Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Discussion about Wilbur Smith's Ballantyne series

Rate "The Angels Weep"

5 - Brilliant
18
69%
4
7
27%
3
1
4%
2
0
No votes
1 - pathetic attempt at literature
0
No votes
 
Total votes : 26

Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby Nefer » Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:26 pm

I read this one many moons ago and promptly forgot everything about it... bad book or poor memory?

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Postby Matbow » Sat Oct 21, 2006 7:01 pm

Same post as in the other thread:

Well I've just finished this book (Angels Weep) and I have to say...I really liked it!

I found the subject quite uncomfortable (it's essentially about the native Matebale tribes waging war on the White occupiers, with both sides using extremely unethical practises), but written in such a way where you can feel empathy and loathing for both "sides".

I wasn't expecting the book to be separated into two parts, and when it happened I was quite disappointed, but it worked really well. Looking forward to reading "Leopard" now...I may even go and buy it tomorrow!

8/10 (....umm 4/5 then!)
Last edited by Matbow on Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Crap spelling
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Postby Nefer » Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:47 pm

So it turns out that I didn't read this book at all!!!

I read it all the way through and was captivated by it. The character development dropped off when the war started, but WS did a good enough job on that in the earlier books so it wasn't too big a tragedy.

It felt so raw and real, too brilliant for words.

5/5!
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Postby Son of the Silver Fox » Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:01 pm

I couldn't agree more with you Nefer, I think this is WS best because of the raw nerve he touches.
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On "Angels Weep"

Postby vallabh » Mon Mar 26, 2007 4:55 am

I do agree with Matbow and many of you on this.

I too found the subject uncomfortable. It even shows the ballantynes loosing and completely destroyed. But it helds you captive all through the book. The harsh treatment that is shown at the end to the ballantynes let to a lot of grief. I got too much involved.

Great to join a site where we can discuss wilbus smiths novels. I recently only realized that I have been reading the novels in complete opposite cronoligical way. recently I completed "Birds of prey" which is the one of the first courtneys of africa series..
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Postby delby » Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:14 am

I had to give this all five because it got me right into willie. although I read River God first (and loved it) I didnt try anything else for about a year then I found Angels at a car bootie and i knew my bf hadnt read it so I bought it for him.I read it in a day or so but IMHO any book which has you hunting the house in your pants at three in the morning cos u know you have the next one somewhere definitely gets full score(I found leopard in a cupboard under the stairs and started it there and then.
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Postby Ramon » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:32 am

I've just finished it, and I loved it.

Spoiler:
I have some difficulties believing the total change of Samson. At first he seems like a nice guy, and then suddenly he transforms to a mean killing machine.


I'm right on with "The Leopard hunts in darkness" now, and I hope Craig can breed so the Ballantyne family will keep living amongst us. Of course Leila St. John is also a Ballantyne, being the grand daughter to Robyn, but I don't wish her any luck in populating the earth...

My Ballantyne family tree is turning out really well, but I have to finish The Leopard before I can publish it.
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Postby delby » Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:09 am

Ramon you r so lucky reading leopard for the first time I hope you enjoy it as much as I did
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby Katharine » Sat Oct 06, 2007 10:19 pm

i read this book last week when my other WS books where in the mail. It was the first on i read from that particular series so the begging kind of threw me off and i found it boring at first cause i didn`t know what was going on but as i got into it i started really liking it. The friendship and bonding between everyody was amazing Ralph certainly had a way with people.

I dn`t know if i liked how the book was split in two. It was a good ending but as i read it i wanted it to be more about Ralph and everyone other then so many years in the future. I liked how the old men where Bazo and Ralphs sons but the whole graveyard thing threw me off a little it took me awile to connect them all again cause im really dumb when it come s to that stuff. I was also confused about what happened to Robyn`s little town thingy i cant remember the name just now. I know the hospital was still there but i was imagining it all grownover and stuff (the area not the hospital) was anyone else thinking the same thing
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby keymer » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:45 pm

Started reading this book last week and found the first 70 odd pages a bit slow but eventually got into ... and then find 50 pages missing just after Ralph jumps on the train to secure the claim for the Wankie coal and gets accused of cutting the telegraph cable ... how annoying :(
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby Nefer » Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:38 pm

I had that happen to me once. It was a murder mystery called "Just Killing Time" and the last 100 pages were gone. That was all the resolution and climax of the book!!

Try your local library, they should have a decent copy :)
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby [email protected] » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:03 pm

Just finished "The Angels Weep" for the second time in about a dozen years. Wow, what an adventure. I remember thinking that this one probably couldn't be topped by WS after the first reading. I think I was right, THIS IS A WONDERFUL STORY. His having Craig Mellow writing "A Falcon Flies" (at the end of the book) from the Ballantyne journals was an interesting idea. (Maybe Clive Custler thought this was neat also LOL). A SUPER TRIOLOGY. Thanks Wilbur! .........Gary
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby haer » Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:59 pm

While i can't really name a favourite book, i think this is the one that affects me the most.
Somehow i get this sad and empty feeling after reading it.

The total destruction of the Matabele Empire makes me sad.
And the fall of Rhodesia make's me even sadder.

While i could argue from a political standpoint that Rhodesia "deserved" to fall, it's so sad. As always WS gives such vivid pictures of the people who lived there. The desperate and brutal struggle to defend their way of life. Against an enemy they regarded as their own people in many ways.

So, i think it's an extremely well written book, but i get this feeling of loss every time i read it.
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby John R » Mon May 19, 2008 4:29 am

I've just started reading Angels, after a large wilbur break! and maybe partly because of that, this book seems amazing! i've read the 1st 100 pages in next to no time. I have found the Ballantynes to not be quite as good as the Courtney's, falcon and men of men were ...or just felt slightly slower to me. This one seems more like it though!
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby John R » Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:09 pm

I'm giving this one full marks 5 out of 5, one of his best in my opinion. superb
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby Matbow » Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:15 pm

John R wrote:I'm giving this one full marks 5 out of 5, one of his best in my opinion. superb


I had to do a double take then...not only a post from Mr Rook, but also it looks like I missed your previous post a month or so back! Good to see you're still Wilbur-ing!
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby John R » Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:45 pm

ha you should know me mat, i'll always be wilbur-ing ...and obsessed with sean courtney :P lol

Leopard hunts in darkness now!
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Re: Reviews of "The Angels Weep"

Postby E-Hoog » Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:19 am

I simply adore all Ballantyne novels. The stories with Zouga/Ralph are far better than the newer stories, but all in all, a masterful epos. I'm now re-reading The Angels Weep for the 3rd time, about 2 minutes after I finished Men of Men for the 3rd time (the 2 minutes were to get the succesor from my shelf). I love re-reading Smiths' novels, but in doing this I found a small continuity error :-(. In Men of Men when Lobengula says his farewells to the Codringtons, the twins are described as being 21 years of age. Yet when Ralph suggests to Cathy in The Angels Weep to have the twins over to mellow, well, Mellow, they are suddenly 18. Bit of an error there. Not a big one, but still a tad annoying. Apart from that 5/5 every time!
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