Showing results by author "Wilbur Smith" in All Categories

Taita is a humble slave, an expert in art, poetry, medicine and engineering as well as keeping important secrets. He is the most treasured possession of Lord Intef. Yet when Intef's beautiful daughter, Lostris, is married to the Pharaoh, Taita is commanded to follow her and swiftly finds himself deeper than he ever could have imagined in a world of deception and treachery. But outside the palace, the great kingdom of Egypt is divided and in even greater danger. Enemies threaten on all sides, and only Taita holds the power to save them all....

Even before he could move, the full realisation of what confronted him blazed in the Pharaoh's mind. This was the foul and loathsome thing that Taita, with his clairvoyant powers, had smelt in the air. The light was strong enough for him to make out every detail of the enemy he had loved as a friend. The magic of the gods. The treachery of man. In his long life, Taita has gone from slave to warlock, and now his wisdom and abilities are known throughout the kingdom. But even his immense skills cannot protect those close to him from the evil that lurks at the heart of Egypt.

It is the 1870s, and twin brothers Sean and Garrick Courtney are born into the wilds of Natal. They could not be more different, and fate, war and the jealous schemes of a woman are to drive them even further apart. But as history unfolds, a continent is awakening. And on the horizon is the promise of fortune, adventure, destiny and love.... When the Lion Feeds is the best-selling novel that launched Wilbur Smith's stellar career and the first in the riveting saga of the Courtney brothers.

When Royan Al Simma is the victim of a vicious attack that leaves her husband dead, her only thought is that she must continue their joint work: to use the secrets of the seventh scroll to find the hidden tomb of Pharaoh Mamose and its untold trove of lost Egyptian riches. To do so, she must bury her grief and partner with the eccentric aristocrat Nicholas Quenton-Harper, a man who shares her passion for the ancient world. But the men who killed her husband are not yet finished.

Centaine de Thiry Courtney has not only survived but thrived. A successful woman with two sons of her own: Shasa Courtney, the Courtney heir, and Manfred de la Rey, Shasa's half brother, her secret child raised solely by his father. At the time of the Great Depression, Centaine must make difficult decisions to ensure the security of her family - decisions that will affect Manfred and his father, Lothar de la Rey, a man Centaine once loved. But the world is changing, and conflicts greater than any the world has seen before are looming.

Shasa Courtney, heir to the Courtney fortunes, dreams only of uniting his divided, beloved country. Against all his principles, he allows his half brother Manfred to persuade him to join South Africa's right-wing National Party, hoping to moderate from within their dangerous policies of apartheid. But Shasa's wife is working against everything he's working for while Manfred has deadly secrets he cannot afford to be revealed, either to his family or the public who are on the brink of war.

Jim Courtney is protected by all the wealth and influence that his family's successful business, the Courtney Brothers Trading Company, can provide in the Dutch-owned colonies of South Africa. Louisa Leuven is an orphaned young woman who escaped the plague only to be unjustly imprisoned and transported to the Cape. When a storm destroys her prison ship, Jim is her only hope of escape. But Louisa and Jim have greater adventures in the African wilds ahead of them.

A Falcon Flies is the first best-selling novel in Wilbur Smith's epic tale of Africa, The Ballantyne Novels. In search of a father they barely remember, Zouga and Dr Robyn Ballantyne board Mungo St John's magnificent clipper to speed them to Africa. But long before they sight that mighty continent, Robyn knows that she and Mungo will battle with all the fury of natural enemies - and love with all the desperation of those unable to evade the commands of fate.

In the burning heat of the Sudanese sun, the city of Khartoum is under siege from the fearsome forces of the Mahdi, the charismatic leader of those who tire of the brutal Egyptian government. In Khartoum, along with thousands of innocent citizens, are trapped the fanatical General Charles Gordon, intrepid soldier Penrod Ballantyne of the 10th Hussars, English trader Ryder Courtney and the British consul and his three beautiful daughters.

Famed sailor Hal Courtney is now a man of land and family. But when the King orders him to sail to Madagascar and stop the pirates responsible for looting the finest trading ships of the East India Trading Company and bringing ruin to them all, Hal must travel with his three younger sons on a journey that will shape the young men forever. In this swashbuckling adventure of marauders and slave traders, love and treasure, the brothers will face duels, chases, betrayals and battles - and see their fates cast in ways they could never have imagined.

