Whoever selects an old era for presentation needs to be accurate in the description otherwise there is always a threat of failure. The author has to study historical works for this purpose to write about characters and situations as they existed in those olden days. Wilbur Smith selected this tough task for himself in describing the Courtney brothers. 1870 is the year when the brothers are born, Sean and Garrick are twins with a fate from which they cannot hide or run. From their first birthday, the brothers witness a war of terror.
Everyone around them is like their enemy as special plots are made against the two to eradicate them from the face of the earth. The brothers survive sometimes because of their luck and on most occasions because of their daring nature. A woman from within the clans has a terrible scheme in mind for the Courtneys. Instead of killing them, she plans to separate them and bring the wall of borders between them.
If you are a history lover only then you would be able to appreciate this book better. To listen to the author’s description of the nineteenth century in Sean Barret’s voice can even attract you towards the boring books of history. The listener after listening to a chapter or two goes through history books too to search whether such characters existed or not. Wilber has a special liking for history Call of the Raven and River God also depict the same kind of stuff along with some information about the gods. Separating this book from the rest of the books by Wilbur is quite easy as it has one special thing in it i.e culture of the ear.
