Wilbur Smith
Birds Of Prey
St. Martin's Paperbacks
1998
Swordplay, intrigue, friendship, slavery, torture, murder, devotion, honor, great sailing ships, and piracy are just a few of the elements of this tale set in the late 1600s.
Hal Courtney is only 17 years old at the beginning. He studies under his father's direction at the same time he works on an armed trading ship off the coast of Africa. The Courtenays are English pirates, although they carry papers stating they have a legitimate right to plunder Dutch ships!
Hal's mettle is tested in battle early on and he makes some enemies who plague him throughout the book. In what turns out to be an unfortunate liason with a woman aboard a ship they capture, he finds his first love, as well her husband, a man who will make Hal a slave and call for the death of his father.
Will he escape? Will he avenge the death of his father? Will he fulfill the prophecies about his future? You'll just have to read and find out!
This is a well told story of adventure, coming of age, and period detail that will satisfy lovers of historical novels as well. The author has included descriptions on South African terrain, flora and fauna. There are other books by Smith featuring the Courtenays which I look forward to reading.
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