Wilbur Smith Books

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Wilbur Smith is a South African bestseller novelist born on 9th January 1933. His main area of specialization is the historical fiction genre mainly from the viewpoint of the whites and black families. He was an accountant by training until he got a film contract with his first published novel When the Lion Feeds. The contract motivated him to become a full-time writer and later wrote three long Chronicles based on the life in South Africa. The chronicles later became best-selling and influenced his popularity.

Order of Courtney Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 When the Lion Feeds 1964 Description / Buy
2 The Sound of Thunder / The Roar of Thunder 1966 Description / Buy
3 A Sparrow Falls 1977 Description / Buy
4 The Burning Shore 1985 Description / Buy
5 Power of the Sword 1986 Description / Buy
6 Rage 1987 Description / Buy
7 A Time to Die 1989 Description / Buy
8 Golden Fox 1990 Description / Buy
9 The Triumph of the Sun 1992 Description / Buy
10 Birds of Prey 1997 Description / Buy
11 Monsoon 1999 Description / Buy
12 Blue Horizon 2003 Description / Buy
13 Assegai 2009 Description / Buy
14 Golden Lion ( With: Giles Kristian) 2015 Description / Buy
15 War Cry ( With: David Churchill) 2017 Description / Buy
16 The Tiger's Prey ( With: Tom Harper) 2017 Description / Buy
17 Courtney's War ( With: David Churchill) 2018 Description / Buy
18 King of Kings 2019 Description / Buy
19 Ghost Fire ( With: Tom Harper) 2019 Description / Buy
20 Legacy of War ( With: David Churchill) 2021 Description / Buy
21 Storm Tide ( With: Tom Harper) 2022 Description / Buy
22 Nemesis ( With: Tom Harper) 2023 Description / Buy
23 Warrior King ( With: Tom Harper) 2024 Description / Buy

Chronological Order of Courtney Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Birds of Prey 1997 Description / Buy
2 Golden Lion ( With: Giles Kristian) 2015 Description / Buy
3 Monsoon 1999 Description / Buy
4 The Tiger's Prey ( With: Tom Harper) 2017 Description / Buy
5 Blue Horizon 2003 Description / Buy
6 Ghost Fire ( With: Tom Harper) 2019 Description / Buy
7 Storm Tide ( With: Tom Harper) 2022 Description / Buy
8 Nemesis ( With: Tom Harper) 2023 Description / Buy
9 Warrior King ( With: Tom Harper) 2024 Description / Buy
10 When the Lion Feeds 1964 Description / Buy
11 The Triumph of the Sun 1992 Description / Buy
12 King of Kings 2019 Description / Buy
13 The Sound of Thunder / The Roar of Thunder 1966 Description / Buy
14 Assegai 2009 Description / Buy
15 The Burning Shore 1985 Description / Buy
16 A Sparrow Falls 1977 Description / Buy
17 War Cry ( With: David Churchill) 2017 Description / Buy
18 Courtney's War ( With: David Churchill) 2018 Description / Buy
19 Power of the Sword 1986 Description / Buy
20 Legacy of War ( With: David Churchill) 2021 Description / Buy
21 Rage 1987 Description / Buy
22 Golden Fox 1990 Description / Buy
23 A Time to Die 1989 Description / Buy

Order of Jack Courtney Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Cloudburst 2020 Description / Buy
2 Thunderbolt 2021 Description / Buy
3 Shockwave 2022 Description / Buy

Order of Ballantyne Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 A Falcon Flies / Flight of the Falcon 1980 Description / Buy
2 Men of Men 1981 Description / Buy
3 The Angels Weep 1982 Description / Buy
4 The Leopard Hunts in Darkness 1984 Description / Buy
5 The Triumph of the Sun 1992 Description / Buy
6 King of Kings 2019 Description / Buy
7 Call of the Raven ( With: Corban Addison) 2020 Description / Buy
8 Fire on the Horizon 2024 Description / Buy

Chronological Order of Ballantyne Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Call of the Raven ( With: Corban Addison) 2020 Description / Buy
2 A Falcon Flies / Flight of the Falcon 1980 Description / Buy
3 Men of Men 1981 Description / Buy
4 The Triumph of the Sun 1992 Description / Buy
4 The Triumph of the Sun 1992 Description / Buy
5 King of Kings 2019 Description / Buy
5 King of Kings 2019 Description / Buy
6 Fire on the Horizon 2024 Description / Buy
7 The Angels Weep 1982 Description / Buy
8 The Leopard Hunts in Darkness 1984 Description / Buy

