Ballantyne

7 primary works

A Falcon Flies

by Wilbur Smith

Published 30 January 1989

'A single ball came through at deck level, It struck a burst of sparks from the steel hull, like Brocks Fireworks at Crystal palace, brilliant orange even in the strong sunlight, and the hole it tore through Black Joke's plating was fringed with bare jagged tongues of metal like the petals of a silver sunflower.' In search of a father they barely remember, Zouga and Dr Robyn Ballantyne board Mungo St John's magnificent clipper to speed them to Africa. But long before they sight that mighty continent, Robyn knows that she and Mungo will battle with all the fury of natural enemies -- and love with all the desperation of those unable to evade the commands of fate. For if she can bring hope and healing to Africa's fever-ridden shores, he, a lawless trader in human cargo, will possess any man -- or woman -- he chooses...

Falcon Flies

by Wilbur Smith

Published 5 June 2018

Men of Men

by Wilbur Smith

Published April 1985

It is the age of empire, of blood and conquest, of boundless excitement and possibility. Striding in the footsteps of the pioneers is Zouga Ballantyne. His dream begins in the danger and drudgery of the diamond pits and ends up on the rich grasslands of Matabeleland - but not before a king and a proud warrior nation have paid the price of history...

Men of Men

by Wilbur Smith

Published 5 June 2018

The Angels Weep

by Wilbur Smith

Published 30 April 1982

'They came at a run, side by side, seeming to wade through the thick swamp of mortar smoke and dust, and they appeared monstrous and inhuman in the stark light of the star shells. One of them was a huge Matabele. He had lost his helmet and his head was round and black as a cannon ball, his open mouth was a pink cave lined with ivory teeth, and his bull bellow rose above even that storm of gunfire. The other was a white man, the top of his battledress torn half off his body, exposing the pale flesh of his chest and shoulders, but his face was daubed with fiendish streaks of dark green and brown paint.' At the dawn of a new century, the pioneers of Rhodesia have staked their claims and stocked their farms in the land they have carved as their own. But in the hills, the Matabele indunas are preparing for the bloody rebellion which will scar the opponents for ever - and etch for them the same tragic legacy for generations to come...

The Leopard Hunts in Darkness

by Wilbur Smith

Published 9 April 1984

Craig Mellow, acclaimed author but unhappy exile, seizes the chance to return to Zimbabwe when he is given a spying mission for the World Bank. Accompanied by beautiful photographer Sally-Anne Jay, he is at first unaware of the dangerous currents of tribal conflict that swirl below the calm surface of Zimbabwean politics. Then he stumbles upon a highly organized ivory-poaching operation which masks the treacherous plot to sell the country he once fought for into slavery ...

King of Kings

by Wilbur Smith

Published 4 April 2019

BOOK 6 IN THE BALLANTYNE SERIES, BY INTERNATIONAL SENSATION WILBUR SMITH

'Best historical novelist' - Stephen King

'A master storyteller' - Sunday Times

'Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared' - The Times

'No one does adventure quite like Smith' - Daily Mirror

DIVIDED BY WAR. UNITED BY LOVE.

On a beautiful September day, General Penrod Ballantyne and his fiancée, the successful travel writer, Amber Benbrook, stroll hand in hand through the busy streets of Cairo. 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 King Menelik II, the King of Kings. He knows of a plot to invade his beloved Abyssinia, and he needs the Courtneys to help him win.

Back in Cairo, a heartbroken Penrod seeks oblivion in Lady Agatha and the city's opium dens, descending into ruin. He is rescued from himself by an old friend, who is now in the Italian army, and offered the chance restore his honour and to join the military efforts. Italy has designs on Abyssinia, and there are rumours of a plan to invade . . .

With storm clouds gathering, and on opposing sides of the conflict, can Penrod and Amber find their way back to one another - against all the odds?

An epic historical adventure of love, betrayal, courage and war. King of Kings brings together two of Wilbur Smith's greatest families, the Courtneys and the Ballantynes in this sequel to his worldwide bestseller, The Triumph of the Sun (Sunday Times, Jul 2018).

The sixth book in the epic Ballantyne Series and the second title in an exciting crossover sequence between Wilbur Smith's two iconic family sagas, the Ballantynes and the Courtneys.

The adventures of the Ballantynes and Courtney's continue in Book 7 of the Ballantyne series, Mafeking, coming soon.