Absolutely gripping from beginning to end

Brilliant book on South African life, politics, and history in the early twenties

Further stories in the tales of the Courtney’s and the strife within it. A tale of how riches in one man’s eyes is totally different from another man’s and the lengths they go to achieve it

As much as the second novel, The Sound of Thunder, of the first sequence of Courtney family novels fails to live up to the initial book, When the Lion Feeds, so this third volume almost meets the challenge of being a full on success. With but a few exceptions, it is every bit as fast paced and intriguing as Lion. Even more, all the seeds of jealousy, psychopathy, lust, and love established in those early pages are brought to fruition in this story of Mark Anders, an impoverished veteran of World War I who gains the sympathy and support of Sean Courtney. Sean is the hero of this first series. But unlike the first two books, where he is the centerpiece of the action, we only see him through the eyes of Anders in A Sparrow Falls. So much does Sean come to respect Anders that the now aged general makes Mark not only his protege, he eventually gives him all the affection and support he would have given to his own son. This state of affairs is not because Sean does not already have a son. He does. But Dirk Courtney is a psychopath, a killer, a man made mad in no small measure because of the terrible job Sean did in raising him as a boy--all explained in Thunder. Dirk's devious plots for revenge make him the antagonist for every desire Sean and Mark want to build for the future of South Africa. Such includes the creation of a wildlife preserve spearheaded by Sean and Mark and, separately, Mark's pursuit of Sean's daughter, Storm, for his wife.

It is with this latter storyline that Sparrow begins to fumble about somewhat. For Wilbur Smith has a weakness. It appears in his passages about domestic life. Essentially, he isn't worth a damn at it. The pages about Mark and his wives (and, earlier, Sean and his wives), yes, plural, make for some painful and atrocious reading. Tarzan and Jane exhibit more matrimonial dignity and sophistication than either Mark or Sean. What is even worse is the place women come to serve in Smith's writing. Mostly they seem to serve as emotional stepping stones, people put into the story in order for their deaths or tragedies to somehow elevate the development of the main male characters. As a result, they become little more than cliched adornments or sad little side notes to careers of the great heroes.

Still, that is the only flaw of note. The story is engaging. At times, it is impossible to put it down. And it achieves what must have been most important of all for Wilbur Smith. It leaves you craving the next book in the next sequence.

After reading the first two books in this series, I had high hopes for this one! But it was fairly disappointing. It continues the saga of the Courtney family, but the story line this time was quite predictable and a bit boring. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and only kept reading because I hoped it would get better. I did enjoy the wildlife and nature descriptions of Chaka's Gate and fantasizing about how the country's wildlife preserves may have come to pass. Note: graphic sexual content throughout the book

Great twists and turns... gut wrenching at times.

There's something both romantic and tragic about stories set in Africa, and Wilbur really got me in with this one, largely through his passionate Mark Anders character. It’s a reminder that life isn’t black and white, and that it’s easily lost, be it human, animal or environmental. “And now he felt a real concern that Pungushe was dead. For such a splendid animal, death was a shabby bargain.” “Pungushe saw the thing break in him at last. The cold stillness of hatred and guilt and horror broke, and Mark began to cry, hacking tearing sobs that scoured and purged. It is a difficult thing for a man to watch another weep, especially if that man is your friend.”

Fantastic read

In pure Wilber Smith style a spell bound saga. The author certainly does his homework. I am from South African and know of the places he speaks of around the striker uprising. An absolutely stunning read.

After 100 pages, when author tells the age of protagonist, then this novel is really some heavy stuff to be read. His descriptions of Storm and Mark cannot be written any better. Reading out lion and lioness making out and sharing their quarry, fails any telecast by Discovery channel. If Dirk had been a real life character then he would have won Oscar for best Villain every year. It's like I am at loss after finishing the novel. Long live Africa!!

A solid book in my opinion, A Sparrow Falls by Wilbur Smith tells the story of Mark Anders, a young South African soldier who returns to South Africa after the First World War. There during the interbellum period, he gets embroiled in the politics, develops a bond with Smith's main hero Sean Courtney who serves as a mentor to Mark and falls in love with Sean's daughter Storm.

So far I have read four novels by Wilbur Smith so far but this one is one of the stronger books because of its unique look at interbellum South Africa, the fraternal bonds between men, especially that between Mark Anders and Sean Courtney and its sense of the clash between two worlds, be it nature and civilization or tradition and modernity. Personally what I like the most of A Sparrow Falls is the character of Mark Anders himself who is one of the more likable and heroic protagonists created by Wilbur Smith.

To conclude this review, I highly recommend this book to be read.

Definitivamente el más flojo de la Saga de Sean Courtney. Sin embargo, la narrativa de Smith tiene una calidad tal que te empuja a seguir a través de las largas páginas. La flaqueza de la obra recae en que el personaje de Sean tiene mucho menor peso que en las otras novelas, lo que hace que la trama avance considerablemente más lenta. El personaje de Mark Anders no tiene la profundidad que tiene la del General Courtney y eso, en mi humilde opinión, aletarga las partes más ricas del relato.
No obstante, es un gran cierre para la Saga y un libro digno de ser leído y disfrutado.

A great story

Swept along with the pace and turns of the tale with some surprising diversions and informative descriptions very much enjoyed

Thanks again for new characters
Sadly, saying goodbye to others