The Triumph of the Sun: The Courtney Series 12

Wilbur Smith is well established as one of the top novelists writing what I would describe as good old adventure novels. I have not read all of Mr. Smith's offerings, but I have enjoyed very much the ones that have Egypt as their backdrop.

As I had just finished reading a factual book about the Sudan, I thought it would be interesting to read Wilbur Smith's slant on both the country and also the siege of Khartoum. This battle is the main background for the novel.

It is easy for the reader to get the feel that Mr. Smith is a seasoned writer with a string of very successful novels behind him. His confidence shows through in his writing style and also his knowledge of the subject he is writing about.

A Holy War has broken out in the Sudan. A war that has been precipitated by years of misrule from the Egyptian capital Cairo. The war is being co-ordinated by a new and fanatic religious leader the Madhi, the 'Expected One.'

Khartoum is under siege and three powerful men are fighting to survive. One of them, a British businessman Ryder Courtney has become trapped in the fighting, in which the British General, Charles Gordon is killed. The other two men are Captain Penrod Ballantyne of the 10th Hussars, as well as the British Consul, David Benbrook and his three beautiful daughters. They are among the hundreds of British subjects trapped in the conflict and their chances of getting out alive are not good . . .

Once again Wilbur Smith confirms his mastery of meticulous historical research coupled with a good old fashioned 'rip-roaring' yarn!
As with his dozens of other tales that span the history of his of his fictional Courtney family, this tale keeps the reader literally on the edge of their seat throughout all 500 plus pages.
As with the other superb books which track over four centuries of the lives, loves and struggles the Courtney clan, Triumph of the Sun is set against the sprawling backdrop of Africa.
This novel covers the adventures of Ryder Courtney and pits him against the fanatical Mahdi and the infamous dervish troops during the long siege of Khartoum defended by the legendary British General Gordon.
In this novel however Courtney's heroics almost pale in comparison to a member of the other fictional family of Smith's African saga's, Captain Penrod Ballantyne.
Ballentyne plays the role of the handsome, dashing, fearless young British officer that was most typified in the swashbuckling films of the 30' and 40's, by Errol Flynn.
The almost Hollywood style love interest is supplied by the beautiful teenage daughter of the British consul general, Rebecca Benbrook. In a neat little package that would have done a Hollywood director proud, Smith also manages to throw two preteen younger sisters, Saffron and Amber, into the mix as well.
As the story weaves in and out to cover the long years of the siege and battles, Smith cleverly develops the pair of young sisters into love interests as we watch them grow up under the most adverse but exciting of conditions.
In the hands of a lesser author, this tale of dashing hero's and winsome maidens in peril could have turned into a hackneyed 'Saturday matinee' of a novel.
But Smith is a master when it come to the historical saga. And although both Ryder and Penrod make escapes from certain death, survive fiendish tortures and rescue fair maidens, Smith spices the mix with liberal doses of really good history and cunningly woven and often shocking detail, so that the reader is truly caught up in the adventure and never bored.
As a matter of fact there is one incident when Penrod is held captive by a dervish prince, who suspects him of treachery, where I actually find myself getting choked up. The dervish decides to expose Perod by torturing in the most gruesome manner imaginable, a poor little slave girl that Penrod has befriended.
For the rest of the novel, I perused the pages with a vengeance, waiting for Penrod to even the score by plunging a saber into the dervish's guts!
It is a powerful writer who can evoke that sort of emotion in a reader, and Smith never disappoints.
I heartily recommend Triumph of the Sun as yet another in Wilbur Smith's long list of triumph's.

Richard S. Wasley "Ric - Author - Shadow of Innocence - coming January 2007 from Kunati" (Boston, MA USA)

If you are interested in history, then you may find Truimph of the Sun an interesting read. However, even then facts are discreetly covered, buried among characters that floundering, trying to stay alive. Smith does a great job describing the hopelessness of the residences of Khartoum. Ryder Courtney's character shows promise but soons falter. Rebecca is never fully revealed to the reader, how she comes to make her decisions so we are left feeling cheated. All characters struggle for a main role, so sadly, none really achieve this.
The plot is developed but bogged down by the overwhelming number of characters unsure of their roles in the story. Where in the beginning, Smith pacing is slow, events described in great detailed. The reader feels the tension on Ryder's boat, the hopelessness, the fear. But as the story approaches the climax the pacing picks up to a speed that loses the reader. We are no longer involved, we are quickly told the ending (packaged neatly, no questions please)in a drill sergeant way.

