Cry Wolf

I have been reading this man's books since I was 14. I have never read one that wasn't excellent but two are far above the rest, this one and Hungry as the Sea. This book has something for everyone. The story is compelling, gripping, and stands the test of time. Anyone reading this now will still want to know how the people in Africa are doing today. Beware, if you read this book you will become hooked on this man's writing, I did and 24 years later I can't wait for each new one he writes.

This is another great book from a fine author. The setting is 1935 Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a landlocked country. The League of Nations has imposed a weapons import ban on all African countries. The Italians don't have to deal with this ban because they control one of the countries. That's the political situation.
The Italians are on a rampage in Africa to gobble up as many countries as possible. They have been doing a massive military buildup along the Ethiopian border. The Ethiopians know what is about to happen. They enlist the aid of two "men of the world" to buy and deliver four ancient armored cars and a variety of other weapons.
Throw into this mix an American reporter that happens to be a beautiful woman, an ancient Ethiopian cheiftan who wants to fight battles the traditional way, an Italian aristocrat that has purchased his commission and you have a good mix to create a story from.
This is a long book, but interesting. The chapters are long. The story is very entertaining and at times even humorous. Wilber Smith has done an excellent job of capturing this era in time. The details of the scenery and the people are right on.
If you are an Italian, you probably will not enjoy they way that Smith has stereotyped them. But, it is believable...

If a picture paints a thousand words then in order to craft a convincing story the writer has to deftly use his or her words in a way that a reader can not only see the picture but with word color and tones that give it life.
As a writer I hate Wilbur Smith. He's so good he makes me want to break my fingers so I can't pretend to turn out anything of the kind. His settings are paintings, his characters convincingly real, and his dialogue...yeah, well, suffice to agree with so many others here and elsewhere that's he's a gifted Master with his craft.
CRY WOLF is yet another living painting with words. Chapter after chapter he draws us deeper into the story with action, adventure, and a promise of a wealth of gold. His plot twists and tangles are deftly tied and untied as he takes us along with several soldiers of fortune with Haile Salassie's fight againt Mussolini's forces in Ethiopia.
Since I try to read a little bit of every writer out there to be better at what I do, I read EVERYTHING of Smith's. Will I ever rise to his level? Doubtful. But will I learn and appreciate what it takes to do what he does? You bet.
Wilbur Smith is a true artist in a field where most just offer sketches.

This novel is based on a time of shame of the civilized world when it stood still and watched as Mussolini's Italian Army and Air Force destroyed and murdered helpless Ethiopians as they took over the East African country in 1935 and 1936. The League Of Nations only placed an inaffective embargo on Italy; no one cared about a few grass huts being burned, just as they did not care about the Japanese or Germans waring actions in the late 30's. We all know what happened because of this inaction.

In this novel Wilbur Smith expertly brings the reader a small brutal piece of this war. His tale involves a Texan, Jake Barton, and Englishman, Garth Swales, and Vicki, a free lance news writer and how they get tangled up in the Ethiopian struggle against the mighty Italians forces. The author writes with no chapters, no blank pages, and this book is full of excitement, action, romance, humour, and graphic brutality from cover to cover. Wilbur Smith never lets me down as I found myself laughing out loud at different times and also crying. This was truly a hard to put down story.

Absolutely great read. I discovered Wilbur Smith just last year. I love the historical settings and his knowledge of the military hardware of the era in which he is writing.

I found the story to be quite gripping and had me sitting up late at night (when I should have been sleeping). In short it is a great read!

Stories like this are timeless - war, heroism, love and lust. They make great ingredients in the hands of an author like Wilbur Smith.

Just sit back, and let yourself get carry away. You will absolutely love the trip.

This is one of the best adventure books I've ever read - it's right up there with the [[ASIN:0385241771 The Ninth Buddha]]and if it doesn't quite match [[ASIN:0425034038 The Chinese Bandit]]that really isn't a fair comparison.

Other reviews summarize the plot. This is Wilbur Smith at the height of his powers, spinning an exciting, detailed, realistic account. Most entertaining!

Smith manages just the right light touch - and that is not an easy thing to do. He tells a serious (and very sad) story, but a humorous bit in all the right places.

I could see the end coming for about half the book. And, just for the record, Col. Belli's Beretta revolver becomes an automatic rather late in the game.

This is a great hammock, beach, airplane book!

... without the unbelievable sex and violence that his later books have in gag me amounts. Compare this stand-alone, not-a-series book to his later, over-expanded 1 star books like Triumph of the Sun. Why is it that when writers get older - they lose it. Some of my favorite writers were very good early on - Dick Francis, Tony Hillerman, John Le Carre, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert B. Parker to mention a few - and in their later years pushed their imaginations and book contents in to unbelievable and unreadable plots and characters - producing barrel loads of titles and sales of products unworthy of their good early names. Sad.

I have read Wilbur Smith's books since I was 15 years old and I always admired his works and writing style. Thus, this book was a natural choice since it combines a good adventure with an interesting historical background. This is an awesome read right from page #1. Cry Wolf is a magnificent and moving novel, albeit a little drawn out at some places, brilliantly portraying the limitations of choices in the eventuality of an inevitability. The tragic war of Ethiopians in 1936 is very well depicted and the Italian characters are also well developed. The actions of the armoured cars are hair raising and the description of the African nature really magnificent, from a man who is a keen lover of that continent and has spent many years there. The last climactic battles are really awesome and gruelling and the finale leaves a bitter taste of realism. You will be surprised by the brutality of both sides, since the author does not paint the Ethiopians in idyllic colours but as the savages they really were. An un-polished gem that comes highly recommended.

I bought this book for my husband and he says that it's very good and interesting.

I love Wilbur Smith. Whatever he writes keeps me engrossed in his books. Historical views of places, clothes, treatment of people. The twists are always there. He is edge of your seat reading.