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What are readers saying about The Triumph of the Sun?
| Reviews of The Triumph of the Sun - Page 1 of 2 |
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-07-28 05:45:36.
(Language: English)
 
My first Wilbur Smith read. Very brutal story about Britain's final days in Khartoum. Awesome read for anyone interested in historical fiction.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-26 06:11:54.
(Language: English)
Kind of hard to get into. haven't finished
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-09 11:54:48.
(Language: English)
Extremely blood-thirsty, tainted with violence, war and sex.. now why am I reading this again ?Blood Thirsty ! Bloodthirsty - be warned !
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-06-19 11:20:40.
(Language: English)
Bit disappointing after the Blue Horizon
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-02 01:06:01.
(Language: Finnish)
suomeksi Auringon voitto, tykkäsin niin paljon, että yö hurahti kirjan parissa, kun ei malttanut lopettaa
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-03 09:07:59.
(Language: English)
A very good read. The attention to detail is astounding and the tale is phenomenal. REDA IT!!!
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Roger posted a review at 2009-04-13 09:43:00.
(Language: English)
I sometimes find Wilbur Smith hard to read, however he is a master in his field. Triumph of the sun is set against the backdrop of General Gordon in the Sudan. It's an excellent read from start to finish.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-30 02:49:12.
(Language: English)
Wilbur Smith at its best...
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-22 05:12:11.
(Language: English)
First Wilbur Smith book I ever read, another great, will make you cry and laugh and stare out in the garden to see if your lover is watching you...
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-01-18 04:03:23.
(Language: English)
I was really looking forward to what was promised to be the Courtenays and Ballantynes, two of Wilbur Smiiths great family dynasties coming together but unfortunately I was disappointed. Not one of his best books, and it hurts me to say that as I am always at the bookstore when it opens the daya new Wilbur Smith hits the shelves. It's all over the place and none of his characters are particularly likable.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-01-23 02:34:02.
(Language: English)
This book was So wordy and detailed, that it took some effort to finish it. This is true of many historically based novels for me. I was a bit disappointed with his treatment of the lead female character. On the one hand Rebecca is cast in her era of a spoiled woman because she was taken into sex slavery by the enemy, but on the other hand she fits neatly into the 21st century sex goddess myth. For a man so meticulous with his historical accuracy, here he had a chance to explore some feminist reality. A predictable end in every way. It's quite wordy and tedious and gory, but hopefully the plot will develop.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-12-05 02:50:54.
(Language: English)
I hate to say this but this was well below par for Mr. Smith. I found the story hard to follow at times and the end was very messy, almost like he was trying to finish it quickly as if he had got fed up with it himself. Some of the characters were dull and hard to understand too. However, when he got stuck into it, the set pieces and main characters were all engaging and felt graceful. The meeting of the Ballantynes and the Courtneys was anti climatic. I wished he had used previously established characters instead. I hope this isn't the end of either families as they are both usually terrific.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-30 01:33:30.
(Language: English)
I actually ended up loving this book at the end and couldn't put it down...but the first couple hundred pages were slow going and I just could not get into it at first.Wilbur Smith is one of the most descriptive writers I have ever read but I thought the first few fight scenes and the elephant hunt were a bit too descriptive...I got bored reading them!However, I read the last three hundred pages in one night because it was so exciting! I love how the characters evolved through the story and the complexity of their relationships.I will read more by Wilbur Smith.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-09 09:22:05.
(Language: English)
First time I've read a Wilbur Smith book, and I've found out Wilbur Smith's books are not my thing. While well written, excellent historical research and context and a promising plot, I found myself not caring for the characters, or how their dilemas unfolded. Saying that, the historical references are fascinating, particularly General Gordon and the British colonial expansion in Africa in the late 19th Century. I wouldn't recommend this book, only for true Wilbur Smith fans
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-18 08:34:19.
(Language: English)
sand...mahdi...turmoil....ma personal idea of an adventure.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-12 05:00:27.
