Birds of Prey (Smith novel)

1997 novel by Wilbur Smith

Birds of Prey

First US edition

Author| Wilbur Smith
Language| English
Series| The Courtney Novels
Genre| Adventure
Publisher| Pan MacMillan

Publication date

| 1997
Publication place| South Africa
Preceded by| Golden Fox
Followed by| Monsoon

Birds of Prey is a 1997 novel by Wilbur Smith set in the late 17th century.[1] The novel was the first in the third sequence of the Courtney series of novels, and as of 2013 was chronologically the first in the entire series.

Smith says the book established the characteristics of the family: "Right from Birds of Prey... the Courtneys were pirates, merchants, looking to seize the main chance. They were very much driven by monetary considerations. But with the Ballantynes it was much more empire, patriotism, glory – the soldierly virtues."[2]

## Plot

[edit]

In 1667 Holland is at war with England. Sir Francis Courteney and his son Hal attack ships of the Dutch East India Company off the coast of Africa. They are betrayed and Sir Francis is executed. Hal winds up working for Prester John.

## Adaptation

[edit]

Film and television rights to the book were bought by Corona Pictures, but as of 2013[update] no adaptation has been filmed.[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Birds of Prey at Wilbur Smith's website
2. ^ "Greatest Historical Novelist of Our Time? Richard Lee's 2005 interview with WILBUR SMITH", Historical Novel Society accessed 18 May 2013
3. ^ "Birds of Prey – TV", Tibor & Jones Associates Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine accessed 18 May 2013

## External links

[edit]

* Review at Publishers Weekly

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Works by Wilbur Smith

Novels|

* When the Lion Feeds (1964)
* The Dark of the Sun (1965)
* The Sound of Thunder (1966)
* Shout at the Devil (1968)
* Gold Mine (1970)
* The Diamond Hunters (1971)
* The Sunbird (1972)
* Eagle in the Sky (1974)
* The Eye of the Tiger (1975)
* Cry Wolf (1976)
* A Sparrow Falls (1977)
* Hungry as the Sea (1978)
* Wild Justice (1979)
* A Falcon Flies (1980)
* Men of Men (1981)
* The Angels Weep (1982)
* The Leopard Hunts in Darkness (1984)
* The Burning Shore (1985)
* Power of the Sword (1986)
* Rage (1987)
* A Time to Die (1989)
* Golden Fox (1990)
* Elephant Song (1991)
* River God (1993)
* The Seventh Scroll (1995)
* Birds of Prey (1997)
* Monsoon (1999)
* Warlock (2001)
* Blue Horizon (2003)
* The Triumph of the Sun (2005)
* The Quest (2007)
* Assegai (2009)
* Those in Peril (2011)
* Vicious Circle (2013)
* Desert God (2014)
* Pharaoh (2016)

Memoir|

* On Leopard Rock (2018)

With co-writers|

* Golden Lion (2015)
* Predator (2016)
* The Tiger's Prey (2017)
* War Cry (2017)
* Courtney's War (2018)
* King of Kings (2019)
* Ghost Fire (2019)
* Cloudburst (2020)
* Call of the Raven (2020)
* Thunderbolt (2021)
* Legacy of War (2021)
* The New Kingdom (2021)
* Shockwave (2022)
* Storm Tide (2022)
* Titans of War (2022)
* Prey Zone (2022)

Adaptations|

* Dark of the Sun (1968)
* The Last Lion (1972)
* Gold (1974)
* The Kingfisher Caper (1975)
* Shout at the Devil (1976)
* Mountain of Diamonds (1991 TV movie)
* Wild Justice (1994 TV movie)
* The Seventh Scroll (1999 mini-series)
* The Diamond Hunters (2001 mini-series)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

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