Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well I couldn't put it down..., 4 April 2009
Wilbur Smith's story of a young big game hunter captivates you from the opening pages with its distinguished, convincing and evocative descriptions of colonial Africa. Whether you have visited Africa or not, an enriching experience of the continent is in store as the author transports you to confrontations with the big five, altercations with rebels, and the ghostly visions from the hero, Leon Courtney's, past, present and future.
The book is a page turner not just for an well-conceived plot. As 'Assegai' demonstrates in every lucid description, Wilbur Smith is a genuine writer, and a stylist of distinction. The writing is a joy to read. The cultural details expand upon the plot and never seem tacked on. The novel illuminates a crucial juncture in early twentieth century history, the steep incline to the First World War, the problems and pitfalls of imperialism.
What is most impressive is the way in which Smith marshalls and orchestrates the structure of this plot and his characters. The way the novel segues from a straightforward action and suspense largely focussed on Masai rituals and customs, to a Western intrigue in which Courteney is essentially the outsider looking in on the west is seemless. This deepens the characterisation of Courtney and genuinely questions ideas of national identity.
I have a few issues with some of the characters (Snell is your archetypal pen-pushing underachiever with an axe to grind), and sometimes the portrayal of Africans and their deference to the physically and morally excellent Courtney is a bit too conventional, but what's important is their interrelationships and interiorirty, and these have a palapable veracity at their core.
If you're a fan of Smith work then this is another winner. For new readers, expect a well-orchestrated plot where the perspective and identity of the protagonist is adjusted by the uncontrollable events around him, either by supernatural fate or the growing, undeniable reality of war. Above all, expect good writing and an enveloping experience.
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35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Assegai by Wilbur Smith, 4 April 2009
It is 1913 and clouds of war are gathering over three continents. Ex-army officer turned big game hunter Leon Courtney is running safari expeditions in East Africa for the rich and powerful. This activity, though, is a smokescreen for a priority mission, spying. Leon has been recruited by his uncle, Penrod Ballantine, the commander of the British military forces in the region, to gather information about one particular client, Count Otto von Meerbach, a German arms manufacturer whom, it is suspected, has a secret agenda. As Leon settles into his task he becomes inevitably drawn into contact with the Count's mistress, the beguiling Eva. He falls passionately in love with her and this brings its complications when he discovers she is leading a secret life. With the Meerbachs temporarily back in Europe, Leon stumbles on the Count's plan to destabilize the British presence using disenchanted survivors of the Boer War. Worryingly, Eva seems to be part of the conspiracy, which poses a problem for Leon. Can he block the Count's scheme and at the same time rescue her from danger? The outcome is predictable, but this latest adventure in the Courtney saga will not disappoint the author's fans. However, for readers new to his work, the characters may seem stereotypical of popular fiction (dashing hero, cunning adversary, beautiful woman). Never the less, Assegai is a satisfying historical melodrama, well up to Wilbur Smith's usual standard.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Blood,blood,blood, 2 May 2009
I have been a fan of Wilbur Smith for years, this has to be about the worst book he has written. The story line is thin, but what bothered me is the page after page of animal slaughter, it was sickening and seemed to have in many places no real connection to the plot, just put in for graphic padding, I could not take it and skipped huge swathes of the book. I would not recommend this "Wilbur" to any one
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