This book came out in 1966, was the author's third to be published, and the second to deal with the Courtney brothers Sean and Garrick. Although once again Sean takes over the story, Garrick is still involved here and there, usually with evil thoughts and actions towards Sean.We find Sean out in the bush four years after the end of When The Lion Feeds. He and his group are returning from hunting ivory (thank goodness we were all spared the descriptions of shooting elephants this time) and everyo...

Continuing the journey through Smith's Courtney series is a highly educational and entertaining undertaking. With the focus still strongly on Sean, the story opens as the lead-up to the Second Boer War is imminent. Sean struggles to raise his son without a wife and, in true late-nineteenth century form, never spared the rod to spoil his young Dirk. As time passes, Sean took up a post for the English and fought the Boers at every turn. Unbeknownst to him, his twin brother, Garrick, is a high-rank...

The Sound of Thunder is a slight departure from the previous book. This book is more of human drama than an expansive African adventure. The book picks up about four years after the ending of the previous book. Sean is a single parent (well sort of) of an infant son while he is out on the veld shooting elephants for their ivory. Sean's son, Dirk, does not go without attention as the Zulu tribesmen accompanying Sean dote on the little tyke. After four years of not seeing another white face, Sean

Read By: John Cartwright Duration: 15:13Description: The game was war. The prize was a land. The penalty for defeat was death. A vibrant tale of war; of love and hatred between brothers, friends, father and son, and man and woman. The commanding figure of Sean Courtney, develops from the headstrong adventurer of "When the lion feeds", into a seasoned soldier and leader of men.

3.5 Satisfactory adventure story and family saga - well told, no beatifying frills - negative: the characters too two-dimensional to sympathize or empathize with. While listening to this (on Youtube) I kept thinking of East of Eden, and wondering what made that book so much more riveting - and the answer is that John Steinbeck has the knack to describe his characters' experiences and feelings in such a way that you automatically land in their shoes: you share their passions, dreams, frustrations...

Once again we follow the Courtney brothers as they work they way through life, Sean especially as he tries to regain his fortune before finding himself back in the army and trying to keep some semblance of himself, for better or worse. Garrick makes less of an appearance until arriving a little after halfway through when old grudges continue to cloud his judgement making Sean look like a reasonable guy (a shock in itself). The use of real historical events once again makes this all the more real...

Another good story from Smith. Fairly similar to the last one except that this had a lot more warfare and a lot less adventuring. I think for this reason I preferred When the Lion Feeds to Sound of Thunder. I also found the main love story here a bit silly and unbelievable. Still, overall it was written well and quite fun to read.

Such a good series, I can't stop reading!

Well, that’s it for me. I find battles and warfare really boring and from reviews I’ve read it seems most of the book gets bogged down with this. Also, I’m not all that vested in the story. The development of character relationships were too glossed over for me to care about what happens to them. It’s too bad. I really wanted to get absorbed into some good historical fiction but it’s not happening here. I may try Wilbur Smith again someday.

I could not put this book down. The first book in this series, When the Lion Feeds, was an instant favorite for me. This book made me fall in love with the Courtney's at an entirely new level. Every emotion represented so clearly through a family I became so connected to.

This is an excellent book, and what a great author Wilbur Smith is. I highly recommend reading this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it! It is a very rich story, with very interesting characters.

The second book of the Courtney series by Wilbur Smith - I never expected it to be so good. This book was way better than the first book (When The Lion Feeds) and is also one of my favourite novels till now.This book is the continuation of the first book, where Sean is now fighting in the Boer War. Sean has grown up and has also lost his wife. His son Dirk has also grown and is tormented by the fact that his father is not paying enough attention to him. This creates a strong hatred towards his d...

I'm reading some books about South Africa or by South African authors in preparation for a trip. So I gave Wilbur Smith a shot...Yeesh. It's amazing how... primitive this book felt. So old-fashioned in the writing style and outlook. The main character is Sean Courtney. In the beginning of the book he's returning from a years-long elephant hunt, loaded down with ivory that he will use for the enrichment of his family. He's also got his young son with him. This book seems firmly in the camp that h...

second instalment of the Courtney series is an amazing read. It follows Sean through some highs and lows and also brings in his two sons who don't like each other and his daughter , the last few chapters are intense reading . You will not want to put this book down, Its drawing you in to the next installment in the Courtney series. This is my second Wilbur Smith book and I am at aww with the amount of detail and character building he gives the reader

I am really struggling with this book. Feel I should have brushed up on my Boer War History before attempting this. So boring and confusing as to the ranks in the army. I am also finding myself annoyed with Garrick and Sean. The misunderstanding as to what happened between Anna and Sean is wearing thin and I am almost certain that only at the end will it all be resolved. Am still going to plough through, even though I keep falling asleep before I have read a couple of pages.Still didn't enjoy th...

After reading the first book in this series, I wasn't sure I would read the second book. But book #1 ended on a cliffhanger, and I had to keep reading. I'm glad I did! I devoured this book in one afternoon and couldn't put it down!This book moves at a quick pace and continues the saga of the Courtney family. Dripping with emotion, it made me cry, cheer and feel angry - the ability to invoke emotions is a true sign of a good book, in my opinion. It also inspired me to research more about South Af...

Woohoo the witch is dead...I was so relived that she went the way she did nothing less than she deserved. Nice to have a respite from dirk as well going away, such an evil child apart from his love for his dad. And did he have anything to do with Mary :(I found the first half of the book a bit of a jumble as you flit between the boer and the English and I got confused at some points but the second half after the war I found it an easier and faster pacing book and quite exciting wanting to know w...

Everyone has to read at least one of his books.