Wilbur Smith’s latest installment in his Courtney Family series is entitled War Cry. It is as riveting as his other books. The book is strongest in the beginning and the end. It seems to get a bit bogged down in the middle.
Although I did not read Assegai (the prequel to War Cry), I could piece together what happened based on the writing in this book – Leon Courtney was the main protagonist with his wife Eva. Leon continues to be the main protagonist in War Cry along with his daughter Saffron.
Smith’s writing is detailed with great descriptions. I especially like the descriptions of Kenya and its native people. The African plain is brought to life with Smith’s prose.
The character development is excellent. Smith firmly establishes the backgrounds of the antagonists and protagonists. This is particularly true of Konrad and Gerhard von Meerbach. Evilness seems to seep from Konrad’s character and the opposite is mainly true of Gerhard. Although women were free to be who they wanted to be in the 1930s and 1940s than anytime.
I think that some of Saffron’s actions are a bit out of context. She is much bolder and gets away with more than she probably would have if she lived during those times. Don’t get me wrong, I think her character is solid, she is a little hard to believe at times.
War Cry is a wonderful work of fiction by a master storyteller.
I read several Wilbur Smith books some time back. My problem with him was graphic descriptions of physical cruelty. I have a fairly low threshold for that stuff. Your mileage may vary.