When was those in peril published

Action and Adventure Books. Enter pincode. Usually delivered in 3 days? Smith Wilbur. Summary Of The Book Those In Peril is a book that begins with the author introducing his readers to Hazel Bannock, who is the protagonist of the story.

About Wilbur Smith Wilbur Smith is a renowned novelist. Frequently Bought Together. Those in Peril. The Sixth Man. Only Time Will Tell. Add 3 Items to Cart. Rate Product. A newcomer to Wilbur Smith I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I don't like scarey thrillers, but enjoy a well thought out plot that is believable.

It was well researched, covering modern issues so that readers are aware of the perspectives of each culture. The style is gripping, and intelligent without overblown superlatives or unnecessary descriptions. Everything in there was appropriate to such a well paced and crafted book.

But Smith does none of that. He takes the theme head on and makes his stance booming loud and crystal clear. Smith deserves kudos for that very reason. The plot revolves around these protagonists - Hazel Bannock, a tennis-star turned heir to a business tycoon, who stumps the world with her keen sense of investment and her acumen in making profits; Hazel's year old daughter Cayla, pampered, and used to getting things done her way; Hector Cross, who has a heart of iron and nerves of steel, and utterly devoid of emotions, and who heads the firm providing security to Bannock Oil Corporation.

When Cayla gets kidnapped and is taken hostage, and there's little help coming in from the White House, a bewildered Hazel is left with no choice but to cross legal boundaries with the help of Hector and win her daughter back. The plot gets thickened with each passing page, sprayed with sentiments of revenge and righteousness. The narrative is gripping, no doubt. But there are times when the reader might wish for a solace from the formidably graphical descriptions.

The atrocities are all describes in gruesome detail and the author seems to have forgotten that there's something called a subtle story-telling. Nevertheless, the book still makes for a pacy and fast page-turner. Smith does the twist and turn scene building with effortless ease and takes the reader along on a journey that blends fiction with the horrifying reality of piracy that's rampant even today in the Indian Ocean.

If you are looking for the likes of a classic literary masterpiece, then this book may not fit your bill, but if what you are looking for is a fast read for a train journey, then this book will definitely catchy your attention — hook, line, and sinker!

This is the first book I read by Wilbur Smith and I'm not sure that's enough to give a judgment about the author. The pace is smooth, the story simple enough, the environment is mainly Africa, with a few locations in other parts of the world. What confuses is the change of pace and tone that you have in some points: after an early start, slow and aimed to delineate the characters and the background, the action speed up, then at some point become more like a romance novel and resume with the acti This is the first book I read by Wilbur Smith and I'm not sure that's enough to give a judgment about the author.

What confuses is the change of pace and tone that you have in some points: after an early start, slow and aimed to delineate the characters and the background, the action speed up, then at some point become more like a romance novel and resume with the action in the last part.

The characters are presented in a superficial way, without going into too much detail of their personalities, only what you need to history. Yet in some cases it seems that their character changes dramatically. I had heard good things about the novels of Wilbur Smith and I was expecting something more. Descriptions of breathtaking scenery in the land of Africa, exciting and charismatic characters, plots unforgettable! I think by this author, the best thing is to read the previous novels, the most famous and certainly appreciated.

However recommended as light reading for the summer. Apr 26, Steve rated it did not like it. I have been a huge Wilbur Smith fan for 25 years and have read everything he's written. So it's a great disappointment for me to see him stumbling over the last few years. I had great expectations for Smith's latest, but this book is probably his worst to date. An implausible plot, gratuitous explicit sex, and unnecessary graphic violence are not his usual fare.

But that's what you'll get here. Please give me the Courtneys back. I would have rated this book a four or five star, but for me it was spoiled by the hard core pornographic descriptions of rape and also the use of crude language in the torture scenes. My three stars rating is therefore to balance my negative comment with an otherwise interesting book. Mar 15, Donna Herrick rated it did not like it Shelves: thriller , fiction.

It was a good story, a lot of action, some mystery, and some romance. But, The story posits revenge as an honorable motivation and that those murdered want the living to carry out justice for them. I reject these philosophies. As this story so aptly illustrates killing for revenge leads to an endless cycle of killing.

