Monsoon (Courtney Family Adventures) - Softcover

Smith, Wilbur

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312971540 ISBN 13: 9780312971540

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2000

Synopsis

Monsoon, a Courtney Family Adventure from Wilbur Smith

One man. Three sons. A powerful destiny waiting to unfold.

Monsoon is the sweeping epic that continues the saga begun in Wilbur Smith's bestselling Birds of Prey. Once a voracious adventurer, it has been many years since Hal Courtney has dared the high seas. Now he must return with three of his sons - Tom, Dorian, and Guy - to protect the East India Trading Company from looting pirates, in exchange for half of the fortune he recovers.

It will be a death or glory mission in the name of the crown. But Hal must also think about the fates of his sons. Like their father before them, Tom, Dorian, and Guy are drawn inexorably to Africa. When fate decrees that they must all leave England forever, they set sail for the dark, unexplored continent, seduced by the allure and mystery of this new, magnificent, but savage land. All will have a crucial part to play in shaping the Courtneys' destiny, as the family vies for a prize beyond any of their dreams.

In a story of anger and passion, peace and war, Wilbur Smith evinces himself at the height of his storytelling powers. Set at the dawn of eighteenth-century England, with the Courtneys riding wind-tossed seas toward Arabia and Africa, Monsoon is an exhilarating adventure pitting brother against brother, man against sea, and good against evil.

About this title

Review

South Africa's master storyteller Wilbur Smith has been writing his exotic historical sagas for so long that he's in danger of being taken for granted and typecast as an author of adventure stories for and about overgrown boys. But there's a lot more to Smith's books than mere blood, thunder, swash, and buckle. He might not be as thoughtful or as philosophical as Patrick O'Brian, but his stories have a wider geographical and chronological range and lots more action.

Monsoon is the latest chronicle in Smith's Courteney series. In it, Hal Courteney is sent by the East India Trading Company to attack Arab pirates who are harassing trade off the East African coast. He takes three of his four sons, but one of them absconds to Bombay and another is taken prisoner by the Arabs.

Like his heroes, Smith's prose pulls no punches: "Aboli swung the axe in a wide, flashing arc. It took the man full in the side of his neck, severing it cleanly. His head toppled forward and rolled down his chest, while his trunk stood erect before it slumped to the deck. The air escaped from his lungs in a whistling blast of frothy blood from the open windpipe." It may not be pretty, but it certainly grabs your attention. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Praise for Wilbur Smith:

"Smith's novel is far more than your typical pirate script.... A fascinating account...Smith deftly evokes not only the horrific but also the beautiful, particularly the lush landscape of Africa." --The Washington Post Book World on Birds of Prey

"As usual, Smith...peoples his tale with unforgettable characters....Swashbuckling and sensuous, Birds of Prey is not for the faint-hearted. Its bloodiest scenes are vivid and detailed--and so are hero Hal's romantic encounters. But, as with Smith's previous two bestsellers, River God and The Seventh Scroll, this latest epic transcends the average action-adventure yarn." --The Orlando Sentinel

"Birds of Prey is a wonderful novel filled with excitement, pirates, and vivid sea battles....In short, it is vintage Wilbur Smith." --Times Record News (Wichita Falls, Texas)

"A rich, compelling look back in time [to] when history and myth intermingled." --San Francisco Chronicle on River God

"An epic...Smith joins the ranks of the grand masters of twentieth-century novels." --Tulsa World on River God

"Throughout The Seventh Scroll, as in all Wilbur Smith novels, the plot twists and turns with constant surprises....This old-fashioned adventure novel keeps the reader enthralled all the way to its very exciting conclusion." --The Washington Post Book World

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0312971540
• ISBN 13: 9780312971540
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 822