures", based on history, to read this.