The new novel by Wilbur Smith and the prequel to A Falcon Flies.‘The right of the cat over the mouse, of the strong over the weak. The natural law of existence.’ Augustus Mungo St John, A Falcon Flies The son of a wealthy plantation owner and a doting mother, Augustus Mungo St John is accustomed to the wealth and luxuries his privilege has afforded him. That is until he returns from university … afforded him. That is until he returns from university to discover his family ruined, his inheritance stolen and his childhood sweetheart, Camilla, taken by the conniving Chester Marion. Fuelled by anger, and love, Mungo swears vengeance and devotes his life to saving Camilla – and destroying Chester.
Camilla, trapped in New Orleans and powerless to her position as a kept slave and Chester’s brutish behaviour, must learn to do whatever it takes to survive.
As Mungo battles his own fate and misfortune to achieve the revenge that drives him, and regain his power in the world, he must question what it takes for a man to survive when he has nothing, and what he is willing to do in order to get what he wants.
An action-packed and gripping adventure by bestselling author, Wilbur Smith, about one man’s quest for revenge, the brutality of slavery in America and the imbalance between humans that can drive – or defeat – us.
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Can Revenge Win?
I just finished Call of the Raven by Wilbur Smith with Corban Addison. It is a prequel for the an old Ballentyne Series by Wilbur Smith. I have not read this series. This book explores Mungo St. John. Mungo is a young man who is the son of a wealthy plantation owner and has spent time getting his education abroad. His love interest is Camilla, a slave owned by his father. His father’s lawyer, Chester Marion, hoodwinked Mungo’s father into some bad business deals. Mungo returns to find that his father lost everything, Camilla is now Chester’s slave, and Windemere has been bought by Chester.
Seeking revenge rules Mungo’s life. He has no money and works on a slave ship and goes to Africa. He vows to to seek revenge. I had a love/hate relationship with Mungo. Smith and Addison do a wonderful job creating life during this time period. I especially liked Camilla. She makes the best of her very difficult life. I know from having read this prequel, I am going to start reading the series.
Thank you Bookish First and Zaffre Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
4 stars
Revenge is a nasty, vicious creature that can make a man do almost anything, pushing him to his limits, and sometimes beyond. No one knows this more than Mungo St. John. Mungo has plans for his life, plans for his family’s farm in Virginia, and plans for Camilia, the woman he loves, but when Mungo returns from university he discovers his plans dashed in the form of a foreclosure. To make matters worse, the woman he loves has been taken by the very man that has destroyed Mungo’s family, Chester Marion. Forced to flee, Mungo begins work on a ship, slowly and methodically planning his revenge. As the cards ultimately fall into place, and Mungo gets closer to Chester, he is forced to question how far he is willing to go to get that revenge, and whether or not it is more important than love.
Call of the Raven was a very satisfying novel. I hadn’t read a novel by Wilber Smith in quite a few years, so it was nice to revisit him and his writing. I really enjoyed his descriptive language used in the novel; it really allowed me to immerse myself in the action of the story. With that description, however, comes a rather candid view of life, and some of the horrors that came with slavery, during the 1800’s.
Mungo is a character that shows just how powerful loyalty can be, and the risks people are willing to take when there is mutual loyalty and respect. He also shows how consuming revenge can become. There were quite a few times that Mungo made choices that I did not agree with; he was a character that I did not really like, but he is an exciting individual tha I oddly found myself rooting for. Camilia was my favorite character; she is a very strong, smart woman who is forced to adapt in some very intense circumstances.
There were some sections that seemed to drag on, mainly ones that included a lot of technical terms, making it hard to fully understand the action. Other sections of the novel seemed to just fly by; I was so engrossed in the events and the exploits of Mungo, Camilia and Chester. After reading Call of the Raven I unquestionably want to read the other novels in the Ballantyne series.
I highly recommend Call of the Raven, available April 21st!
Thank you BookishFirst and Zaffre for sending me an ARC of Call of the Raven by Wilber Smith with Corban Addison, given in exchange for an honest review.
“The Call of the Raven” by Wilbur Smith was written as a prequel to his popular Ballantyne series. I came to this book without having read any of the previously written ones, and from that perspective, I loved this story. I will be seeking out the rest of the series to learn what happens next.
