The Sunbird

This book has so much excitement and adventure packedinto it that in the hands of a lesser author it would have beenexpanded into a trilogy. The vivid writing brings Africa alive:the reader can feel the hot sun and the cool lake waters,smell the dust and grasss, and hear calls of seabirds as well as thunderous war chants and gunfire. I have probablyread it 20 times and have four separate editions of it, so I am a fan. Please keep in mind that it does have flaws, butyou will look long and far for a more exciting book ... if you ever find one.

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.

I have read this book twice only. My daughter has just reached the age where it would be appropriate for her and, while feeding her hunger for books, I remembered how good this book is. The second time I read it in a single sitting following a party where I didn't drink and I was waiting for everyone else to wake up. They woke, got on with the day and left me there reading. It is that gripping. It's a big book by the way, must be 8 hours or so of continuous reading. I loved the story device of having the same characters inhabit different bodies through the two parallel stories and hated finishing it. So now I'm going to buy another copy and read it again.

I am a huge Wilbur Smith fan. "River God" is the best novel I have ever read. Be sure you read "River God" before you read "Seventh Scroll". If you like "River God" and "Seventh Scroll" you will also love "The Sunbird". It is very similar in theme and is its own sequel in the fashion of "River God" and "Seventh Scroll". If you have read all the Wilbur Smith books like I have, you'll yearn for more, but it takes him years to come up with a new book these days. Now that many of his books are being reprinted, I am finding lots of fellow admirers of Mr. Smith. When you just can't wait for Wilbur to come up with another one, you might look at "Churchill's Gold" by James Follett. It is very similar in style and quality to most of the Courtney series.