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Second read of 2023 and overall a good read. An interesting naval story that felt unique. I also enjoyed it as it was partially true to real world events. I also enjoyed the story developments of two sides of the family, kept it interesting. And at times kept me reading as a change from Rob to Cal happened suddenly when I was already invested in Rob's part. But on the other side of the Atlantic, unbeknownst to Rob, his distant cousins Cal and Aidan Courtney are leading a campaign against the British in a quest for American Independence. When Aidan is killed in a fierce battle with British troops, Cal vows he will not rest until he has avenged his brother's death, by driving the British out of America - by whatever means necessary . . . The tower was the British royal arsenal. In all their years of rule, the British had never allowed powder mills in their colonies. Every grain of gunpowder had to be imported from Britain. In Massachusetts, this was where it came to be stored.
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The devil you say!’ he cried. ‘Sergeant, muster the men. We will march out to Fairfield and teach those Yankee rebels a lesson in the King’s power.’ Interview with Wilbur Smith". 1989. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016 . Retrieved 21 March 2013. I always think I am from the 17th century", said Smith. "I have no interest in technology, or to rush, rush, rush through life. I like to take time to smell the roses and the buffalo dung." [12] She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. ‘I knew you would say that. Jim would have said the same.’ A powerful new historical thriller by the master of adventure fiction, Wilbur Smith, of families divided and a country on the brink of revolution.No one could have missed their progress through the townships and farmsteads of Massachusetts colony. But the shutters on the houses remained closed, and anyone who heard them stayed in their beds. These were dangerous times to be abroad.
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Field, Michelle (13 May 1995). "A golden life crafted from a troubled land". The Canberra Times. p.51 . Retrieved 25 January 2015– via National Library of Australia. She put it in his hand and closed his fingers around it. Rob’s arm trembled as he took it. For the first time, he felt the heavy finality of his decision. Cornish puffed on his pipe. ‘You forget it is almost two years since I left England. So far as I know, the country is at peace. But I cannot think it will last long. The colonists in America are making an almighty fuss about their liberty. I guess they mean to fight for it.’ At the close of Monsoon Tom Courtney and his brother Dorian battled on the high seas and finally reached the Cape of Good Hope to start life afresh.
While the previous book in the Courtney series was about Gerhard Courtney, a later generation in the late 1940s, this one predates several centuries to the time of the American revolution in the 1700s. The plot opens in 1774 with the introduction of a young seventeen-year-old Rob Courtney, grandson of Jim Courtney who is spending most of his time in their sprawling estate at Nativity Bay on the east coast of Africa, along with his father George and grandmother Louisa. Rob always dreamt of a life of adventure at sea. Smith’s father had owned a Tiger Moth during the period when the family was cattle ranching. Smith followed in his footsteps gaining a private pilot's licence in the mid-to-late 1960s, which allowed him to fly all over Africa. However after a bad experience he gave up piloting in 1974. [2] He had homes in London, Bishopscourt in Cape Town, Switzerland and Malta. [46] I will never forget the story of how he rescued Grandmother Louisa from a convict ship as it was dashed to pieces on the shore.’ He had heard the tale a thousand times, and it still sounded incredible. Rob loved ships. They had fascinated him all his life. How many times had he climbed to the top of the bluffs with his father’s spyglass to watch a distant sail scudding past? He had made his father tell him all the names until he knew them in his sleep: proud Indiamen and stout brigantines, Arab dhows from Zanzibar, and Bermuda sloops with their triangular sails. Most of all, he loved the men of war, the frigates and line-of-battle ships he occasionally saw beating up the coast from Cape Town, the red ensigns streaming from their sterns. Once – the most thrilling moment of his life – he had witnessed two frigates trade broadsides for nearly three hours, just a few miles off the coast. He had never forgotten the sight of the guns running out like rows of teeth, or the wall of flame as they fired in perfect unison. Hopper, Hedda (30 August 1965). "Africa is Poiter's Choice". The News and Courier. p.3 . Retrieved 24 April 2012.
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The Dunstanburgh Castle rounded the Cape of Good Hope and ploughed into the great rollers of the Atlantic Ocean. Soon afterwards, the coast of Africa slipped below the horizon. Rob, working at the masthead, was the last man on the ship to see the continent before it vanished. The only home he had ever known. Ever since Aidan could walk, he had followed his big brother like a shadow, desperate not to be left behind. When Cal learned to ride, Aidan had dislocated his collarbone trying to clamber onto the horse. When Cal started boxing with his friends, Aidan had come home with a broken arm. Sometimes, Cal appreciated the adoration. For most of the past fourteen years, he had found it intensely annoying.
It was hard to imagine the twinkle-eyed old man he had known as the amazing adventurer he had heard about. Consider it your inheritance from Jim,’ she said. ‘Wherever you go, it will ease your path. And if you are a true Courtney, you will make it grow tenfold before you come home.’ Let him be,’ she counselled. ‘He needs time to cool down.’ Tawny Cornish stood awkwardly. ‘I should return to my ship.’ ‘I will walk you down,’ said George. I fear for what will happen to him, if he does not stop this madness,’ said Theo. ‘It’s more than politics. The government will hang traitors.’ Your father is a good man. He is my son, and I love him, but he is forged from a different metal than the other Courtneys. He will never use this sword again. It was not meant to be kept sheathed, gathering dust in a forgotten corner of an unknown continent. Jim wanted you to have it – and so do I.’
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Britain has the mightiest army and navy in the world,’ George said. ‘A few thousand colonists will not dare to defy them.’ A thrilling new Wilbur Smith series for the next generation with high action and high stakes - starring teen protagonists Ralph and Robyn Ballantyne. I hope you all enjoy Storm Tide and are excited for the books to come that Wilbur completed before his passing with the help of his co-authors. He lived and breathed adventure and nothing was too uncontrollable or challenging for him to face in the game of being alive! Rob’s father, George, gave Cornish a stiff handshake. His grandmother, Louisa, was less formal: she flung her arms around him and gave him a great kiss on the cheek. The Courtneys walked down to the beach with Cornish – all except Jim, who complained of a headache. Rob felt as if he was following his own funeral. At the shore, Cornish clasped Rob’s hand, and looked at him with pity in his eyes.And what of the rest of the world?’ said Rob. As exciting as his family history had been, he had heard the stories so often they could not help but become dulled. He did not want to live in the past. ‘What wars and battles and great contests now do they talk about in the coffee houses of London?’ But the lure of the sea was irresistible. He released her, kissed her on the cheek, and loaded the sword and the money into the waiting canoe. Louisa pushed him off, wading into the water in her nightdress until he was clear. He paddled out to the ship with strong, confident strokes.
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