- Mass Market Paperback: 720 pages
- Publisher: Random House UK; New edition edition (Aug 11 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0749306092
- ISBN-13: 978-0749306090
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11.4 x 4.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,224,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
Here's a historical novel from Smith (When the Lion Feeds, Audio Reviews, LJ 5/15/98) that listeners should love: it's full of adventure, romance, sex, blood, and gore and set in central and southern Africa and on the surrounding high seas about 1860. Robyn and Zouga Ballantyne set out to make their fortunes selling memoirs of their trek across Africa in search of their father, famous missionary/explorer Fuller Ballantyne, who has been out of contact with his British mission board for some eight years. Major Zouga, on leave from his regiment in India, hopes to augment his fortune with ivory and gold, while Dr. Robyn wants to spread the Gospel and find her place in the world. Incidentally, lots of good, imaginative stuff on sailing, African geography, flora and fauna, safari, African peoples, naval combat, elephant hunting, and the slave trade flow through the book as well. Explicit descriptions of inhumane treatment of persons of all classes, diseases, injuries, and surgery of the times may be a problem for some listeners. Excellently read by Stephen Thorne and well produced and packaged, this is recommended highly for adult collections.
Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Book Description
Set on a trader on the South Atlantic, on the fever-ridden shores of the Indian Ocean and in the Eden of the unexplored interior of Africa this wide-sweeping novel describes the Ballantyne family's first conquest of the untamed land of Africa.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wilbur's overlooked gem.,
By Forsyth (Seattle) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Falcon Flies (Audio Cassette)
This book is, beleive it or not, right on par with Smith's other breathtaking adventures like Birds of Prey, Monsoon, Blue Horizon, Seventh Scroll etc. Only River God can be considered better (and even that is close). None of the books in the Courtneys of Africa series or the others in the Ballantyne series can even come close to this book. A truely marvellous adventure yarn and one of the overlooked gems in the entire genre, A Falcon Flies is a masterpeice which, if had been published after Smith became internatioanlly famous (that is, after River God), would have done as well as any of Smith's other monster bestsellers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews) 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The beginning of the Ballentyne Saga......,
By goodoldmac "goodoldmac" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Falcon Flies (Paperback)
Wilbur Smith is my favorite author, and "A Falcon Flies" is one of his best. You are introduced to the Ballentyne's, Maj. Zouga Ballentyne and his sister, Dr. Robin Ballentyne as they search Africa for their missing father, the famous missonary and anti-slavery cruscader Fuller Ballentyne and have the bad luck to travel to Africa on board the ship of Mungo St.John, who it turns out, is a infamous slave trader himself...With that breathless start, you would expect action and lots of it, and you won't be disappointed. Duels, attack by slave traders on the Ballentyne safari, and ship to ship battles with thundering broadsides are but some of what is in store for the reader. Smith has never been afraid to write a strong woman character, and Robin Ballentyne certainly qualifes, coming close to unsympathic, being saved mainly by her constant concern for human life, never hestiating to place her own in jepoardy to help the ill or injured, but always sure of being right and never hestiating to say so. Neither is Zouga perfect, being more concerned with making the expedition profitable,from gold and ivory, than finding his father.All of Wilbur Smith's books are of the "keep you up late reading it" variety but "Falcon" is ones of his best, which makes it one of THE best, period.....
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wilbur's overlooked gem.,
By Forsyth - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Falcon Flies (Audio Cassette)
This book is, beleive it or not, right on par with Smith's other breathtaking adventures like Birds of Prey, Monsoon, Blue Horizon, Seventh Scroll etc. Only River God can be considered better (and even that is close). None of the books in the Courtneys of Africa series or the others in the Ballantyne series can even come close to this book. A truely marvellous adventure yarn and one of the overlooked gems in the entire genre, A Falcon Flies is a masterpeice which, if had been published after Smith became internatioanlly famous (that is, after River God), would have done as well as any of Smith's other monster bestsellers.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Falcon Flies - A real African Tale,
By Simon Njambi - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Falcon Flies (Audio Cassette)
I must say as a fan of Wilbur Smith, this book captures anyone's imagination from the first page to the last and it leaves you wanting to start on the next one in the series. As an African and Zimbabwean in which most of this story takes place I am left with no option but to salute Mr. Smith. He is a briliant researcher and an accurate writer of our historical stories even though he calls them fiction. Some of the facts are so true that you really feel you're in that age. He gives vivid descriptions of the Ndebele state as if he was there during that time. I have no problem rating it 5 out of 5!!!
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