7 reviews for The dark of the sun
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The dark of the sun
by Wilbur smith
Description:
Bruce Curry sets out with a trainload of mercenaries to relieve a mining town besieged by rebels in the heart of the African jungle. The journey, turns into a nightmare, softened only by Shermaine, a Belgian girl he meets and with whom he falls in love. But love is no elixir. In fact, it considerably complicates Curry’s struggle to carry out his mission and stay alive. He finds himself buffeted by emotions he thought would never visit him again, and he notes with wry amusement his own distraction. “If the phrase ‘a man’s book’ has any meaning, it describes the powerful, savage story which packs murder and love, revenge and rescue, treachery and loyalty into a gripping fast-moving novel.”
About The Author
Wilbur Addison Smith (born 9 January 1933) is a South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about the international involvement in Southern Africa across three centuries, seen from the viewpoints of both black and white families.
An accountant by training, he gained a film contract with his first published novel When the Lion Feeds. This encouraged him to become a full-time writer, and he developed three long chronicles of the South African experience which all became best-sellers. He still acknowledges his publisher Charles Pick’s advice to “write about what you know best”, and his work takes in much authentic detail of the local hunting and mining way of life, along with the romance and conflict that goes with it. As of 2014 his 35 published novels had sold more than 120 million copies, 24 million of them in Italy.
Skryf Review
“Excellent Reading”
Naman
My third Wilbur Smith read, following on from EAGLE IN THE SKY and SHOUT AT THE DEVIL.Be warned, this is a grisly book. The whole plot involves violence and violent situations. In fact, it’s one of the most brutal stories I’ve ever read. Rape, mass murder, bloody battles, torture and even cannibalism – it’s all here and described in shocking, unflinching detail. Definitely not a book for the faint hearted.The setting is the Belgian Congo, and truly it seems one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Renegade armies and flesh-eating tribesmen lurk around every corner, and even the supposed heroes are tormented with evil traits.There’s plenty of action, and it’s all fantastically epic stuff. Smith tackles another area of Africa and brings it to life with the same authenticity as in the rest of his books. A favourite of mine, thanks to the lean narrative and no-nonsense thrills.
Anmol
A novel about mercenaries operating for Katanga, written by Afro-centric historical thriller writer Wilbur Smith just promised too many savory ingredients (prepared by a master chef) for me to resist. I haven’t researched this yet, but I have a strong suspicion the Bruce Willis flick Tears of the Sun was adapted from this yarn–updated from the early 1960s to about 2003, changed from mercenaries to SEALs, and some other tweaks.The good thing about this book’s brevity is that the author minimized scenes that test the squeamishness of his readers (for a non-horror author, Smith seems to enjoy the gruesome side of violence, if not the macabre, in most of his books). There was a gross moment when Curry was sobering Haig up in one scene; and a combat amputation made me grit my teeth –though he thankfully went into no gory details.I would not call this Smith’s best, or his worst. IMO it could have benefited from a bit more action or fleshing out, but even when he doesn’t give 100%, he is still a heap good adventure writer.
Anmol
We see now why literally half a thousand reviewers either panned or expressed their disenchantment with Grisham’s latest. Obviously his name and rep make it a best seller regardless – the book’s been out a little while, which is why a bazillion people have weighed in. Indeed, at first, we were captivated and entertained, almost in the style of The Firm or The Partner. Grisham sinks a hook early with the discovery of three million in cold hard cash by law professor Ray Atlee in his dead father’s house. He hides it before Forrest Atlee, his ne’er-do-well younger brother, either in addiction or rehab from booze and drugs virtually his whole adult life, gets to the house in answer to a deathbed summons from Father, who wound up unexpectedly dead on arrival. While the new will (subject of the summit meeting) included the previously disowned Forrest, the estate was little more than the house without the cache of cash!No doubt Grisham is to the point where his books receive little editorial criticism or revision, and there’s probably few wanting to risk tweaking his money machine. But somebody needed to fix the last quarter of this story to give us the great tale we know Grisham can produce at his best. Without that, this one goes in his also-rans.
arif
The first 75 pages were a drag, I quit three times but my obsessive compulsion to finish a book took over, and that made all the difference. After Bruce and his entourage of mercenaries reach Port Reprieve, the plot picks a surprisingly fast pace. Wilbur Smith does not spare any details of the violence and killing involved, some of which are really graphic, I was even surprised by his liberal use racist and chauvinist comments. The book is riddled with stereotypes, and has received a lot of criticism over it too, but I personally didn’t mind classic 60’s pulp. The romantic subplot is predictable and but what makes this 267 page beer promotion pamphlet a page turner is the multiple high drama incidents and “whatever bad can happen, will happen” atmosphere. I have heard that this book is unlike the authors other works, but certainly I have a new Author to explore.
Vishvesh
The Dark of the Sun – Wilbur Smith … Four white men on a mercenary mission to retrieve a cutoff town and precious diamonds… On arrival three get transformed for various reasons Bruce the commander gets the best in finding Shermaine as his life partner. The enemy within Hendry plots to kill Bruce which ends up in the death of Hendry. Entire story line is full of violence unabated till the end. Wilbur handling the intricate human relations and sentiments is the highlight of the plot…The fastest read of the year…
Kaushal
Set during the Congo Crisis of the mid-60’s, the book tells the story of a band of mercenaries on a relief mission to rescue the people of a stranded township … actually, they’re sent in to recover a fortune in diamonds, and the relief mission is just for show.A straight forward story, with one dimensional characters and every macho cliché in the world. No plot twists or surprises, it unfolds exactly as you would predict it. The ending is obvious even half way in. It’s a book of its time and the ideals of machismo are hard-drinking, hard-fighting and hard-womanising. That said, it is fast paced and exciting, so if you’re not after something with any level of sophistication, it’s actually not a bad read.