The second book in Smith's Ballantyne series, and a follow up to A FALCON FLIES. This book carries on in the first one's wake, taking up the story of Zouga Ballantyne as he tries his luck in the new-fashioned Kimberley Mines under the beady eye of empire-builder Cecil Rhodes.MEN OF MEN is a novel of two halves and the first half is particularly gripping. It's all about the diamond mines, and Smith once again mixes technical detail with human incident to great effect. You never get bogged down in the minituae of the diamond extracting process, yet by the end of it you feel like you've learnt all that there is to know about it, and it's never less than engaging.The second half of the book is more mixed, and the quality gradually wears off as the story progresses to become a series of strung-together episodes. The characters are rather thinly sketched and feel like pieces being moved around a chessboard. Smith also fails to include any sympathetic characters and the new ones, Ralph in particular, feel repulsive.This is a novel where bad things happen to good people, and there's a lot of violence packed within the pages. Nevertheless it's a quality read, with - as per usual - wonderful descriptions of Africa and the people who made it tick. I look forward to seeing in which direction the third novel, THE ANGELS WEEP, goes.
Wilbur Smith does a masterful job of bringing to readers the destruction of native Africa's way of life at the turn of the century. Zouga Ballantyne and his two sons, Ralph and Jordan become involved with Cecil Rhodes who is building his own empire within the British sphere of influence. Zouga once again meets his sister, Robyn who is still using her medical skills along with her husband to give aid to the population. The effects of the mining for gold and diamonds are powerful in telling of the story.
What do You think about Men Of Men (2006)?
Historical fictionSmith continues his story of the Ballantyne family in South Africa. The game is now much thinner after the whites have been slaughtering it for decades. The diamond mine at Kimberly continually needs new labour to keep expanding it. Zouga and Ralph Ballantyne are the main focus as they dig for diamonds. Cecil Rhodes plays a part. More than half way through the book the characters from the first book are brought in. Still sad to say a great civilization laid waste due to the white man's greed and underhanded dealings. Smith loves a good battle and an even better slaughter.Two Canadian references - Mungo St. John travels to Canada for business and one of the troopers is Canadian.
—Mark Edlund
