A review by sams84
Birds of Prey by Wilbur Smith

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I did the later (chronologically speaking) but still historically set books but it was still a gripping mostly fast paced epic tale on the high seas when piracy was state supported as war continues between the English and Dutch.  Life takes many a turn for Francis Courtney, his son Hal, and their crew as they make and lose money, ships, and lives over the span of several years.  For the most part I enjoyed the tales but did find the female characters a bit hit and miss and far too susceptible to the wiles of Hal with the smallest of provocations, and yet at other times they are deviant, independent, and determined to take their own paths so that was a little odd.  Some of the descriptions and writing also felt a little unnecessary and at times repetitive, but this didn't tend to detract too much from the story overall.