(Language: English)
wont read it again not his best at all, Alan is so right if you have never read Wilbur dont despair try the sound of thunder now that will blow you away please do give it a go
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-25 02:41:42.
(Language: English)
(Read April 07) Sorry, got to disagree with Steve Phillips. While I enjoyed some of Wilbur Smith's previous novels, Triumph of the Sun was mish-mash of outdated cultural and historical caricatures, chauvinistic attitudes toward women, and tedious prose. By Smith's account, Muslims drool after white women -- especially the blonde ones, of course!. And, the heroine they capture can't help but be brought to climax when forced to have sex with her Islamic captors. This is all a pity, because this one of history's riveting battles with epic personalities like Chinese Gordon and the Mahdi. A pity this wasn't the book to bring that story to life.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-14 01:41:38.
(Language: English)
BRILLIANT!!!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-20 04:32:53.
(Language: English)
Smith needs to retire. Poor writing, shoddy plot development. Heros marrying teens? Please. Good historical info and war scenes however.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-03 11:43:38.
(Language: English)
The downside- it's a little "soap opera" styled, but on the other hand- the book is definitely fascinating, colorful, captivating. Really is hard to put down. I think the biggest test of any book (or work of art in general) is that you continue to think about the story while you're doing something else. This book was on my mind constantly. In short, a fun book. Highly recommended.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-14 09:38:53.
(Language: English)
This book had lots of sex, and tons of awesome Middle East adventure. I actually read this when I was in Egypt and it was fantastic.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-27 03:24:39.
(Language: English)
not bad, not bad... not as an exciting finish as i thought it was going to be. but a good read nonetheless
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-22 07:37:22.
(Language: English)
i love it:D
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-28 01:06:20.
(Language: English)
a book without the right facts, and boring historical details.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-06-26 05:49:09.
(Language: English)
A formulaic novel, even for for Wilbur Smith. Elements seem to be taken from his earlier books Monsoon, A Time to Die and assorted other works to combine a quasi-new piece that aims to incorporate the best of the old with a twist of the new - sadly though, the twist is lacking while the older novels stand alone and unsurpassed. The Triumph of the Sun begins extremely slowly, with the alleged new characters nonethless very familiar to a Smith reader. The female leads borrow their qualities from the women in Monsoon - one women headstrong and desirable to two men, the other younger twins indolent and fawning who eventually grow to be the true love interests and the more fascinating characters. The male Courtney character is exacting, precise and dull. Every Courtney novel has this man - compassionate, rugged, resourceful and ruthless. The new reader will be impressed, the casual reader nostalgic and the habitual reader will undoubtedly be rolling his eyes. Inject some flavour! Some depth! A character can be intriguing to a reader without the author deigning to pepper him with cliched contrasts and hollow subtlities. Simply writing a character as dashing and domestic does not a hero make. While this was my first time encountering a Ballyntyne, I see elements of Hornblower and Sharpe here as to make this novel nothing more than a composite of other, better works before it. Sigh. The novel builds inexorably to the battle of Khartoum, an actual historic event that took place in the late 1800s. Being somewhat familiar with English war history, I noticed several glaring errors in the author's account which I attributed less to Smith's lack of research (which is always full and extensive) and rather to his artistic liberty. Found in this novel are the very real General "China" Gordon, the self-proclaimed Dervish Maudi and his entourage, and a young Kitchnener who, sadly, doesn't make an entrance until late into the novel and even then, a brief one. The battle descriptions and historical flirtations are what saved this novel from being tossed in the bin. However, the real gem of the book are Smith's evocotive descriptions of Arabic life (again, shadows of Monsoon) and the Arabic culture, mirroring on a much smaller scale of both qualitiy and depth T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom. The novel finally dies near the end where a confluence of events seem rushed, as if the author was hurried by his published to complete an ending. All in all, a solid peace of work that falls short of the author's earlier prose and one that I trust will be soon be forgotten in favour of the better writing before it.
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| Reviews of The Triumph of the Sun - Page 1 of 2 |
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