Mungo St. John is an incredibly compelling character, and I was invested in learning more about who he was from the opening scene. My understanding is that he is widely considered to be complex and controversial, and after reading this book, I understand why. Mungo grew up in a privileged family in the American South, went off to school in England, and returned home to find that things had changed dramatically in his absence. How Mungo handles this turn of events provides remarkable insight into the man he has become by the start of book 1 of the series (“A Falcon Flies”).
Secondary characters like Camilla, Isabel, Tippoo, Fairchild, and Chester Marion have their own unique personalities and moral codes. Each brings something special to the storyline, and whether you love them or love to hate them, the book is made better by the inclusion of each.
Please don’t be lulled into thinking that “The Call of the Raven” is merely a character study; there is action aplenty! Mungo’s adventures on land and sea, in America, Africa, and England, offer everything the fan of action stories could possibly ask for.
While you can enjoy this book merely for the great characters and storyline, you can also dig deeper. There is plenty here to encourage the reader to consider his own definition of morality, and how that definition should (or shouldn’t) be fluid based on circumstances. Ask yourself what you would do in Mungo’s shoes at various points in the story, and try to be honest with your answers….you might learn something valuable!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the exquisite degree of historical detail Mr. Smith weaves into his narrative. He obviously has extensive knowledge about this period of history, and everything from the clothing and ships to the speech patterns and societal norms rings true. Nothing about this book reads like a history tome, but by the time you’ve finished devouring the story, you WILL have learned some things.
“The Call of the Raven” is definitely one of the most exciting and intriguing books I’ve read in awhile.
Five out of five slices of perfect provolone!
I always enjoy Wilbur Smith stories for the adventure of it and his interesting characters.
I thought it was a great book, but I can’t believe after you ask 22 different captions you don’t have 1 for “interesting”.
Only Wilbur Smith can write like this.
I have read many of Wilbur Smith’s books. This one was good. I imagine I’ll read the next one in this series.
Revenge never pays
This book was exciting and interesting. Written at the peak of the slave trading, it captured the ugliness of that trade. The money was good the prices paid in lives was high.
This was a time where tensions among those for slavery and those against ran hot. A plantation owner was ruined and murdered for his beliefs in slaves as human beings. His son returned from school to nothing. Everything had been taken from him.
This started the revenge boiling in the blood of the young man. He would stop at nothing to get revenge, even if it meant being a slave trader to do so.
His love for a young slave girl drove him on as the man who took everything from him now possessed the girl he loved. Revenge is evil and drags one to dark places.
This book will take you from Virginia to the darkest of Africa and the bustling city of New Orleans to the Plantations of Louisiana. Dangerous and exciting battles at sea to moats with alligators.
His story plays out in these Pages, but it does not end as he thought.
If you want a book filled with adventure, history, romance and page turning excitement this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Wilbur Smith, Bonnier Jaffre U.S.A., and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of the book.
Call Of The Raven is a prequel book to Wilbur Smith’s Ballantyne Series. It takes place during the decline of slavery and before the American Civil War. It detail the origins of Mungo St. John and shows the evolution of the man he becomes in the rest of the series.
Call Of The Raven is the second novel by Wilbur Smith that I have read. Smith writes what I like to call, Old School Adventure Novels. There is something immersive and wonderful about his writing that makes his stories come alive!! The characters are bold and adventuresome. His settings are always lush and exotic. This novel is no exception. I highly recommend this novel, however make sure that you have plenty of free time as you won’t want to put this one down.
Mungo St. John is a young man from a prominent family in Virginia. When he get word that he must return home from his schooling at Cambridge, because his father is dead, he has no idea what he expects to find on his return. What he finds is that his family’s fortune is gone, along with everything else. Even the young girl he fell in love with. He vows to get his revenge on the man responsible for it all, and does all he can to do just that.
I really enjoyed this book. It drew me in from the first page. I typically don’t read books of this genre, but I really enjoyed this one. It was very detailed, and well written. The characters come alive on the page, and you can feel their pain, sadness and happiness. This story definitely help my attention and I did not want to put it down. I found that I wanted to know what happens to these characters and if they will get their happily ever after.