One man. Three sons. A powerful destiny waiting to unfold. Monsoon is the sweeping epic that continues the saga begun in Wilbur Smith's bestselling Birds of Prey. Once a voracious adventurer, it has been many years since Hal Courtney has dared the high seas. Now he must return with three of his sons - Tom, Dorian, and Guy - to protect the East India Trading Company from looting pirates, in exchange for half of the fortune he recovers. It will be a death or glory mission in the name of the crown. But Hal must also think about the fates of his sons. Like their father before them, Tom, Dorian, and Guy are drawn inexorably to Africa. When fate decrees that they must all leave England forever, they set said for the dark, unexplored continent, seduced by the allure and mystery of this new, magnificent, but savage land. All will have a crucial part to play in shaping the Courtneys' destiny, as the family vies for a prize beyond any of their dreams. In a story of anger and passion, peace and war, Wilbur Smith evinces himself at the height of his storytelling powers. Set at the dawn of eighteenth-century England, with the Courtneys riding wind-tossed seas toward Arabia and Africa, Monsoon is an exhilarating adventure pitting brother against brother, man against sea, and good against evil. South Africa's master storyteller Wilbur Smith has been writing his exotic historical sagas for so long that he's in danger of being taken for granted and typecast as an author of adventure stories for and about overgrown boys. But there's a lot more to Smith's books than mere blood, thunder, swash, and buckle. He might not be as thoughtful or as philosophical as Patrick O'Brian, but his stories have a wider geographical and chronological range and lots more action. Monsoon is the latest chronicle in Smith's Courteney series. In it, Hal Courteney is sent by the East India Trading Company to attack Arab pirates who are harassing trade off the East African coast. He takes three of his four sons, but one of them absconds to Bombay and another is taken prisoner by the Arabs. Although the mission is an eventual success, Hal himself is seriously injured and returns to England. His son Tom becomes the real hero of the story, gallantly rescuing his captured brother from the infidel. Like his heroes, Smith's prose pulls no punches: "Aboli swung the axe in a wide, flashing arc. It took the man full in the side of his neck, severing it cleanly. His head toppled forward and rolled down his chest, while his trunk stood erect before it slumped to the deck. The air escaped from his lungs in a whistling blast of frothy blood from the open windpipe." It may not be pretty, but it certainly grabs your attention. --Dick Adler At the end of Birds of Prey (LJ 5/1/97), young Hal Courtney had proved his seafaring mettle as his father's worthy successor. When this sequel opens, Hal has buried three wives, mothers of his four sons. The eldest son, greedy and ruthless William, torments the others, who fear his power as firstborn. Although refusing to acknowledge Billy's cruelty, Hal agrees to take the others on a voyage to Africa to stop piracy against East India Company ships and win booty for his crew. Two sons, Tom and Dorian, prove able seamen. Tom's twin, Guy, not only rejects sailing but grows to hate his brother for his sexual success. Conflicts among the brothers intensify after Hal's death. By then, Dorian has been captured by Arabs, who spare him because of a prophecy about a red-haired child. After years of training in arms in two different cultures, Tom and Dorian meet in a final confrontation along the African slave route. Smith offers plenty of battles and harrowing escapes for adventure fans. More character development and insights into 18th-century British and Arab culture than the series debut broaden the novel's appeal. -AKathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. In this sequel to Birds of Prey (1997), Hal Courtney is enlisted to stop a pirate who is looting ships on the high seas near Africa. The challenge returns him to an adventurer's life, though he is now the father of four children: three adolescent boys and a newly married young man. A vitriolic sibling rivalry prompts Courtney to take the boys on the adventure, leaving his considerable estate in the hands of William to manage. Because of the British custom of primogeniture, William is in line to inherit the family fortune. Courtney knows the others will be left to seek their own fortunes. Tom is up to the challenge, with a vigorous ego and intelligence, he is an adventurer by nature. His twin, Guy, is less vigorous and venturesome, but no less ambitious. Dorian is a boy of 12 who has a daring spirit but is much in need of guidance. A jealous rivalry for the affections of a passenger, Caroline, traveling with her family aboard the Courtney ship, eventually separates Guy and Tom, as Guy chooses a deskbound life and eventuall