While, suffering from some major wounds, The Triumph of the Sun does limp along and deliver a reasonable story.

Something got lost in the desert.....I think it was the plot.

It started slowly, then started throwing knock-out punches left, right and centre, and then just wandered out into the desert and keeled over. Thus was Wilbur Smith's `Triumph of the Sun'.

Having read probably 80% of what Smith has published, I can confidently say that he can do (and has done) so much better. While he produces the regular menu of sex, violence and derring-do, we have too many protagonists and not enough storyline to keep them all involved. Part of the problem was probably the decade or so between the sack of Khartoum by the Mahdi and the eventual re-occupation of the Sudan by the British-Egyptian forces. We are treated to a pretty intense build-up of suspense with the siege of Khartoum, including getting to know the characters to the point where we can care what happens to them, and then when the main event happens half way through the book, everything seems to hit fast forward and we see only highlights of the next ten years or so, including huge chunks of the book where one of the key characters (Ryder, Penrod and Rebecca) have no role to play. In the end, it is all very predictable, except the mood and the characters kind of just run out of puff and fall over the finish line.

I would not say that this is a bad book at all. In fact I have found it interesting, entertaining, and it has piqued my interest in the Mahdist rebellion and colonial Sudan. Having said that, it seems the stories of the Courtneys and the Ballantynes (unless more prequels are added) have pretty much run their race. Hopefully the next Wilbur Smith will be a more original offering.

Having finished this novel, I have now read all of Wilbur Smith thirty novels and I must say that the man never strays far from what made us start reading him in the first place. His novels are not for the faint of heart as there is considerable cruelty in them, both with animals and our fellow man, but that is the way things happened during the times he writes about. There are also some fairly graphic sexual accounts. If that is not your cup of tea, you had probably better find a different author. However, Smith in his books always follows the thread of history in whatever part of the African continent he is writing about and gives life and color to a part of the world that many of us know too little about. This book is set basically in The Sudan and brings to life the seige of Khartoum and it's aftermath in a most interesting and realistic way. As in many of his books, a Ballantyne and a Courtney are prominently featured along with many other characters from both history and Mr. Smith's most fertile mind. My only criticisim of the book is that with 50 or so pages to go I was looking forward to the sequel. Alas, that is not to be. However, the story is vintage Wilbur Smith and if he is someone you enjoy reading, this novel will not change that.

This historical novel of the battles between the English and Arab tribes for the Sudan in the 1880s is wonderfully written. While this is a weighty tome, it does not drag. Smith has a wonderful way with words and is not hesitant to describe extreme violence or sexual scenes in detail, so this is not a book for the squeamish on either of those counts. The plotting was tight and the characters were wonderfully drawn. My only criticism is that the ending is a bit rushed.

I have enjoyed nearly all of Wilbur Smith's books I have read so far. Unfortunately, "The Triumph of the Sun" was a chore to read. Usually I can't wait to see what happens. This time I couldn't wait for it to end.

I suppose it is fortunate then that Mr. Smith simply gave up in the last 50 pages and rushed through 10 years of history with all the skill of a high school author. At least the pace put a quick death to the lingering illness of the first 300 pages.

Unbelievable characters, absurd sex scenes and unlikely meetings amongst the protoaganists and their always faithful, never wavering, long suffering but still ebullient slaves make this the worst of an otherwise impressive body of work by Smith.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Triumph of the Sun. I have read and collected all of Mr. Smith's books and consider him the master story teller. His adventures transport the readers into other cultures and times, and Triumph of the Sun does this very well from several character perspectives.

I felt the pace was a strong steady gallop and the main characters' growth was smooth and well developed.

A large part of Mr. Smith's fan base expects to find an explicit sex scene here and there throughout the story; it is a part which contributes to the characters development arc. Some of the sex scenes were certainly more detailed in this book than in Mr. Smith's earlier novels, but I felt they were sparingly used and illustrated Rebecca's personal growth.

The ending of the book, which outlines all of the characters lives, was disappointing. To me it represented the end of the Courtney & Ballantyne sagas; I hope this is not so and will impatiently await Wilbur Smith's next adventure.

Barbara Davis author of "Darkside of Debonair - The Bushmeat Trade"

This is a Historical fiction of the Holy War between Egyptians and Arabs in Cairo during 1884. I think that this book was well written at first I was apprehensive about this book because the description on the back does not do it justice. The love scenes are a bit redundant but this does not affected the enjoyment of this book.

I enjoyed this book with its plot twists and turns and its glimpse into history. The siege of Khartoum was devastating and Smith reveals what the people had to suffer. His characters allow us to experience the emotional upheaval; he maintains the suspense as the story moves forward. The ending resolves into a satisfying look at the results of fighting for survival.

Another awesome novel by wilbur smith.....This one started off slowly, but certainly picked up and was in much the same style as the other courtney family saga books....or ballyntine saga books....wilbur smith is one of the best.....makes me want to visit africa all the time....

My first encounter with Wilbur Smith and most definitely the last. Clumsy, incredibly wooden writing, cheap run-down metaphors of the old "The desert...she is like a woman, dangerous, fickle..." type. Ugh. The narrative resides firmly in the white, Euroecentric, Romance of/in Empire genre of pre-WWI. The Enemy is the "(Islamic) fanatic Mahdi", the good guys are the - brace yourself - white English, with their finely (English-) trained Egyptian soldiers and the Christian Abyssinians. Reading this, I certainly felt it is no accident that so many Americans are baffled by the Middle East.

The story line follows several characters with great predictability. In the end - who'd have guessed? - the clever, wily British officer slays the emir who enslaved him. Wow. Never saw that one coming. In addition, as a number of reviewers have noted, the ending chapters are incredibly rushed with a most bizarre "Wrap-up" at the end. Of course, the wrap-up is Whites Only. We do know that some of the Sidekicks of Color, those faithful servants to the white principals, end up OK...in that they continue to serve their masters.
What is most disappointing is not that someone would write this stuff - hey, people write anything...it's that it is so popular. Shame on us, Readers.

After having read some reviews that fall short of calling it a good book, it made me wonder why some people even bother giving so much critique to the book that's been already written by a stellar author and acclaimed? Critics usually have never written nor created anything of substance or value. Critics are merely there to impune on other's creativity, flight of imagination as well as plain talent. Wilbur Smith is simply great and entertaining. His books are interesting, terrific and engrossing. And as far as vocabolary is concerned, its colorful and profoundly diverse. The words are not over done but flowing as smooth as the Arabic. All in all its a cool stuff! Enjoy it!

Compelling page turner. Wonderfully written, historically accurate novel of the last days of Khartoum. Colorful characters, with amazingly descriptive desert battle scenarios, the hardships of the time combined with the realistic love interests intertwined. Wilbur Smith is one of our times greatest authors. I have been a fan for over 30 years and have never been dissappointed. I only wish he wrote more often, but realize the meticulous research he does makes this impossible. Love this guy!

I have been fascinated by the confluence of Arab and Christian society in Africa. From the missionary explorers to the Cold War operatives. It is a continent of promise. This novel resonated the struggle of the British Empire with the Arab world. General Kitchener's presence in the book before his concentration camps in the Boer Wars of South Africa, India and WW I exploits shows Britains dedication to the Empire. After General Gordon's death and the siege of Kharthoum, the British prevailed against the Dervish. It is an excellent read.

This was your normal Smith novel storyline that any who have read the majority of his work enjoys, however, I think it needed about 200 to 300 more pages to equal any of his better novels. About two thirds of the way through the adventure he started rushing as if he were trying to make a deadline or something. Even if it was a not to bad finish, I felt that there was much more that could be told to have made it a lot better read.

I agree with most of the reviewers , this is certainly a very pathetic work of literature by an author that i have always held in high esteem . I have read and reread every one his previous books , but never felt so badly as this one .

this book failed to evoke any excitement , a lot of the outcome seem to have been a foregone conclusion . there really was no great climax and the surprises were really nasty ones .

I dont think this book will endear this author to his demanding readers .

This book will not disappoint. Wilbur Smith stays true to his style with real adventure and colorful description that comes to life. Wilbur Smith fans and those new to his work will fall in love with his characters. I can't wait to read the next one in the series!

This book will not disappoint. Wilbur Smith stays true to his style with real adventure and colorful description that comes to life. Wilbur Smith fans and those new to his work will fall in love with his characters. I can't wait to read the next one in the series!