Some family feuds and cultural feuds can last for centuries. The other thing about this book that I did not like was its stereotypical portrayal of Islam and of jihadists. It may we It was a good story, a lot of action, some mystery, and some romance. It may well be a fact that ISIS and Al-Qaeda foment a brand of Islam that is particularly brutal and degrading to women, but the rapes portrayed in this story were beyond the pale and the story did not reveal anything of usefulness to restoring peace to the world.

Not one of the author's best books, in fact, probably his worst. Disappointing, with a very predictable plot especially in the first half of the book. There were few twists and those there were, were loudly marked! I still enjoyed the book to a degree, HOWEVER, I felt the author was just going through the motions and meeting his commitment to the publisher, with the reader more of an afterthought! I have always looked forward to a Wilbur Smith novel, as he is one of my favourite authors, but nex Not one of the author's best books, in fact, probably his worst.

I have always looked forward to a Wilbur Smith novel, as he is one of my favourite authors, but next time I will read the reviews first. A real let down. May 16, Mrudula rated it did not like it. Wow, what a headache of a book The author seems to be a white boomer who really does not understand women or grief. It was like reading half a book about how "evil" or "mismanaged" middle eastern and african countries are.

And the dialogues All in all, could not finish this Jul 28, Priya rated it liked it Shelves: read-in , aty , library-love , cwts I have heard a lot about the books of Wilbur Smith and I see from the reviews that this maybe was not the one to start with.

And I see why! It has action, a lot of it, as it has an ex SAS man, Hector Cross, taking it upon himself to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his employer,Hazel Bannock, from Somalian pirates.

Hazel is the owner of Bannock oil and one of the richest women in the world but when her daughter is snatched off her yacht, the demands of the terrorists are such that no government w I have heard a lot about the books of Wilbur Smith and I see from the reviews that this maybe was not the one to start with.

Hazel is the owner of Bannock oil and one of the richest women in the world but when her daughter is snatched off her yacht, the demands of the terrorists are such that no government would be willing to comply. Going in full throttle, Hector and his team face danger,treachery and all kinds of adversity as they attempt to rescue 19 yo Cayla Bannock who is being subjected to the most horrible physical and psychological torture. But what was not fathomable was how two people touted to have resources and brains like Hector and Hazel could be so complacent, only reacting, never proactive, never anticipating the danger that could befall them.

It's almost like the author had to spring bad things on them just for Hector to admire Hazel's 'strength' and show his planning acumen! It simply doesn't gel with how he is described as a man of action. No planning or even thinking about putting security in place to protect himself and his people from retribution from persons whose vileness and crudeness he is very familiar with!

There is no holding back on the language or graphic descriptions of cruelty and violence which I suppose is because of the situations themselves. But it is uncomfortable to read. And there are some cringe worthy scenes which could have been toned down in a book of this genre! Overall, not a good introduction to Wilbur Smith but there are always other books and series to explore and I will definitely read his Courtney series before giving up on him!

Mar 08, William McGinn rated it did not like it. Such as, having originally a C and changing it to an A-, or 0. Such as, having originally a C and changing it to an A-, or vice versa, because of one decision a character makes. Hector Cross is the head of Cross Bow Security, a protection team for hire. Off the coast of Somalia, a country infamous for ship sieges by modern-day pirates, her daughter Cayla ends up taken hostage by her supposed boyfriend, Rogier. Her capture ends up beneficial for the Sheikh for two big reasons: One is Hazel is one of the richest billionaires in the world and owner of most of the waters that I suspect interfere with the Somali fishing.

He was semi-right for a part of it. More on that in a second. I put down this book in utter disgust, and not in a good way. You can be angry, sad, or even disgusted in a good way sometimes. Not for this title. The synopsis I gave honestly makes it sound fun, and it sometimes honestly is. I actually do have a fair amount of positive stuff to say here.

And there are public executions that got under my skin, giving a good sense of danger. There were still some gimmicks that made these optimistic elements unable to promise a recommendation. The first bad thing I noticed was a sense of instalove.

I also noticed some very silly dialogue, bringing humour when anyone sane would be too terrified to say something out loud. Then the second half arrives… I hate to give too many spoilers, but I feel I have to justify my savage grade.