Dr Daniel Armstrong, ecologist and documentary maker, has dedicated his life to protecting Africa's animals and rain forests. But when a gang of poachers murders his childhood friend, Chief Warden of the National Park, and steals the government-protected ivory stores, Daniel's quest of passion becomes one of revenge....

She is omnivorous. No matter age or appearance, physical frailty or imperfection. It is not their flesh that feeds her appetites, but their souls. She devours young and old, men and women. She leaves only a desiccated husk. An unspeakable evil. An impossible gift. Renowned magus Taita is now over 100 years old and has ascended to a new level of wisdom and understanding about his world. But he must prepare himself for the biggest threat Egypt has ever faced: the great plagues and the failure of the Nile, brought about by the fire witch Eos, an ancient force of sheer evil.

1754. Inseparable since birth and growing up in India, Theo and Connie Courtney are torn apart by the tragic death of their parents. Theo, wracked with guilt, seeks salvation in combat and conflict, joining the British in the war against the French and Indian army. Connie, believing herself abandoned by her brother, and abused and brutalised by a series of corrupt guardians, makes her way to France, where she is welcomed into high society.

One of the greatest fighter pilots of the Great War, Michael Courtney is saved by the French noblewoman Centaine de Thiry when he crashes near her home. Soon after, Centaine finds herself alone and carrying Michael's child and must travel across the ocean to join his family in South Africa. But no journey is ever simple, and a pregnant Centaine finds herself shipwrecked in shark-infested waters off Africa's notorious Skeleton Coast, a deadly swim away from the sun-bleached desert that will see her defenceless and alone.

It is 1667, and the war between the Dutch and the English continues apace. Sir Francis Courtney, his son Hal and their crew are carried around the southern tip of the African colonies by the good ship Lady Edwina, licensed to attack and seize the treasure-laden ships of the Dutch East India company. When they capture a Dutch trader and hold the passengers to ransom, Sir Francis hopes only for a good price and a small sense of satisfaction.

Following on from the events begun in A Falcon Flies, Men of Men continues Wilbur Smith's epic story of the Ballantynes. It is the age of empire, of blood and conquest, of boundless excitement and possibility. Striding in the footsteps of the pioneers is Zouga Ballantyne. His dream begins in the danger and drudgery of the diamond pits and ends up on the rich grasslands of Matabeleland - but not before a king and a proud warrior nation have paid the price of history....

The Syrian plane disintegrated, evaporating in a gush of silvery smoke, rent through with bright white lightning, and the ejecting pilot's body was blown clear of the fuselage. For an instant it was outlined ahead of David's screen, cruciform in shape with arms and legs thrown wide, the helmet still on the head, and the clothing ballooning in the rush of air.

From the trenches of France, General Sean Courtney comes back to fame, fortune and a seat in the government. Mark Anders, the courageous young South African whom he has come to regard as his own son, returns to nothing, his grandfather murdered and his property seized by an unknown company. At the bottom of the mystery is Sean's son Dirk, the jealous, violent and power-crazed genius whose all-consuming hatred can only end in blood.... A Sparrow Falls is the thrilling third novel in the Courtney series, continuing from When the Lion Feeds and The Sound of Thunder.

The second novel in Wilbur Smith's The Courtneys series, The Sound of Thunder is a powerful story of family tragedy set against the backdrop of the ravages of the Second Boer War. 'Only once in his life had Sean met a man whose strength matched his own - and now, again, they were pitted against each other....' Sean Courtney, impulsive adventurer of When the Lion Feeds, returns from the wildnerness a rich man - until he is robbed by the Boers of his wagons, his gold and the girl he loves.

Cairo, 1887. A beautiful September day. Penrod Ballantyne and his fiancée, Amber Benbrook, stroll hand in hand. The future is theirs for the taking. But when Penrod's jealous former lover, Lady Agatha, plants doubt about his character, Amber leaves him and travels to the wilds of Abyssinia with her twin sister, Saffron, and her adventurer husband, Ryder Courtney. On a mission to establish a silver mine, they make the dangerous journey to the new capital of Addis Ababa, where they are welcomed by Menelik, the King of Kings.