Interesant și acest Sanctuarul, al treilea roman din Saga Familiei Courtney.
Au fost unele evenimente previzibile, unele acțiuni nu prea pe gustul meu, dar Wilbur Smith știe cum să schimbe rapid macazul de la o chestie la alta.
Romantismul puțin mai siropos pentru gustul meu a purtat vina unor acțiuni care nu prea mi-au plăcut, dar dacă ești fan și d'astea, ești unde trebuie.
Mi-a plăcut acțiunea alertă, natura descrisă superb și faptul că te transportă direct în inima Africii.
All in all merită citit de relaxare, evadare.
Sunt tare curioasă cum se va continua al patrulea roman și mai ales cu cine se va continua.

Always brilliant! I do strongly recommend this writer, he is who got me addicted to reading!

A great rrad

One of the most enthralling books I have ever read coulb not leave it down l think you will agree

Loved the Courtney series. Smith’s early work is hard to beat for HF aficionados.

Stunning

A must-read for the reader who enjoys adventure. Mark Anders is a hero for everyone and Wilbur Smith brings him to life with poise, passion and flourish.

Finally it's over. After 50% progress, I skipped countless pages of boredom. What a waste of time! This was the sixth book in Courtney's series I read. Completely different from the previous ones. I think there is no line of action. There are too many unnecessary chapters. The ending was absurd: after being responsible for hundreds of murders, the main characters intend to bring the villain to trial rather than doing justice with their own hands, as they did throughout the book.

Exceptional storytelling!

Wow! An inspired brilliant chapter in the saga. Completely draws you in and the story has so many facets. My sincere gratitude to the author for taking me on the journey.

This Africa

Not only is the book a riveting drama - it draws you into the depths of a mesmerizing continent and the people who live there.

This was by far my favorite of the Courtney Cycle, and perhaps the most refreshing too. Much of that has to do with our new protagonist. A young man, a non-Courtney importantly, that finds himself thrust into the drama of this turbulent family outlives and outlasts his challengers. He finds love, loses it, and finds it again. He re-learns the beauty and majesty of the natural world after years in the trenches of the Western Front, but must first overcome those who seek to destroy the idyllic frontier (there is a 'Scouring of the Shire' idea here). His wounds from that war do not define, because new ones take their place. South Africa is a changing country, and as our protagonist learns his new place in it, he is faced with deadly enemies and surprising friends.

This novel is classic Wilbur Smith, but it finds it footing better than the prior books I read. It pulls you in and the pages fly by. I very nearly gave it 5 stars, but it is not quite there. It is in equal measures heartbreaking, captivating, disappointing (in substance, not in execution), and victorious. My primary objections are also classic Wilbur Smith: namely was *fill in the blank* really necessary? Oftentimes the answer is no, but the story is still superb.

This also allows me the opportunity to reflect on the Courtney Cycle. This will be brief: it is a beautiful, action-packed, chilling, thrilling, and deeply moving 60 year saga. And it was a pleasure to read.

Yet again Wilbur Smith tries to pack far too much into one novel. I loved the start, Mark Anders story was genuinely interesting, but it all seemed to go a bit wrong once the Courtney's became involved. Mark becomes a flat character, brilliant at everything, good looking, and not mercenary at all. His only role is to make the evil characters look as bad as possible, but as they're depicted in such a way that they are completely unredeemably sadistic, it isn't really needed.
Wilbur Smith is great at writing action sequences, even if some are very brutal, but plot that moves you between the action pieces is clunky and the romantic aspects are terrible.
Not a terrible novel, but not really good either.

I was disappointed with this book and did not enjoy it as much as the first two books in the series.

I think one of the reasons is when this book takes place. It starts off near the end of the First World War, quite a time jump from the ending of the second book. I would have like to see what happened between the books and the intro to the war and more of the First World War. Later on in the story, we do get some background of what happened when a character is doing research in old newspapers, but that was just a tease.

I also felt that there was too much going on in this book, we had WWI, fighting off a Communist revolution, and setting up a wildlife preserve, as well as the usual family drama and romantic entanglements that the author's books always have. There was enough stuff to satisfy two books I believe.

It was still an enjoyable read, just not as strong a book as the previous one.

This is the 3rd book in The Courtney series and follows the life, family, friends and enemies of Sean Courtney. A new character is introduced that takes a centre-stage style position in this book and is that of Mark Anders. The first meeting is during The Great War and Mark is a sniper. He was born and raised in South Africa and built an excellent marksman reputation. Sean Courtney comes across him at the battlefield and then they meet up again when they are back home in South Africa.

Mark had been looking forward to returning home only to discover he has no home, his grandfather has died and there is no estate to come to Mark. Something is not right and this is confirmed when someone tried to kill Mark. Fleeing again he goes to live with his friend Fergus, they fought together and know each other well. Fergus is part of the Communist party and while some of their policies sit right and Mark agrees with most of it, there are some tactics that do not. This leads him back to Sean.

This is another fabulous book in the series and the author writes with a passion for the country he loves. This period of African history is one that is violent, unrelenting and dangerous. Dirk Courtney is hellbent on making himself well-known and achieving more than his father Sean in all aspects. Dirk is the throne in Sean's side and Dirk is not averse to using underhand methods. A schemer, planner and cutthroat in business with a firm hand.

The author tells the story with a brutality that matches the time, there are some sections that are tough reading but it is in fact part of the history and should be acknowledged as happening.

The pacing of the story fluctuates and at times it is so fast you race to keep up and at others, there is time for contemplation and seeing things from the perspectives of the characters. The story touches on the evolving landscape and how man is encroaching on nature and wildlife. Noticing dwindling numbers in the game and how man is impacting the environment is mentioned. Nothing has changed but it is good to acknowledge that the writing of the time and historical mentions of landscape changes are mentioned.

This is an action-packed adventure story from start to finish. It tells of the world and way of life and the changes that are at the forefront of the times. Advances in technology, medicine and also the power and greed that is overtaking local people.

Historical fiction as well as a touch of romance, with dangerous situations and people. Battles, conflict, rivalry and disputes are balanced with life, love and hopes for better futures. Another excellent story in the series and it is one I am definitely going to recommend.