Book: The Triumph of the Sun by Wilbur Smith
Krishna
If you have been following Wilbur Smith’s books, you know that almost all of them feature the same families – the Courtneys and the Ballantynes, from generation to generation. ( These are fictional families of course; every one of the men is a superhero, earning the right to populate a Wilbur Smith novel) . This is also a book where a Ballantyne and a Courtney figure together. (Of course, Wilbur Smith has written the Egyptian series with River God, and Warlock, among others, where none of these characters appear.)
The story is one of the better ones, and is based on some historical facts to boot, which is the brief occupation of Sudan by the self proclaimed Mahdi, after overthrowing General Gordon’s rule there.
If I may be permitted a brief digression, some of the Wilbur Smith’s covers quote Stephen King as saying that one of the best historical authors ever is Wilbur Smith. I know that book covers thrive on hyperbole to entice you and me to buy the books, but even so, this is a stretch. Yes, Wilbur bases his books on history and there are passing remarks of the famous men of the times when the story occurs, and he even gets places and the lingo right, but by no means is he any historical author. Historical fiction is of the genre of Pauline Gedge and James Michener, who write stories to faithfully illustrate history as a central theme. This author just uses it as a fringe decoration to write thrillers.
The story is very well told, and includes Ryder Courtney and Penrod Ballantyne, who both are in love with Rebecca Benbrook, who is torn between the two. The story also revolves around the younger sisters of Rebecca, Saffron and Amber, and their father, David Benbrook.
The story opens with Sudan already under siege by the Mahdi, and assisted by his two ablest generals, Khalif Abdullahi and Osman Atalan. Osman and Penrod are sworn enemies.
The story keeps the tempo and also the gory scenes that have become hallmark of Wilbur Smith novels. It also follows the Wilbur’s trademark pattern of nonstop action and what seem to be minor characters initially growing in strength and character to become central to the story.
The details of Khartoum’s capture by the Arabs and its recapture by the British are interestingly told. The lawlessness of the land in those times (19th century) are well brought out. In fact. there is a lot more history in this book than other books of Wilbur.
In all, a good book, if you like Wilbur Smith. On par, or slightly above, his other books.
I will rate it as a 7/10
— Krishna