Ballantyne novels
I’ve finished reading Wilbur Smith’s Ballantyne series in
chronological order: A Falcon Flies, Men of Men, The Angels Weep, The
Leopard Hunts in Darkness.
There are similarities with the Courtney series — African setting,
strong and successful pioneering characters, Arab cameos, conflict at
various levels, thrilling action, etc.
The series started slowly for me, but finished on a high note.
Overall, I enjoyed the Courtneys a little more, but take nothing away
from Smith’s brilliant narrative.
The simplistic way to explain differences between the two series is
that the Courtneys are South African, while the Ballantynes are
Rhodesian, with some overlaps in both.
The history of modern South Africa is longer than that of Zimbabwe,
and arguably more interesting, which perhaps explains my marginal
preference.
The Leopard Hunts in Darkness, however, is a powerful novel. Smith
paints a good picture of modern Zimbabwe before the Mugabe land grab. I
visited the country in 1991 and sensed a feeling of optimism, which
Smith conveys at the end of this novel.
At that time the economy was fairly strong and some whites were
actually returning. If Smith ever decides to extend this series the
next book will no doubt be tragic.
I’ve now read all the Courtney and Ballantyne books, which leaves me feeling somewhat bereft.
These articles might be of interest:
