Jakhalzen van het paradijs is het derde en tevens laatste deel van de Courtney-trilogie. Sean, die inmiddels generaal geworden is, ontmoet tijdens de loopgravenoorlog in Frankrijk de jonge soldaat Mark Anders met wie hij later vriendschap sluit.

Na de oorlog worden Sean en Mark in Johannesburg geconfronteerd met een stakingsoproer die ternauwernood de kop wordt ingedrukt. Als ze zich in willen zetten voor het natuurbehoud rond Chaka's Gate worden ze hierin gedwarsboomd door Seans' nietsontziende zoon Dirk.

Net als in de voorgaande delen weet Wilbur Smith ook in dit deel de aandacht van de lezer vast te houden met het boeiende en vlot geschreven verhaal dat nergens verveelt. Met de drie boeken over het wel en wee van de Courtney-familie heeft Smith een uitstekende trilogie neergezet.

At times Smith can get too verbose in his detail. There is something to be said for leaving room for the reader to use her imagination! The story was excellent, taking us through historic events and bringing them alive with well developed characters.

This is the outstanding final chapter of Wilbur Smith's initial Courtney trilogy that began with WHEN THE LION FEEDS. With the story of Sean and Garry virtually tied up at the end of A SOUND OF THUNDER, the previous instalment, the plot in this one introduces a new central protagonist who brings freshness to the saga.

Despite being a great deal longer than the first two books, A SPARROW FALLS is never less than unputdownable. Starting off in the trenches of WW1 and gradually moving to the African wilds, Smith creates a compelling portrait of a changing society and changing landscape. Once again, various plot strands of war, terror and romance are woven together expertly, with the miner's strikes of 1922 playing an important background part.

Dirk Courtney, a mere boy in the last saga, has become a ruthless and powerful villain by this time, one of the most memorable bad guys I've read from this author. Mark Anders, shell shocked and innocent, makes for an engaging hero and a fitting contrast to Sean Courtney's alpha male masculinity. The action scenes are superby described as always, and the ending manages to be both powerful, tragic and fitting. Great stuff!

This is a riveting story of the Courtney family and their journey into South African politics. The plot has lots of good historical fiction which weaves around strong, bold characters and of course a love story thrown in for more entertainment.

Good read as ever

Wilbur Smith does it again. I love this story. Wilbur Smith makes an amazing tale full of setting descriptions that I could I see in my mind. Beautiful, wonderful, intense and wild settings and characters. The characters came to life and were easy to love and hate. Some characters instantly become heroes. There is a life lesson that if you are patient and don't take revenge, you maybe just come out ahead. I immediately went out and purchased the next few books in the series.

Great book and it would have to be because it's over 600 pages. It holds you captive from the first page to the last and has it all. Action, wonderful descriptive, love, a hero to absolutely love.

About ten years after writing The Sound Of Thunder, Smith returns to the Courtney family saga with this book, published in 1977.

We begin again with Sean Courtney four years after the end of The Sound Of Thunder. Now we are in France, in the trenches of World War I. Sean is a general and is on a surprise inspection tour. He meets a young South African sniper named Mark Anders. Sean is interested in seeing how Anders does his job, and stays until our sniper faces off with 'their' sniper.

After this episode, Sean disappears and Mark Anders takes over the book. Now I have to admit I was heartily disappointed in this one, and that is rare for me with a Wilbur Smith story. But I was expecting to read about the younger generation of Courtneys by now, and I was thrown for a loop when Anders became the main character right off the bat.

Dirk Courtney does feature and he is just as evil as his younger self promised to be in the earlier book, but Michael is mentioned only in passing and it would be a spoiler for The Burning Shore if I say why. Somehow I could never get too involved in this story. It deals with creating unions, the fight for workers' rights, Bolshevism, and the many other topics that were current after The Great War. Intense and complex themes, of course, but I simply couldn't focus on them.

After about 100 pages I skimmed quickly through the rest and decided to DNF.

I was very confused for about the first third of this book as there was only the very briefest mention of Sean Courtney and everything else was about Mark Anders. I was also disappointed about the characters that all but disappeared in this book. Gary Courtney was mentioned in about half a dozen lines - but he was a major character in books 1 and 2. I was expecting book 3 to be all about the expansion of the relationship between Michael and Sean Courtney, but Michael was "killed off" without hardly a mention. There was too big a jump between books 2 and 3 in the timeline and no real explanation for Sean's vast wealth. It seemed like there should have been a book 2.5, or this book was book 4. At least dastardly Dirk was still about - and more evil than ever. A good character that we all loved to hate. The book was too long on the romantic side with Mark and it took too long for him and Storm to "get it on". The ending of the book was both dramatic and shocking. Good old Mr Smith who as not shy in pulling the trigger to major characters, even if it brings the family line to a near conclusion. The book is a little dated in how the characters are portrayed and the attitude towards those less fortunate, but it was an improvement on the almost racist wording in the earlier books. So, I was disappointed, but this will not stop me reading the next instalment!

Well, this was a book choc-a-bloc with adventure which I really enjoyed. So many things happened that it is hard to know how to describe the book so I will stick with generalities.

The theme of the book was the struggle between the desire to advance civilisation for personal profit versus those who want to preserve the existing landscapes, ways of life and wildlife. The characters were a little cliched in their being really bad (progress) or really good (conservation) but there were twists and turns galore as the plot developed so being cliched was not a problem with the book. There was also plenty of romance with Storm Courtney being a major character in her own right as she interacted with Mark Anders (the all-action hero).

The novel is a ‘factional’ book which I really enjoy because it teaches a little as well as entertains. What I mean by ‘factional’ is that while the adventures of the individuals in this book were fictional, the main sweep of the broader events - impacting the characters - did happen (at least according to Wikipedia).

If I enjoyed the book so much why only 4 stars? Two reasons: first some of the book was predictable although as already stated there were shocks and surprises galore. Second there were a couple of scenes where Mark appeared to achieve the impossible in terms of strength and resilience when opposed by an adversary. It is much better, to my mind, if the hardships faced by a hero are at least plausible. But all in all these were minor quibbles.

The book is recommended to all those who like a good adventure yarn!

Macera romanlarının usta ismi Wilbur Smith'in en büyük seri romanı Courtney Serisi 3.kitabını bu ay okuma fırsatı buldum. İlk kitap Bencil ve ikinci kitap Fırtına'nın ardından 5 seneye yakın bir süre sonra tekrar seriyi sürdürmek güzel bir deneyim oldu. Kitap genel olarak yine Afrika'yı ve erkekler arasındaki çekişmeleri ele alıyor.
Kölelik, sistem karşıtlığı ve ırkçılık üzerine yoğunlaşan kitapta, yer yer sosyalist düzene karşı çıksa da, genel anlamda Afrika'nın temel sorunlarını anlatıyor.
İlk iki kitabın başkarakteri Sean Courtney ise artık devrini çocuklarına ve onların aşklarına bırakmış vaziyette.
13 kitap sürecek olan bu seriye devam etme niyetindeyim. İlk kitaptaki heyecan bir nebze azalsa da hiç bitmeyen bir aksiyonun peşinde olmak insana keyif veriyor.

**Spoiler Alert**

"A Sparrow Falls" captivated me with its intricate storytelling and rich historical context. In this concluding installment featuring Sean Courtney, I felt a nuanced shift as the narrative transitioned from the venerable Sean to the emerging protagonist, Mark Anders. This subtle passing of the torch was masterfully executed, allowing readers to explore a new dimension of the saga while still paying homage to its roots.

The historical backdrop of South Africa is once again brought to life with vivid detail, and the parallels between Mark and his Zulu companion, and Sean with his Zulu ally, are compelling. These relationships underscore the enduring theme of cross-cultural camaraderie that Smith weaves throughout his works.

The deaths of Sean and Ruth were poignant, evoking a deep sense of loss. However, this was tempered by the hope and resilience embodied in Mark and Storm's survival and subsequent union. Their journey hints at a promising future, leaving readers eager to discover what lies ahead for John.

Wilbur Smith's "A Sparrow Falls" is a testament to his prowess in blending historical fiction with complex character development, offering a profound and engaging narrative that resonates long after the final page is turned.