The long-awaited sequel to Wilbur Smith’s worldwide bestseller, The Triumph of the Sun. An epic story of love, betrayal, courage and war that brings together two of Wilbur Smith’s greatest families in this long-awaited sequel to his worldwide bestseller, The Triumph of the Sun. Cairo, 1888. A beautiful September day. Penrod Ballantyne and his fiancee, Amber Benbrook, stroll hand in hand. The … fiancee, Amber Benbrook, stroll hand in hand. The future is theirs for the taking.
But when Penrod’s jealous former lover, Lady Agatha, plants doubt about his character, Amber leaves him and travels to the wilds of Abyssinia with her twin sister, Saffron, and her adventurer husband, Ryder Courtney. On a mission to establish a silver mine, they make the dangerous journey to the new capital of Addis Ababa, where they are welcomed by Menelik, the King of Kings. But Italy has designs on Abyssinia, and there are rumours of a plan to invade…
Back in Cairo, a devastated Penrod seeks oblivion in the city’s opium dens. When he is rescued by his old friend, Lorenzo De Fonseca, now in the Italian army, and offered the chance to assess the situation around the Abyssinian border, Penrod leaps at the chance of action.
With storm clouds gathering, and on opposing sides of the invasion, can Penrod and Amber find their way back to one another – against all the odds?
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Another excellent novel in the Courtney/Ballantyne saga by Wilbur Smith, set in the late Victorian era. Action packed and proceeded for the main part at pace, with the usual believable characterisation and a dramatic ending. My only reservation was the amount of technical detail given at length on silver mining, which I feel slowed things down a little. Nevertheless, a super read and very absorbing.
The Lion Woman
Wilbur Smith never fails to delight with his novels. I have loved every one I have read and this is no exception. The brilliant description of the surroundings, the wonderful characters and the exciting story line. I love the beautiful endings.
This story goes from the lights of the city of Cairo, Egypt to the ancient buildings with their artifacts to the opium dens. It travels to the beautiful mountains of Ethiopia where most of the story takes place. The story of the war between the Italians and the native Ethiopian people in all its glory and gore. The Coronation of a new Ethiopian King “The King of Kings”.
In a small mining community where a woman cares for the immigrants which travel there because of drought and hunger, there is much action. The young woman adopts a lion cub left motherless and raises her to adulthood. The romance between Saffron and Ryder deepens and they raise a family among the natives and their own staff in the mining community. Amber and Penrod finally find each other after years apart after he saves her life.
There is action , Romance, and adventure in this book it is very well written and a page turner from start to end. I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Wilbur Smith, Bonnier Zaffre USA, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.
Anything written by Wilbur Smith is good. I got hooked on him in the early ’70s and I will always read what HE produces.
Easy trading
Another Wilbur Smith masterpiece.
Always liked his books. Love the Courtney family
Wilbur Smith is master of the metaphor!
Read every one of his books.
This is my first book by Wilbur Smith and a co-writer Imogene Robertson. King of Kings is set in Cairo and Abyssinia in the late 1880s. A broken love story, Penrod seeks solace in the opium dens of Cairo and Amber travels with her twin sister and adventurous husband on a journey that is dangerous to Addis Ababa. As I read this story, I could see a movie happening before my eyes. How is Penrod rescued from destroying himself? How will Amber and Penrod encounter each other with the storm clouds of a war to be fought?
This is a great Summer read as you are carried on the journeys of these two characters. Lots of sub plots appear and the author offers a good look historically at this time period and settings. I received this book from BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review.
I have read all to Wilbur Smith’s books. This one was one of his best.
It was a very interesting read. Highly recommend. Just a story that wont let you down he did a awesome job at writing.
Wilbur Smith can not write a ad book. A great author
I read this book when it first came out, in the 60s I think. and I’ll never forget how completely absorbing it was. It was like walking into a different exotic world. The writing was so good that I could ‘feel’ the atmosphere. Wilbur Smith is one of my top 10 favoriters writers.