Rating: 
Summary: monsoon, completely excellent reading
Review: Because I loved this book so much, I believe I have become a Smith fan for life. I am reading "The Seventh Scroll," and when finished have waiting for me "Birds of Prey." Sorry I couldn't have read "Birds of Prey" first, but Smith is such a captivating author, that it won't be much of a break in pattern.Monsoon is a book that cannot be put down once the reader begins it. The characters, Hal, Tom, Dorian, Guy, Black Billy, Aboli, and all the rest do not only come alive in your hands, but stay with you for days after the book has been put down. The story is not only educational (in the style of Michner) but exciting and completely interesting. This is a book I would recommend to any reader of fine literature.
Rating:
Summary: The monsoon of literature
Review: Every now and then comes a book that forbides you to stop reading... Monsoon is one of them.
It won't change your life or your cosmic theory, it will probably never bring its author a Nobel Prize, but who cares???? This is the one and only book among the dozens I've read that brought tears to my eyes. I just couldn't stop crying... which, you know, doesn't really help when to try to read :-)
Excellent writing, excellent story, very close to reality (of its time anyway), full of action (maybe a couple of descriptions could have been omitted) and full of sentiments. It has everything. Plus Tom... Tom is the star of the book and probably the son that every parent would pray for, the brother every brother/sister would want to have, the definition of the word "friend", and the man every woman would beg to meet. Don't think Tom is spuriously perfect, no. He's just smart, honest, brave, self-confident, he has a word of honour, he defends the weak, he only fights his equal or superior, he enjoys life, he's loyal, he's born a leader, and he has a great heart.
It's around 1,000 pages but -trust me- it won't take you more than a couple of days... Afterwards you may go to sleep...
It's a MUST... If you need some action, go for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I got this book as a birthday gift from my best friend...Got it, then let it lounge for about 3 months; It just didn't interest me. (yes.. never judge a book by its cover.)
Upon picking it up, I immediately was transported to the 18th century .. Now Mr.Smith isn't a fantastic writer, in my humble opinion, but he IS a great storyteller.. i could not get enough of this book! A coming of age story, i especially liked Dorian's sojourn in the hand of the Muslims. The entire novel reminded me those adventure novels i read as a boy, but updated for a more mature audience.. The feud between the brothers was tangible, and you felt sad that Tom probably never would see England again, and the holdings of his forefathers,High Weald.Mr.Smith conveyed a sense of purpose, and destiny to the characters, and made them believable in a 'honourable, knight/boy-scout sort of way' ( the way you thought all people were when you were reading as a child )
That said, at times, I considered Mr.Smith's style a bit common, but again, the story was excellent.. I enjoyed this, and others of his books thoroughly since then...
Rating: 
Summary: Great, loved it.....on to more Wilbur....
Review: I loved river god and from there have read 6 of his books.....This was great and kept getting better....
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: I picked up this book at a library sale, not knowing anything about it or its predecessor books. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a fast moving tale with a lot action. Smith seems to be a master at describing fight scenes (though some of the gore described goes a little overboard). The tale centers around the sons of Hal Courtney. Each one has chosen a different path in life. One is kidnapped by pirates, which is followed by a massive search by the one Courtney that truly loves him like a brother. The tension mounts every time young Courtney is close to rescue. Great for fans of "high seas" action.
Rating:
Summary: Historical Action
Review: MONSOON is a highly enjoyable Historical Action/Adventure novel. The action sequences are well told and Wilbur Smith proves to have a dynamic description which holds a readers interest right to the end. The Story is also well constructed : Sir Hal Courtney, a famous adventurer is sent to Africa to put an end to an arab pirates(Jangiri)attacks which have hindered the trade in the area. However, everything falls on Tom's (his young son) shoulder as Hal is wiped out of the picture during a fierce battle. Alot is covered in this "boys adventure" tale which I found appealing, and the fighting between the brothers added a nice touch. However, I found the re-occuring romantic theme very tiresome and un-necessary. Tom's relationship could have been toned down, but Dorians relationship to Yasmini, the choiceless princess, was excellent! Also, the scene where Tom almost kills his own brother Dorian without knowing towards the end gives the story a tragic edge which was pretty tense--Dorian was captured earlier on and raised by Arabs, becoming a respected leader of the scattered Omani tribes. Overall, a great Action story well worth reading!!
Rating:
Summary: The Courtney saga continues
Review: Monsoon is both a worthy and lengthy sequel to Birds of Prey. We find Hal Courtney 20 odd years down he line in his spacious English country gentleman's estate surrounded by his 4 sons. He has already buried 3 wives and is getting bored rearing his sons. He soon gets coaxed by the East India Tea Company to embark on one of his swashbuckling voyages to rid the trade route of Arabian pirates. His eldest son, the black hearted William remains at home as the caretaker of the estate. His son Guy isn't up to the task and gets sent to Bombay. His other 2 sons Tom and Dorian, both chips off the old block, carry on in the seafaring tradition. The story mainly follows the exploits of Tom and Dorian who through the fortunes of battle become separated for many years. The saga goes back and forth between the lives of brothers, sometimes in an annoying fashion. The length of the book is a bit tedious but Smith's descriptive prose makes it palatable. He sets the ending up perfectly for yet another sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Simply fabolous
Review: Salaam aliekum
For all this summer I had been reading lots of novels and guess what? all of them had similar plot...murder case and then a flock of birds investigating the prey.... i got this book (monsoon) from my dad's friend... i never thought of reading the book coz of the cover... but i am pretty convinced now to never judge a book by its cover... MONSOON is a brilliant adventurous story consisting of love, action, the bond between the brothers and the prestige of the Courtney family... I wish I was born in that century where I could be a warrior, a sailor and a hero...
I cant wait to lay my hands on Wilbur Smith's BLUE HORIZON
He was, he is and always will be the master story teller
Rating:
Summary: Too good for words
Review: Simply put, this book is excellent. After reading the previous book, Bird of Prey, I had a good background knowledge of some of the characters and the world in which it is set. The characters are brilliant, so are the plots, the adventures, the intrigue, the love triangles.... the list goes on and on. If ever a book deserved 5 stars, this is the one.
Rating:
Summary: The amazing Mr. Smith rolls on...
Review: Sometimes the Courtney clan goes looking for trouble and sometimes it finds them, but throughout this book, all of the various members of the clan are in a turmoil of one kind or another to the great entertainment of the reader. While Monsoon is a sequel to Birds of Prey, it is also a prequel to the many other books of the Courtney family that Mr. Smith wrote some time ago, beginning with When the Lion Hunts, I believe. There should be at least one more book to complete the time line to the Sean Courtney era and beyond, maybe more. Tom and Dorian Courtney are worthy parts of the Courtney lineage and they encounter, between the pages of this book, more perils than Pauline ever thought of. The action is fairly non-stop, both on land and on sea; the romancing is intense when it occurs; deceit and treachery are constant companions, some bad things happen to good people and some very bad things happen to some very bad people. No one does this type of story better than Wilbur Smith and he still has the hop on his fastball.
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