Rating: 
Summary: A Classic Read
Review: One of the reviewers here claims that 'The Sunbird' is racist in its essence and that W. Smith must have been more careful and write it 'impartially' as the 'Indiana Jones'. I will agree with the first part of this opinion and admit that somewhere I also got annoyed by the implications for the superiority of the 'whites' over the 'blacks'. However, I don't agree with the second part of this view: I prefer Smith writing according to his beliefs and not trying to be 'politically correct', even if that annoys the reader. Further, I believe that this book is so beautifully written and the above issues should only be viewed as secondary. The 'Sunbird' is a magical book that makes you want to read it again and again. Smith's writing is so natural and masterful at the same time that makes the 'Sunbird' an almost classic read. The characters (black and white) are given extremely well, especially Dr. Benjamin Kajin, and the plot always keeps the reader's attention without being predictable. I recommend the 'Sunbird' to everyone- whether you are a Smith fan or not.
Rating:
Summary: A review of your synopsis
Review: The book is not about Africans living ON the moon, for heaven's sake! It is about Carthegenians living in Ancient Africa in a place called The City Of The Moon!
Rating: 
Summary: The third part is missing
Review: The first part of this book is readable not a thriller but good, it has to many pages that doesn't have to do with the story of the lost city, the cave and the treasure but you can read it. The second part of the book, the dream of Benjamin Kazin is just a waste of time, but I have to admit that WS has a lot of imagination.
The problem of this book is that doesn't have an end, what happened with the cave? The lost city? The treasure?
Rating:
Summary: The third part is missing
Review: The first part of this book is readable not a thriller but good, it has to many pages that doesn't have to do with the story of the lost city, the cave and the treasure but you can read it. The second part of the book, the dream of Benjamin Kazin is just a waste of time, but I have to admit that WS has a lot of imagination.
The problem of this book is that doesn't have an end, what happened with the cave? The lost city? The treasure?
Rating:
Summary: Two tales in one
Review: The first part of this novel takes place during the present. When Dr. Kazan discovers the lost City of the Moon there are many unanswered questions about the past. In the second part of the book the author takes you to the citie's past and the unique civilization that lived there. Wilbur Smith incorporates some of the characters from the present into the ancient past. It is quite an imaginative plot.What fasinated me was that on the T.V.show NOVA there was a documentary about an archaeological discovery of the lost city of Ubar in southern Arabia. Pictures from the space shuttle confirmed the location of this city buried in the sand. It makes you stop and think of how little we know of the ancient past.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: The Sunbird is one of the best books I've ever read. I listened to it on tape on an auto trip from Florida to Massachusetts, and travel time has never flown by so quickly. The story is split between modern times and the era of the lost city in a most intriguing way, and I commend it to anyone. Wilbur Smith's best work.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: The Sunbird is one of the best books I've ever read. I listened to it on tape on an auto trip from Florida to Massachusetts, and travel time has never flown by so quickly. The story is split between modern times and the era of the lost city in a most intriguing way, and I commend it to anyone. Wilbur Smith's best work.
Rating:
Summary: Another Wilbur Smith masterpiece.
Review: The Sunbird is written by the same author who wrote the highly-acclaimed The Seventh Scroll. And, as is the case with Smith's other novels, the story takes place in Africa. The first half of the novel covers the events in the lives of three people: a brilliant scholar, a wealthy businessman, and a young female understudy. The second half is an ingeniously told flashback through time and what might have been the previous or past lives that these same three have had many centuries ago. There's plenty of adventure, politics, history, and romance in this novel. And, as always with Wilbur Smith, lots of violence. In some ways, Smith reminds me of the American author, Harry Crews. They both love to write about the primitive side of human nature. Plenty of violence, cruelty, greed, and injustice. Smith is different though, in that he is also a writer willing to put great beauty and passionate romance in his novels to balance out the ugly. One cannot read a Wilbur Smith novel and not yearn to visit the African continent. In my opinion, The Sunbird is not quite as good as The Seventh Scroll. However, it is still a great reading experience and definitely better than most adventure novels out there.
Rating:
Summary: Another Wilbur Smith masterpiece.
Review: The Sunbird is written by the same author who wrote the highly-acclaimed The Seventh Scroll. And, as is the case with Smith's other novels, the story takes place in Africa. The first half of the novel covers the events in the lives of three people: a brilliant scholar, a wealthy businessman, and a young female understudy. The second half is an ingeniously told flashback through time and what might have been the previous or past lives that these same three have had many centuries ago. There's plenty of adventure, politics, history, and romance in this novel. And, as always with Wilbur Smith, lots of violence. In some ways, Smith reminds me of the American author, Harry Crews. They both love to write about the primitive side of human nature. Plenty of violence, cruelty, greed, and injustice. Smith is different though, in that he is also a writer willing to put great beauty and passionate romance in his novels to balance out the ugly. One cannot read a Wilbur Smith novel and not yearn to visit the African continent. In my opinion, The Sunbird is not quite as good as The Seventh Scroll. However, it is still a great reading experience and definitely better than most adventure novels out there.
Rating: 
Summary: This book would make a wonderful movie.
Review: The trick to making this book into a movie would be the casting of Huy Ben-Amon. Danny Devito might possibly play the part, if he practiced with a battle axe for an extended period of time. The real charm of this book is the duality of characters and their parallel existence in Africa's distant past and in the present-day researchers investigating that past. An interesting alternative to the white/black conflict of the book might be the casting of both sides as black. What I would hate to see lost in this novel is the wonderful characterization of Huy Ben-Amon.
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