Order of Ancient Egypt Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 River God 1994 Description / Buy
2 The Seventh Scroll 1995 Description / Buy
3 Warlock 1995 Description / Buy
4 The Quest 2007 Description / Buy
5 Desert God 2014 Description / Buy
6 Pharaoh 2016 Description / Buy
7 The New Kingdom ( With: Mark Chadbourn) 2021 Description / Buy
8 Titans of War ( With: Mark Chadbourn) 2022 Description / Buy
9 Testament ( With: Mark Chadbourn) 2023 Description / Buy

Chronological Order of Ancient Egypt Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The New Kingdom ( With: Mark Chadbourn) 2021 Description / Buy
2 Titans of War ( With: Mark Chadbourn) 2022 Description / Buy
3 River God 1994 Description / Buy
4 Desert God 2014 Description / Buy
5 Pharaoh 2016 Description / Buy
6 Warlock 1995 Description / Buy
7 The Quest 2007 Description / Buy
8 The Seventh Scroll 1995 Description / Buy
9 Testament ( With: Mark Chadbourn) 2023 Description / Buy

Order of Hector Cross Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Those in Peril 2011 Description / Buy
2 Vicious Circle 2013 Description / Buy
3 Predator ( With: Tom Cain) 2016 Description / Buy

Order of Wilbur Smith Standalone Novels

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Dark of the Sun / The Train from Katanga 1965 Description / Buy
2 Shout at the Devil 1968 Description / Buy
3 Gold Mine 1970 Description / Buy
4 The Diamond Hunters 1971 Description / Buy
5 The Sunbird 1972 Description / Buy
6 The Eye of the Tiger 1974 Description / Buy
7 Cry Wolf 1976 Description / Buy
8 Hungry as the Sea 1978 Description / Buy
9 Wild Justice / The Delta Decision 1979 Description / Buy
10 Eagle in the Sky 1980 Description / Buy
11 Elephant Song 1991 Description / Buy

Order of Wilbur Smith Non-Fiction Books

# Read Title Published Details
1 On Leopard Rock 2018 Description / Buy
Print: Print PDF

Wilbur Smith was born in Northern Rhodesia (now known as Zambia) on January 9th 1933. He was brought up in humble surroundings, as his father was a manual labourer who specialised in metalwork, who then ended up buying a cattle ranch. As a child, Smith lived an outdoorsy style of live, playing in the bush, going hunting and hiking with friends, and learning how to trap small animals. It was during this time that Smith’s love for literature also developed, as his mother would read to him at night-time and would encourage him to read as a hobby. Although his father tried to stifle his passion for books, he would not be dissuaded, and his passion was nurtured further at boarding school as his English teacher encouraged him not only with his reading, but also with his writing, which Smith had started during his schooling.

After finishing school, Smith wanted to pursue a career in journalism, but, again, his father tried to dissuade him, as he had with his love for reading, and this time he was more successful, making his son go into a career of accountancy. However, that was not enough for Smith, and he found himself drawn back into the world of fiction, first starting with stories for magazines, before finally graduating to full-length novels, the first of which being When the Lion Feeds, which was published in 1964, at which time Smith was still working as an accountant. This would also serve as the beginning of Smith’s much-loved Courtney series of books. As well as commercial success, When the Lion Feeds was also picked up for adaptation into a movie, although it never did make it to the big screen.

Buoyed by the success of When the Lion Feeds, Wilbur Smith decided to quit his work in accountancy and take up writing full-time. He continued his Courtney series of books, but also wrote several standalone pieces of fiction during this time, too, with his first standalone novel being The Dark Side of the Sun, which was published in 1965. In fact, after writing the second book in the Courtney series, The Sound of Thunder, in 1966, Smith would not return to the series for over a decade, with the publication of A Sparrow Falls in 1977. Then, after two more standalone novels, Smith created a new series of books, the Ballantyne series, which began with the 1980 publication of A Falcon Flies. The Ballantyne series would take up much of Smith’s time, with his next three books also being in that series. However, the Courtney series would again be picked up by Smith, with The Burning Shore in 1985. Again, the Courtney series would be Wilbur Smith’s main focus, until he set out on a new series of books set in Ancient Egypt, the first of which was called River God and was published in 1993.

Wilbur Smith continued to write both the Courtney series and the Egyptian series, but, in 2011, also added a new string to his bow with the Hector Cross series of books, which was set in modern times. Smith started the Hector Cross series with the novel Those in Peril, which introduces Hector Cross as the head of a security company protected with keeping the good, great and wealthy safe and sound.

The critical and commercial success of Wilbur Smith’s work has also seen several of his books adapted for both cinematic release and also for television, with the Dark Side of the Sun being made into the film The Mercenaries in 1968, Shout at the Devil adapted into a movie in 1976, amongst others. Smith has stated that while at first he had no control over the adaptation of his books, he now has it written into the contract that unless they use his screenplay, the adaptation will not happen.

