Predator: A Crossbow Novel
Predator: A Crossbow Novel book cover

Predator: A Crossbow Novel

Hardcover – Deckle Edge, March 22, 2016

by
Price
$18.18
Format
Hardcover
Pages
416
Publisher
William Morrow
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0062276476
Dimensions
6 x 1.29 x 9 inches
Weight
1.28 pounds

Description

Review “Wilbur Smith is one of the legendary storytellers of our time, and Predator is Smith at the top of his game... A smart, sophisticated thriller that will suck you into a high-stakes world of winner-take-all.” — NELSON DEMILLE, #1 New York Times -bestselling author of Radiant Angel From the Back Cover Former operative Major Hector Cross must face off against a pair of lethal enemies and prevent an international catastrophe in this gripping contemporary adventure-thriller—perfect for fans of Clive Cussler, Ted Bell, and Vince Flynn—from the legendary worldwide bestselling author of Desert God and Golden Lion Predator One of the world’s most formidable fighters, ex-SAS warrior and former private security consultant Major Hector Cross has survived explosive tangles with depraved enemies—warlords, pirates, and arms dealers—from the Middle East to the heart of Africa. Now, Cross must take the law into his own hands once again to stop a vengeful old enemy who has resurfaced—and hunt down a deadly new nemesis in pursuit of global domination. Co-written with internationally bestselling author Tom Cain, this exciting tale, filled with knife-edge tension, cunning global intrigue, rip-roaring action, and breathtaking adventure, demonstrates the extraordinary vision and talent of a writer with a gift for consistently delivering nonstop entertainment. About the Author Described by Stephen King as “the best historical novelist,” WILBUR SMITH made his debut in 1964 with When the Lion Feeds and has since sold more than 125 million copies of his books worldwide and been translated into twenty-six different languages. Born in Central Africa in 1933, he now lives in London. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Former operative Major Hector Cross must face off against a pair of lethal enemies and prevent an international catastrophe in this gripping contemporary adventure-thriller—perfect for fans of Clive Cussler, Ted Bell, and Vince Flynn—from the legendary worldwide bestselling author of
  • Desert God
  • and
  • Golden Lion.
  • One of the most formidable fighters in the world, ex-SAS warrior and former private security consultant Major Hector Cross has survived explosive tangles with depraved enemies—warlords, pirates, and arms dealers—from the Middle East to the heart of Africa. Now, Cross must take the law into his own hands once again to stop a vengeful old enemy who has resurfaced—and hunt down a deadly new nemesis in pursuit of global domination.
  • Co-written with internationally bestselling author Tom Cain, this exciting tale, filled with knife-edge tension, cunning global intrigue, rip-roaring action, and breathtaking adventure, demonstrates the extraordinary vision and talent of a writer with a gift for consistently delivering nonstop entertainment.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(3K)
★★★★
20%
(2K)
★★★
15%
(1.5K)
★★
7%
(690)
★
28%
(2.8K)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Did Wilbur Smith Write This Book?

I enjoyed the book-- however, as opposed to the 21 other books I have of Wilbur Smith's writing and thoroughly enjoyed--after reading this book it is almost like Wilbur had nothing to do with its writing. It was like the co-author wrote the entire book.There were too many sexual segments, with too much description leaving nothing to the imagination, very unlike Wilbur Smith's writing!
13 people found this helpful
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A very poor example of Mr

I threw this book away after the first half. A very poor example of Mr. Smiths work. His earlier novels about Africa (Courtney & Ballantyne were excellent. This is just another "Rush" novel with written special effects. What a disappointment !!!
13 people found this helpful
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Wilbur Smith used to Write Good Novels, but....

