Monsoon - Softcover

Smith, Wilbur A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312971540 ISBN 13: 9780312971540

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 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

Before there was empire, there was trade, and military force to protect that trade. Wilbur Smith's new, full-blooded historical novel starts with the commissioning, by King William III of Sir Hal Franklin. Franklin's mission is to rid the Indian Ocean of the pirate known as al-Aouf, the Bad One, and tells us more than we knew about the East India trade, Channel smuggling, the Arab slave trade and the struggle to keep Oman free from the Ottoman Empire.

Smith's solid, competent prose does not always avoid the hackneyed, but effectively conveys both the heat of battle and the savoury smells of lands experienced for the first time. Hal Franklin has four sons and the complex tragedy of their relationships dominates the book as brother is pitted against brother in love, and war, and treachery. The plot, though, is only a part of what is important here; the Indian Ocean trade was the site of one of the great confrontations between the English-speaking world and Islam--a conflict, between the brash mariners with their shiny new guns and the long-established, scholarly, brave, pious rulers of Arabia and the East African coast. A conflict whose outcome was open to doubt.--Roz Kaveney

Review

"Smith is a captivating storyteller."
- "The Orlando Sentinel"
"A masterful tale of action and suspense set on the high seas, [in] arid deserts, and steaming jungles... Clever plot twists and lavish historical detail...a smooth blend of adventure and romance, the novel is an atmospheric trip through the fierce mysteries of the Dark Continent and the Arabian seas."
- "Publishers Weekly"
"[Smith is] one of the world's most popular and prolific adventure writers."
- "The Washington Post Book World"

Smith is a captivating storyteller. "The Orlando Sentinel"

A masterful tale of action and suspense set on the high seas, [in] arid deserts, and steaming jungles... Clever plot twists and lavish historical detail...a smooth blend of adventure and romance, the novel is an atmospheric trip through the fierce mysteries of the Dark Continent and the Arabian seas. "Publishers Weekly"

[Smith is] one of the world's most popular and prolific adventure writers. "The Washington Post Book World""

Smith is a captivating storyteller. The Orlando Sentinel

A masterful tale of action and suspense set on the high seas, [in] arid deserts, and steaming jungles... Clever plot twists and lavish historical detail...a smooth blend of adventure and romance, the novel is an atmospheric trip through the fierce mysteries of the Dark Continent and the Arabian seas. Publishers Weekly

[Smith is] one of the world's most popular and prolific adventure writers. The Washington Post Book World

"

"Smith is a captivating storyteller." --The Orlando Sentinel

"A masterful tale of action and suspense set on the high seas, [in] arid deserts, and steaming jungles... Clever plot twists and lavish historical detail...a smooth blend of adventure and romance, the novel is an atmospheric trip through the fierce mysteries of the Dark Continent and the Arabian seas." --Publishers Weekly

"[Smith is] one of the world's most popular and prolific adventure writers." --The Washington Post Book World

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0312971540
• ISBN 13: 9780312971540
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 822