The Sound of Thunder (1966)

by Wilbur Smith

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Courtney Family Saga (12)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
761	8	31,555	(3.78)	20
A Courtney series adventure - Book 2 in the When the Lion Feeds trilogy "In the same way Sean saw it coming, he recognised it as the murderous rage which before had nearly killed a man, but still he could not prepare himself. And then it was upon him and the roaring filled his head." Some will win. And some will lose. Sean Courtney returns from the African wilds to find war has been declared between the British Empire and the Transvaal Republic. Not only that, but a rivalry is growing, between the cruel, obsessive son who bears his name, and his elder, secret son, whom he cherishes deeply. The Boer War will take from Sean, in both blood and gold, but the conflict and its consequences will also offer him everything a man could want. Sean must now decide: with both sons in his life, is he willing to pay the price he needs to keep them?… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)

There was a guileless simplicity in Sean's approach to life - in his mind any problem when met with direct action disintegrated.
If you became obsessed with a woman, you tumbled her. If that didn't produce the desired effect, then you married her.
If you wanted a piece of land or a horse or a house or a gold mine, then you paid your money and took it. If you didn't have the money, you went out and found it.
If you liked a man you drank with him, hunted with him, laughed together. If you disliked him, you either punched him in the head or subjected him to a ponderous sarcasm and mockery. Either way you left him in no doubt of your feeling.
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NewLibrary78 | Jul 22, 2023 |

Well Wilbur Smith has me hooked. I will be reading the rest of the Courtney series, to follow the characters he has managed to engross me with. Being a writer of historical fiction, I am always intrigued when actual history plays a big part, and South Africa has a lot of history. I would highly recommend this book. I find his style of writing timeless. (

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paulhock | Oct 17, 2017 |

Wilbur Smith always delivers a rattling good yarn. I like the South African settings of this book and the history of this developing country as it created its identity. (

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DavidFerrers | Mar 10, 2017 |

Loving the saga aspect of this series, but this book spent a lot of time on battles and fights and wars so I found myself flipping past scenes where the author describes endlessly what is happening in what is merely a competition, whether it be between two men (Sean and Jan Paulus for example, more than once) two peoples two brothers etc. Hopefully, the future books got the competition/battle thing out of the way and there won't be as many and it'll focus more on the other aspects of the characters and stories that are making this series enjoyable to read. On to the next book now. (

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SpasticSarcastic | Apr 1, 2013 |

From the book box that dutch-flybabe sent to me.

BoekenTrol71 | Mar 31, 2013 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Wilbur Smith	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Grinbergs, Ansis	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Courtney Family Saga (12)

Is contained in

Wilbur Smith Omnibus: Hungry as the Sea / The Sound of Thunder/ The Eye of the Tiger by Wilbur Smith

Courtney Family Saga: When the Lion Feeds / The Sound of Thunder / A Sparrow Falls by Wilbur Smith

Wilbur Smith Omnibus: The Sound of Thunder / Cry Wolf by Wilbur Smith

Courtney Family Saga: When the Lion Feeds [and] The Sound of Thunder by Wilbur Smith

Courtney Family Saga: When The Lion Feeds, The Sound of Thunder, A Sparrow Falls, The Burning Shore by Wilbur Smith

The Eye of the Tiger / The Sound of Thunder by Wilbur Smith

(show 1 more)

Wilbur Smith Omnibus: Assegai / The Sound of Thunder / When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith

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Canonical title

The Sound of Thunder

Original title

The Sound of Thunder

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1966

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Epigraph

[None]

Dedication

This book is for my children -
Shaun and Lawrence and Christian Laurie

First words

Four tears of travel in the roadless wilderness had battered the wagons.

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Disambiguation notice

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▾Book descriptions

A Courtney series adventure - Book 2 in the When the Lion Feeds trilogy "In the same way Sean saw it coming, he recognised it as the murderous rage which before had nearly killed a man, but still he could not prepare himself. And then it was upon him and the roaring filled his head." Some will win. And some will lose. Sean Courtney returns from the African wilds to find war has been declared between the British Empire and the Transvaal Republic. Not only that, but a rivalry is growing, between the cruel, obsessive son who bears his name, and his elder, secret son, whom he cherishes deeply. The Boer War will take from Sean, in both blood and gold, but the conflict and its consequences will also offer him everything a man could want. Sean must now decide: with both sons in his life, is he willing to pay the price he needs to keep them?

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