Over the last thirty years I've read every Wilbur Smith novel I could get. This is the only one I regret buying. The characters are very thin, the dialogue is often stilted and contrived, and I lost interest early. I pushed through the first quarter of the novel, but no more.
8 people found this helpful
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Big disappointment

I do not believe that much of this novel was written by Wilbur Smith. It just isn't his style. There were long sections dealing with financial matters that sounded like a Harvard lecture. I felt they talked down to the reader. For this author, the sex was uncharacteristically graphic. I also found the two female characters unbelievable (Nastiya and her incredibly immature mid-twenties sister Zhenia). Their dialogue was childish and immature. The only believable character was the arch-villain, Congo. I have read all of Wilbur Smith's novels, and this was a big disappointment.
5 people found this helpful
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Not for all readers...

This is a thriller where the action dominates and the shallow characters, both good and bad, seem to operate on the same wave length. In other words, the good guy can be as nasty and heartless as the bad guy. If you don't demand that the protagonist be a laudable person and love action for actions sake where there is minimal character development you won't find this book a disappointment. It will keep you occupied on a long flight or when you need to kill some time. On the other hand, don't expect much in the area of a socially redeeming message here. PREDATOR is all about revenge and the visceral thrills that are found in "blood, guts and gore" narratives!
5 people found this helpful
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From a Long Time Wilbur Fan - please don't bother reading this one.

I have been reading Wilbur for over 40 years since I was a teen. I loved almost all of his books but the last few have been disappointing. This one is awful. It is so sad that I feel compelled to write this review. This novel is his 1st with a co-author so I do not know who to blame more but I am almost in mourning. I have been such a Wilbur fan I wrote to him a few times in the past to thank him for his work & one of my treasures is a lovely hand typed response from him.

Because of the last few books being sub-par, I did not buy this one but checked it out of the library. I regret the time that took but not as much as I would regret the cost had I bought it. I think it is time for my favorite author of all time to retire, I am sad to say.
2 people found this helpful
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Not a bad thriller story,but the characters are almost cartoonish.

Some good action sequences and some interesting characters....but few are very believable. It's hard to relate to a protagonist who is deeply in love one day and the next day already scouting out new possible lovers because his last love left him suddenly for reasons which make little or no sense.
Also, there are no chapters....just one long story without any breaks. I like the convention of chapters because then I know when it's best to take a break and also with Kindle I also know how much longer I have to go to finish the current chapter.
In short, it's an amusing read but not one I would recommend at the full retail price as there are many better options that are more affordable and equally or more enjoyable.
2 people found this helpful
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8th Grade fiction at best. The entire plot is unbelievable

8th Grade fiction at best. The entire plot is unbelievable. The characters are belong in a comic book. I like adventure writing but this is just a joke.
Yes, as one reader wrote, the whole thing should have been fed to the crocs.
1 people found this helpful
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Not Smith

It was not what I expected from Wilbur Smith. I have all his novel and and have read most of them 2 to 3 times. They are great
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Poorly written, verbose, awkward sex

I won't be finishing this book. It's poorly written, which is surprising. It's verbose and clumsy, and uses arcane words that no one in the real world would ever use. Here's a sample from page 3:

"After a while his breathing settled. With the reflexes of a trained warrior he had shaken off the debilitating effects of the nightmare, and he whispered to her, "I do apologize for the alarums and excursions, my love. However, the damage is done. We are both awake, so we might as well take full advantage of the moment."

That's the main character coming out of a nightmare.

1. What do "reflexes" have to do with shaking off a nightmare?
2. What the heck is an "alarum"?
3. Is excursion the right word to describe nightmares?
4. This guy is seriously pitching the idea of sex just because his nightmare woke the two of them? What?

This is really bad writing. It turns out "alarum" means alarm. So they could've just said alarm. Why didn't they? And the "I do apologize" is a mild example of a common problem that surfaces on every page – verbosity / extra words. He could just say "I apologize.", but the authors always seem to add unnecessary words to the text and dialog. A better writer would turn the above passage into something like this:

"After a while his breathing settled. He shook off the nightmare, and whispered to her, "I'm sorry for waking you again, my love."

That's less than half the size of the original passage and crisply communicates what's happening. And no awkward sex scene.

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