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To be honest...

PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 4:33 pm
by Matbow
...I havn't read any Wilbur Smith books that weren't part of the Courtney/Ballantyne/Egyptian series. I only discovered Wilbur a year ago and I've been trying to complete the Courtneys since then!

Please fill me in on his other novels!

Cry Wolf

PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:17 pm
by Bee
Okay I finished the book Cry Wolf one of the stand alones. And I must say it didn't fall short of any of my WS expectations. Actually to tell you I actually got upset at the end of the book. Now this one I'd recommend. It's good, a bit WS predictable but keeps you going to the end. Also there are nice breaks in there, where you can put the book down for a little while and then pick it up later.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 4:23 pm
by Matbow
...I actually just started reading cry wolf yesterday, im liking it so far :)

PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:01 pm
by Nefer
What is this?!?! Am I the only one who hasn't read it yet?! LoL

Time to hit up Bee for a copy!

PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 7:59 pm
by Bee
No probs chica!

PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 11:18 am
by Monsoon
First book i read..was it really 16 years ago was 'The Eye of the Tiger' , and i've been hooked ever since!
I also liked 'Cry Wolf' it was a good rambling yarn, set well away from the rich kid scenario.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 10:48 pm
by Nefer
Sunbird is actually quite good, as is Elephant Song.

The other stand-alones aren't so great, they feel like he's writing them because he's contracted to write them, not becuase he wants to.

Just IMO.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:30 am
by Monsoon
The other stand-alones aren't so great, they feel like he's writing them because he's contracted to write them, not becuase he wants to.


Nefer i'm stunned :shock:
I would rank many of the stand alones very high on my WS list. I know you base it upon you're own reading of the books, but i very much doubt he was writing them under any pressure, simply to get them done. I found great variety in these books, unlike one or two of the family books where it sometimes felt like we were being taken along familiar ground.

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 1:03 pm
by WSI
OK, you'll think I'm a person who knows everything better and has to state this ... But - it's true, folks - I even read every stand alone. Hit me ...
These are 11:











:roll:

PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 5:38 am
by Killraven
My thoughts on the stand-alones, which I found to be very much a mixed bag...

The Dark Of The Sun
When I first read this years ago, I thought it was so-so - but when I finally got into WS last year, I rediscovered it and appreciated it more. The amount of action crammed into it is quite amazing.

Shout At The Devil
Unfinished, because I found its humourous tone rather dumb.

Gold Mine
I haven't read this yet.

The Diamond Hunters
One of my least-favourite WS novels - it just didn't engage me.

The Sunbird
Unfinished, although I'd like to get back to it one day - it was quite compelling, and something a little different.

Eagle In The Sky
The first half-or-so of this novel is very thrilling...but, after the story shifts from Israel to Africa, it becomes too convoluted (especially with the subplot involving the local villain, which got rather silly)

The Eye Of The Tiger
One of my most favourite WS novels, if not the most favourite - it's a great treasure-hunt story, period, with one of WS's most engaging heroes.

Cry Wolf
Unfinished, although I'd like to get back to it one day - it wasn't bad (I first tried this years ago before becoming a WS fan)

Hungry As The Sea
One of my least-favourite WS novels - I couldn't stand the hero, who I found too heroic and too much of a wanker.

Wild Justice
Unfinished, because although it opens with a startling hijacking sequence, I thought it eventually petered out and became somewhat dull.

Elephant Song
Unfinished - I may get back to it one day, because it was okay.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 6:50 am
by John R
That is quite a mixed bag, like you said. I'm quite surprised, i thought his stand alone books were suppose to be consistently strong on the whole? Either way i like hearing peoples' opinions on his books, anyone else read some of these? I've only done 2 so far:-

The Diamond Hunters
Overall a good book, but by WS standards it doesn't come close to the Courtney's. I found the main character hard to like. But the plot was good i thought. Overall i'd give it a 6 out of 10.

The Sunbird

I will write a full review of this once i get a chance. All i'll say here is that this is a gem of a book. Quite brilliant in my opinion. Different to the rest of his stuff and very cleverly written.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 11:30 am
by Bee
And the only one I've read is:

Cry Wolf

Has your typical WS storyline, but still found to be interesting. The only problem is that one of the main characters annoyed the heck out of me.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:42 am
by treeboa
the sunbird, my first reading of this author, personally i think it paved the way for many of his future works, in many of his other books you can see lines coming from or going back to that one book, more especially the second part of the book, nothing overt but still there just the same, if i had to be left alone with just one of his books that would be the one, i must have read it 10 times over the years and replaced it twice, sad i know