Wilbur Smith is best known for his first novel When the Lion Feeds which saw him obtain a film contract. A book about the struggles between two twin brothers Sean (the dominant brother) and Garrick (the reckless and manipulative brother) who grow up as bitter rivals. However, they grow up as hero and legend respectively.

WILBUR SMITH BOOKS INTO MOVIES:

One of the Wilbur Smith novels adapted into a film is the Diamond Hunters. For some years, Smith tried to get the novel adapted into a movie without success until it was later adapted into a film, The Kingfisher Caper in 1975 and into a TV mini-series The Diamond Hunters in 2001.

The Seventh Scroll was adapted into a TV miniseries in 1999 which was produced by Lux International Film Company.

Mountain Of Diamonds was adapted into the big screen in 1991. Other novels by the same author which were incorporated into the film industry are; Shout at the Devil (1976), The Kingfisher Caper (1975), The Last Lion (1972), Gold (1974), Wild Justice (1994) and The Mercenaries (1968).

BEST WILBUR SMITH BOOKS:

These are the two best books written by Wilbur Smith and they are;

When the Lion Feeds: This novel is part of the Courtney series. When a lion feeds, something always dies. The book features two twin brothers Sean (the dominant brother and father’s favorite) and Garrick. Sean is the lion, a hero of this thrilling adventure and drama of the great men who took control over South Africa during the last quarter of the 19th century.

The twin brothers are raised on their father’s farm in Natal. The first section of the novel deals with Sean early life and his dreams of becoming a prominent farmer and great fighter just like his father. Sean is easily manipulated, and Garrick takes advantage of this until when war changes everything.

The Zulu wars interrupt their harsh life of cattle farming. The brothers encounter the wars for the first time. However, they are determined to fight for what belongs to them, the cattle.

Wilbur Smith names the second part of the book as the ‘Witwatersrand.’ In this section, Smith details the success story of Sean with Duff Chorleywood and Candy in Johannesburg. The pair trio live a life of luxuries characterized with heavy drinking, luxurious houses as Smith vividly explains in the novel. However, this is short-lived as their rival Hradsky sets a trap for them. This sends both Sean and Duff to the wilderness away from Johannesburg to seek their fortune.

Sean gets married and is blessed with a son. However, this is again short-lived and once again he finds himself alone again after losing his friend Duff and his wife.

The book brings out fascinating action scenes in war and the initial days of the gold rush and adventures deep in the heart of African wilderness. The whole life story of Sean is continued in A Sparrow Falls and The Sound of Thunder.

Monsoon: it is the beginning of the eighteenth century, and the great East India Trading Company suffers immense losses due to pirates on the seas. Master Mariner Sir Hal who has been away from service for four years is preparing for his latest and most risky voyage- which is considered a death or glory mission all for the glory of the Empire and the Crown.

With his three sons; Dorian, Tom, and Guy they must protect the East India Trading Company shipments at all cost from the looting pirates. Wilbur Smith clearly brings out his storytelling “superpowers” by incorporating anger, peace, and passion and war themes in this family tossed in the sea sailing from England towards Africa and Arabia. Monsoon is a masterpiece of Wilbur Smith works exhilarating adventure pitting man against the sea, brother against brother and good against evil.

Wilbur Smith FAQs

Q: What nationality is Wilbur Smith?

A: The author Wilbur Smith was born in Northern Rhodesia, but is now a citizen of South Africa.

Q: What is the title of Wilbur Smith’s first book?

A: Wilbur Smith’s first published novel was When the Lion Feeds, which was published in 1964.

When Does The Next Wilbur Smith book come out?

The next book by Wilbur Smith is Fire on the Horizon and will be released on November, 19th 2024. It is the newest book in the Ballantyne Series.

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5 thoughts on “Wilbur Smith”

  1. Mr. Smith is one of my favorite authors! I’ve read all his works…Nemesis is in my lap now; it’s excellent! As soon as I complete it, I will begin rereading each one.

  2. I have long been a fan of Wilbur Smiths books and was very shocked and sad to hear of his death.
    I lived in South Africa during the late 1960s and early 1970s and often wonder how Centianne would cope with the end of apartheid and her way of life, but unfortunately Wilbur did not write a novel showing the end of a lifestyle and his most classic leading lady and her family. If he did write such a book I have not heard of it and would appreciate knowing what the title is so that i can finally close a chapter.
    Wilbur will be sadly missed I hope he finds rest and happiness

  3. I have ordered the Quest – is it a reprint of the 2007 book? I think I have read all the others. Mr. Smith’s books are the best we have ever read and hope he still has some stories left to share with us. Sitting on the beach and reading a book will not be as pleasurable without Wilbur Smith’s stories.

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