The second half begins with a brake in everything, literally in both possibilities of the word. There are delays and skips forward, of apparently years.

I generally find it okay to skip forward in the lives of characters maybe 5 or 6 months max, and, more acceptably, a few weeks, but if you have to race ahead as long as this story does, I think you should just start writing a new book instead. It was a missed opportunity. Then we get the setup for another big showdown, which starts as not the worst ever, even if it has a completely illogical fake-out plan.

Hector and a friend of his perform something even more vile than the acts I was talking about before, making them no better than the antagonists; making them monsters. After reading that, I just wanted the whole ordeal out of my head, so I ended up just skimming the last twenty-five pages rapidly, the first time I can remember ever just not wanting to pay attention to the ending, the finish line, of a book. You want to read this book? Oct 12, Lakis Fourouklas rated it liked it.

Wilbur Smith is one of my all time favorite authors. The Courtneys, the Ballantynes and the magus Taita are some of the most memorable literary heroes and I admit that I have spent many hours of agony and reading joy with them. The main protagonists are a couple of seemingly opposite characters that have nothing much in common: Hector Cross who run Wilbur Smith is one of my all time favorite authors. The main protagonists are a couple of seemingly opposite characters that have nothing much in common: Hector Cross who runs a security firm and Hazel Bannock, an ex tennis player and the head of a big oil company.

However, in order to do even better she has to get rid of the heavy shadow that her husband still casts over her whole being and from the past that he created for her.

Now this seemingly all powerful woman has to all that she can to secure her release. So she leaves the emirate of Abu Zara, where one of her oil fields is based in a rush, and heads for the US where she gets in touch with the FBI and the secret services of her country, and even with the president himself, asking for help. He will start planning a rescue mission right away, a mission however which will take a lot of time to come to be, since the pirates have as their base a semi-independent region of Somalia, where the only laws that apply are the ones dictated by the old sheikh.

Under the direst circumstances she feels the touch of love. This novel can be read as a big adventure, but as a love story as well. The main characters are rich but nonetheless lonely people, who are desperately trying to find something or someone to fill their blanks and bring a touch of happiness into their lives.

The action in many scenes is fast paced, sometimes there are torrents of blood and the violence is pretty brutal, but every now and then things slow down and the narration becomes tender and deeply humane. And that is a fact of life. A good read nevertheless. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, who sent it as a sample. He had nothing but praises for this particular Wilbur Smith title and I decided to give it a try.

I've been wanting to know what Wilbur Smith book is like I was interested in his historical fiction series, the family sagas set in Africa but never had the chance to pick one up until now. So when I got this book for free, I thought this could be a good entry point to the world of Wilbur Smith. I read up to the halfway poi I received a copy of this book from the publisher, who sent it as a sample.

I read up to the halfway point of the book and then I quit. I tried picking it up again a few months after I got the book I'd received it very early in this year as a part of my summer reading program and I couldn't get past that halfway point where I left.

I don't know why I didn't enjoy it very much. The story is centered on terrorism and that alone is reason enough for me to not feel comfortable with the book.

I hate gore and violence and this book has those in spades. Descriptions of bodies burning, limbs tearing apart and whatnot I just don't have the stomach for it. The plot and the action are very intense but after so much violence, my brain started resisting the words and I simply couldn't continue anymore.

I remember watching bits and pieces of Saving Private Ryan And this kind of stories is just not my cup of tea. The other thing is that I don't sympathize with any of the characters. I couldn't relate to any of them to be specific, I have no military background like the male main character and I'm not a super rich billionaire like the main female character. I realize that it's possible to enjoy a book without having to relate to the characters but their lives are not too appealing for me to follow, so I lost interest in them after a while.

She stars very prominently in the book, though, so my annoyance with her is my major reason for losing interest in her and the story. It's a rather positive ending, for which I'm glad. After all that drama and violence, an uplifting one would be much preferable! While I may not like the story, I do think the writing is superb.

He lives with his family in York. For more information about Tom's books, visit www. Tell us what you like and we'll recommend books you'll love. Sign up and get a free ebook! Those in Peril Book 1 of Hector Cross. By Wilbur Smith. Published by Zaffre. Trade Paperback eBook. About The Book. About The Author. Wilbur Smith. Product Details.