BIRDS OF PREY

By Wilbur Smith

Synopsis

In 1667 the naval war between the Dutch and the English still rages. A fighting caravel commanded by Sir Francis Courtney and his son Hal, is on patrol off Southern Africa. It lies in wait for a galleon of the Dutch East India Company, laden with timber, spices and gold!

Sample Player

Narrator	Stephen Thorne
Length	26hrs 30mins
Catalogue No.	6709
Publisher	BBC/ Chivers Audio

Other audiobooks by Wilbur Smith

THE ANGELS WEEP

The pioneers of Rhodesia have staked their claims and stocked their farms on African soil they have carving as their own. But the Matabele indunas are preparing for a bloody rebellion which will scar their opponents forever.

BLUE HORIZON

After struggling through adversity, the Courtney clan reach the Cape of Good Hope. The younger members of the family must now stake their claim in South Africa. To do so they travel the infamous 'Robber's Road', a journey that is both hazardous and exhilarating.

THE BURNING SHORE

A passionate affair between a French aristocrat and Michael Courtney forces her to set out and seek a future for their unborn child in Africa, but first she must brave the terrors of war, shipwreck, fever and the vastness of Namibia before finding a home.

DESERT GOD

Taita stands as a unique advisor to the Pharaoh. But Southern Egypt has an enemy, and Taita has an ingenious plan to finally crush them. They will meet battle and betrayal on their journey but Taita must also contend with his charges, the spirited young princesses, who threaten Taita’s plan to use them as offerings in his alliance with Crete.

A FALCON FLIES

Zouga and Dr Robin Ballantyne are aboard a clipper to Africa but their objectives are entirely different. She hopes to bring healing to the fever-ridden populace, whereas he is trading in human cargo.

GOLD MINE

When Rod Ironsides is appointed General Manager of the Sonder Ditch gold mine he knows it is the chance of a lifetime, but he cannot pay unquestioning obedience to the obsessive genius of Dr Manfred Steyner.

GOLDEN LION

East African Coast, 1670. The Golden Bough, captained by Henry 'Hal' Courtney, is running south from Ethiopia to Zanzibar, when he discovers his mortal enemy,the Buzzard, still lives and is hell-bent on revenge. He must pursue his nemesis through the seedy underbelly of Zanzibar's slave markets and shark-infested waters, imperilling his own life at every turn.

THE LEOPARD HUNTS IN DARKNESS

Exiled author, Craig Mellow returns to Zimbabwe when he is given a spying mission for the World Bank. Accompanied by photographer, Sally-Anne Jay, he stumbles upon an ivory-poaching operation, which masks a plot to sell the country he once fought for, into slavery.

MONSOON

Sir Henry Courtney prepares for a dangerous mission in the service of the Crown. His four sons, all very different from each other, also embark on adventures that will change their lives and shape the destiny of the Courtney family. Some explicit sexual content.

PHARAOH

Egypt is under attack, the ancient city of Luxor is surrounded. Pharaoh Tamose is dead and a poisonous new era has begun under cruel new Pharaoh, Utteric. This dark, powerful Pharaoh must be stopped and Egypt reclaimed.

POWER OF THE SWORD

A novel which moves from the deserts and mountains of South Africa to the heart of Nazi Germany tracing the bitter enmity between two half-brothers of the Courtney family.

PREDATOR

When terrorist activity sparks panic on an oil super tanker, ex-SAS officer Hector Cross is called into a mission that will test his emotional and physical limits. As Cross is thrown into the fire once more, he will not stop until he has snared his prey.

THE QUEST

Renowned magus Taita is now over a hundred years old, and has ascended to a new level of wisdom and understanding about his world. But he must prepare himself for the biggest threat Egypt has ever faced: the great plagues and the failure of the Nile, brought about by the fire witch Eos, an ancient force of sheer evil.

RAGE

It is 1952 and the Courtney family empire has come to dominate the lives of both white and black South Africans. Change, however, is on the way and Shasa will be forced to betray his ideals for a misguided dream of national unity.

RIVER GOD

The story of Taita, the eunuch slave, his life in Egypt and his flight, with his fellow-countrymen, from the Hyksos invasion and their eventual return.

THE SEVENTH SCROLL

An ancient Egyptian scroll reveals clues for a fabulous treasure and a burial tomb, but the battle to possess the scroll leads to murder.

THE SOUND OF THUNDER

Sean Courtney, the impulsive adventurer, returns from the wilderness a rich man - until he is robbed by the Boers of his wagons, his gold and the girl he loves. A grim homecoming finds his country in the grip of war, but family conflicts prove more bitter.

THOSE IN PERIL

When Hazel Bannock, billionaire oil tycoon, discovers her daughter has been kidnapped by Al Qaeda pirates just off the coast of Somalia, she uses all the power at her disposal to rescue her daughter - but politics and diplomacy fail her at every turn. Her only hope is her ex-military head of security, Hector Cross, an expert in surveillance, infiltration and combat. For all Hazel's connections and wealth, Cross is the one man who is offering to find her daughter. Hazel and Cross must work together to bring Cayla home, but neither of them realise that the kidnappers are not merely interested in ransom - what they have planned is far, far worse .

THE TIGER'S PREY

Francis Courtney sails to South Africa with revenge on his mind: his uncle Tom Courtney killed his father, and Francis intends to avenge his death. Christopher Courtney sets out to make his own way in the world. The perils on his journey carve a fierce warrior out of him, but they also harden his soul. As the lives of these two Courtney men intertwine, the sins of the fathers will forever alter the lives of a younger generation.

A TIME TO DIE

Sean Courtney, hunter and guerrilla fighter, is swept up in a new war. Caught between two rival armies, his love for the woman at his side and his instincts as a trained fighter, Courtney finds himself the captive of a brutal enemy from his past.

WAR CRY

When a family tragedy forces Saffron to move from Kenya to England, she is drawn into the heart of the gathering storm of the Second World War. Gerhard von Meerbach is the privileged younger brother of a vocal supporter of the Nazi Party. As the war looms, Saffron and Gerhard’s worlds will collide – but will there be more to unite them than tear them apart?

WARLOCK

In his long life, Taita has gone from slave to warlock, and now his wisdom and abilities are known throughout the kingdom. But even his immense skills cannot protect those close to him from the evil Lord Naja, self-proclaimed Regent until the Prince comes of age. Taita must summon all of his formidable gifts to protect the true ruler, the young prince Nefer. As enemy forces join together to bring destruction to the whole land, it is no longer a matter of simple magic. To defeat the false Pharaohs, the gods and armies must share their powers with a mortal warlock . . .

WHEN THE LION FEEDS

Twin brothers are born in the wilds of Natal in the 1870s. Fate, war and the jealous schemes of a woman are to drive them apart, but a continent is awakening and on the horizon dawns the promise of fortune, adventure and love.