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Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > The Triumph of the Sun review
In the Sudan, decades of brutal misgovernment by the ruling Egyptian Khedive in Cairo precipitate a fierce and bloody rebellion and Holy War headed by a charismatic new religious leader, the Mahdi or 'Expected One'. The British are forced to intervene to protect their national interests and to attempt to rescue the hundreds of British subjects stranded in the country.
Along with hundreds of others, British trader and businessman Ryder Courtney is trapped in the capital city of Khartoum. It is here that he meets Captain Penrod Bellantyne of the 10th Hussars, as well as the British Consul, David Benbrook, and his three beautiful daughters. Against the vivid and bloody backdrop of the siege of Khartoum, in which British General Charles George Gordon is killed and the British retreat, these three powerful men fight to survive.
Rich with vibrant historical detail and infused with his inimitable powers of storytelling, THE TRIUMPH OF THE SUN is Wilbur Smith at his masterful best.
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Review by: goldfishstar (Natalie)
Dated: 24th of January, 2006
I haven't read a Wilbur Smith book in years, so it was interesting to pick up this and see where he had gone since I'd last read...
My previous readings of his novels were all Courtney based books, which I thoroughly enjoyed, so it was interesting to see a different side of one of the Courtney clan in this - though it took me 3/4 of the book to click that he was a 'Courtney'! I blame it on post exam stress... ~blush~
Anyway, on with the review...
As always, Mr Smith has done a fantastic job setting the scenes in this book; his descriptions of the countryside, the traditions of the people, the sights and smells of the city, the hunting of the elephants and the dinner parties at the British Consulate. These took me out of my living room and straight into the heat for the city, surrounded by the sounds of the battles being fought...
What I was disappointed with though, was the depth of the characters!
While there was a certain level of interest with knowing what was happening with each of the three girls and the men that were important to them, it wasn't that that kept me reading. There needed to be something stronger there with the characters, especially the twins, who were such strong characters in the pages, yet got missed out in many places throughout the story...
I would have to say that it wasn't one of Wilbur Smith's finest works, though it was a story that was well told and that drew me into the world of Khartoum for the time it took to read.
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If you have ever been bamboozled by the use of a foreign word or phrase, or simply want to spice up your vocabulary with some well-chosen bons mots, then this is the book for you.
Thousands of foreign words and phrases have been absorbed into the language and are currently used in English, from the everyday (macho, tete-a-tete, spaghetti) to the relatively obscure (ultra vires, auto-da-fe).
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