Specify Books Supposing When the Lion Feeds (Courtney #1)
| Original Title: | When the Lion Feeds |
| ISBN: | 0312940661 (ISBN13: 9780312940669) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Courtney #1 |
| Characters: | Sean Courtney |
| Setting: | South Africa |
Wilbur Smith
Paperback | Pages: 544 pages Rating: 4.19 | 12937 Users | 449 Reviews
Particularize Containing Books When the Lion Feeds (Courtney #1)
| Title | : | When the Lion Feeds (Courtney #1) |
| Author | : | Wilbur Smith |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 544 pages |
| Published | : | October 3rd 2006 by St. Martin's Paperbacks (first published 1964) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Cultural. Africa. Adventure |
Commentary As Books When the Lion Feeds (Courtney #1)
Part of the 'Courtney' series 'Something always dies when the lion feeds and yet there is meat for those that follow him.' The lion is Sean, hero of this tremendous drama of the men who took possession of South Africa in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Sean and his twin-brother Garrick grew up on their father's farm in Natal. The first part of the book deals with his childhood and youth and his longing to become a successful farmer and hard-hitting fighter like his father. The tough life of cattle-farming is brusquely interrupted by the Zulu Wars, when Sean and his brother see fighting for the first time. Wilbur Smith vividly recreates the excitement of the war for the young men-their hope of winning their own cattle, the horror of the massacre at Isandhlwana, the heroism of the defence at Rorkes Drift. 'Witwatersrand' is the name of the second part of this book and it tells the story of Sean's fabulous success in the gold rush and his rich life with Duff Charleywood and the beautiful Candy in the new town of Johannesburg, where huge fortunes were made and lost in a morning's dealing on the Exchange. The atmosphere of this feverish, violent time is brilliantly drawn: the heavy drinking, the elaborate houses, the ruthless abandonment of the failure. Sean and Duff are caught at last in a trap laid by their rival, the sinister and clever Hradsky, and leave Johannesburg for the wilderness to seek their fortunes once more. And now the book moves to its climax. At last it seems as though Sean will settle to a quiet married life – but fate has other plans for him. They return to Johannesburg and tragedy strikes quickly. Sean finds himself alone once more... Filled with action scenes in war and the early heady days of the gold rush, and adventure among the vast game herds of the African wilderness, this novel is dominated by the towering compelling personality of Sean, whose life story is continued in The Sound of Thunder and A Sparrow Falls. Reviews * 'Plenty of incident and colour' – The Observer, 1966 * 'Pride of place goes to When the Lion Feeds because it is bigger, wider and more full of plot than all the others put together ...' – The Daily Telegraph, 1966. * 'Wilbur Smith has built up his wide-screen adventure story with energy and shrewdness.' – Sunday Times, 1966 * 'Mr. Smith is a natural story-teller who moves confidently and often splendidly in his period and sustains a flow of convincing incident without repeating his excitement.' – The Scotsman. 1966 * 'A very impressive book in its wide scope and its descriptive colour.' – SphereRating Containing Books When the Lion Feeds (Courtney #1)
Ratings: 4.19 From 12937 Users | 449 ReviewsCritique Containing Books When the Lion Feeds (Courtney #1)
John Cartwright Duration: 15:13Description: 'Something always dies when the lion feeds and yet there is meat for those that follow him.' The lion is Sean, hero of this tremendous drama of the men who took possession of South Africa in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.Sean and his twin-brother Garrick grew up on their father's farm in Natal. The first part of the book deals with his childhood and youth and his longing to become a successful farmer and hard-hitting fighter like hisReading this Wilbur Smith novel, three decades after I read the last one, The Dark of the Sun, I quickly realized how far I have strayed from reading popular fiction: like hero Sean Courtney, once you leave home, you can never come back.This book is still a page turner despite its age. Short chapters, each with incidents of dramatic consequence, thread about 20 years of the heros life, from his days on the family farm in Natal to his intention of returning home to visit his alcoholic twin
Saying that I am pleased that this book and I crossed paths would be an understatement.This book is incredibly engrossing. Smith is a master at world-building and character development; the fact that this was his first novel is no small feat. Sean Courtney is one of the most complex and well-constructed protagonists of any book I've ever read. I found myself envying his swash-buckling lifestyle while simultaneously pitying him for all of the hardships that seem to inevitably fall upon him.This
Wilbur Smith has always been a favorite of readers in Southern Africa. His style of writing seems to hit a note with many who live in that region. This book - the first he published in 1964 - tells the story of two young brothers growing up on a farm in Natal and torn apart by actions in their youth. They become involved in the Zulu Wars and then, as young men become rich in the Witwatersrand Gold Rush. This is family saga that contains everything - danger, poverty, victory, injustice, romance,
I read this when it was first published back in 1965. At the time I was captivated by the book and read them all with enthusiasm. Now 53 years later my thoughts have changed a bit.I can't say that I didn't enjoy it the second time around but there were parts that just made me cringe.In essence, this is a melodramatic family saga with the African bush as a backdrop. Sean Courtney's, the principal character, life goes from dizzying highs to catastrophic lows. But no matter how bad things get for
"First published: 1964" - one can tell.
As I begin my semi-annual trek to binge read a sizeable series by an author previously foreign to me, Wilbur Smith seemed like an easy choice. His Courtney/Ballantyne series (some argue they are branch-offs of one another, others that they do not connect at all) should be a wonderfully complex and entertaining collection, worth a few months' investment. Twins Sean and Garrick Courtney were connected by birth, but could not have been more different. Growing up in South Africa in the mid- to
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