Assegai

Simon Vance does it all in Wilbur Smith's latest African adventure. Set in 1913, on the cusp of WWI, the story is filled with sexism, racism, and classism. Vance deftly becomes a Masai warrior; a powerful medicine woman; a German princess with a penchant for pain; a German industrialist hatching a conspiracy; and our hero, ex-soldier and great white hunter Leon Courtney. The first part of the novel is pure adventure--from Courtney's heroic rescue of his friend to his forays into hunting, including an exciting safari with Teddy Roosevelt. But elephants and lions are not the only game in town. Vance ramps up the tension as Germany's growing interest in East Africa becomes more dangerous, and Courtney must single-handedly foil a plot by disgruntled Boers. Great listening. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

February 16, 2009
Smith continues the saga of the Courtney family of Africa begun in 1964 with When the Lion Feeds
. In this installment, Leon Courtney, ladies’ man and former lieutenant in the King’s African Rifles, becomes a professional big game hunter and safari guide in the years leading up to WWI. Among his clients are Kermit Roosevelt, son of President Teddy Roosevelt, and a spoiled German princess who is fond of the whip. The story really doesn’t kick into gear until halfway through, on the eve of war, when Courtney’s uncle, Brig. Gen. Penrod Ballantyne, commander of the British forces in East Africa, asks him to spy on his newest client, Count Otto von Meerbach, a German industrialist with a secret agenda. Courtney also begins an affair with Otto’s mistress, Eva, who has a secret life of her own. Will Courtney defeat Otto’s dastardly scheme and rescue Eva? Though the outcome is never in doubt, Smith manages to serve up adventure, history and melodrama in one thrilling package that will be eagerly devoured by series fans.