Call of the Raven

Wilbur Smith

Sep 2020 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

A novel by bestselling author Wilbur Smith and the prequel to A Falcon Flies.

'The right of the cat over the mouse, of the strong over the weak. The natural law of existence.' Augustus Mungo St John, A Falcon Flies

The son of a wealthy plantation owner and a doting mother, Augustus Mungo St John is accustomed to the wealth and luxuries his privilege has afforded him. That is until he returns from university to discover his family ruined, his inheritance stolen and his childhood sweetheart, Camilla, taken by the conniving Chester Marion. Fuelled by anger, and love, Mungo swears vengeance and devotes his life to saving Camilla - and destroying Chester.

Camilla, trapped in New Orleans and powerless to her position as a kept slave and Chester's brutish behaviour, must learn to do whatever it takes to survive.

As Mungo battles his own fate and misfortune to achieve the revenge that drives him, and regain his power in the world, he must question what it takes for a man to survive when he has nothing, and what he is willing to do in order to get what he wants.

An action-packed and gripping adventure by bestselling author, Wilbur Smith, about one man's quest for revenge, the brutality of slavery in America and the imbalance between humans that can drive - or defeat - us.

Ratings and reviews

Revenge is never a good idea. It makes men cross lines that they swore they would never cross and it usually never ends well too because they never know when to quit. And that is sadly what happens with Mungo St. John. Since this is a prequel, I went into this book knowing that it was not going to have a happy ending for Mungo. He lost the love of his life right at the beginning and then spends the rest of the book crossing all lines to get his revenge on Chester Marion. It was quite an interesting journey to read about and I did enjoy that part. I liked Tippoo who was Mungo's stalwart ally and Camille who did the best that she could in the circumstances she was in. This is a fairly dark book and not a fun book to escape in but I liked reading it.

Yes, this is a fairly dark story with slavery and death and hunting ivory and seeking revenge on the one who killed your first love, but I enjoyed reading it. I guess it was the allure of Mungo St. John, who many women find irresistible. He is a tormented dashing man who will go to any lengths and cross any lines to seek revenge against Chester Marion for stealing all that he loved and destroying it. I liked the other characters in this book, especially Camille and Tippoo. Both are strong characters, one who stands by Mungo because he showed him kindness and the other because she survived, even in the terrible situation that she was in. This was a good prequel book and it kinda makes me interested in seeing what the rest of the series is like.

About the author

Wilbur Smith was born in Central Africa in 1933. He became a full-time writer in 1964 following the success of When the Lion Feeds, and has since published over fifty global bestsellers, including the Courtney Series, the Ballantyne Series, the Egyptian Series, the Hector Cross Series and many successful standalone novels, all meticulously researched on his numerous expeditions worldwide. An international phenomenon, his readership built up over fifty-five years of writing, establishing him as one of the most successful and impressive brand authors in the world.
The establishment of the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation in 2015 cemented Wilbur's passion for empowering writers, promoting literacy and advancing adventure writing as a genre. The foundation's flagship programme is the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize.

Wilbur Smith passed away peacefully at home in 2021 with his wife, Niso, by his side, leaving behind him a rich treasure-trove of novels and stories that will delight readers for years to come. For all the latest information on Wilbur Smith's writing visit www.wilbursmithbooks.com or facebook.com/WilburSmith