Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person involved in falconry: a "falconer" flies a falcon; an "austringer" flies a hawk or an eagle. In modern falconry, the red-tailed hawk, Harris's hawk, and the peregrine falcon are some of the more commonly used birds of prey. The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called "hawking" or "gamehawking", although the words hawking and hawker have become used so much to refer to petty traveling traders, that the terms "falconer" and "falconry" now apply to most use of trained birds of prey to catch game. Many contemporary practitioners still use these words in their original meaning, however.
Wilbur Addison Smith was a Zambian-born British-South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries, seen from the viewpoints of both black and white families.
Connor Iggulden is a British author who writes historical fiction, most notably the Emperor series and Conqueror series. He also co-authored The Dangerous Book for Boys along with his brother Hal Iggulden. In 2007, Iggulden became the first person to top the UK fiction and non-fiction charts at the same time.
Shout at the Devil is a 1976 British war adventure film directed by Peter R. Hunt and starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore. The film, set in Zanzibar and German East Africa in 1913–1915, is based on a novel by Wilbur Smith which is very loosely inspired by real events. The supporting cast features Barbara Parkins and Ian Holm.
Birds of prey are species of carnivorous birds.
When the Lion Feeds (1964) is the debut novel of Rhodesian writer Wilbur Smith. It introduces the Courtney family, whose adventures Smith would tell in many subsequent novels. In 2012, Smith said the novel remained his favourite because it was his first to be published.
Edwin Thomas is an English historical novelist. He was born in 1977 in Frankfurt, West Germany, and grew up in Belgium and Connecticut, United States. He studied history at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he met his future wife Emma and did significant work in the theatre. He now lives in York with his wife and young son, Owen.
The Courtney Novels are a series of seventeen novels published between 1964 and 2019 by Wilbur Smith. They chronicle the lives of the Courtney family, from the 1660s through until 1987. The novels can be split into three parts; the original trilogy of novels follow the twins Sean and Garrick Courtney from the 1860s until 1925. The second part is five books which follows Centaine de Thiry Courtney, her sons and grandchildren between 1917 and 1987. The third part, the most recently written, follows the Courtney family from the 1660s through until 1939, focusing on successive generations of the family. There are also two books that follow the third series. As well, there are three additional Courtney books.
Giles Kristian[1] is an English novelist, known for his action adventure novels in the historical fiction genre. He is best known for his Raven series, about a young man's coming of age amongst a band of Viking warriors. His first novel, the bestselling[2]Raven: Blood Eye,[3] was published to great acclaim .[4] Two further novels complete the Raven Saga; Sons of Thunder and Odin's Wolves, and to date the books have been published in eight languages.[5] He has written two books set during the English Civil War The Bleeding Land and Brothers Fury published by Transworld Publishers. In 2015, he co-wrote Golden Lion with Wilbur Smith, part of Smith's bestselling Courtney series. This book was a no.1 bestseller across three continents. Kristian's second Viking series, The Rise of Sigurd trilogy, comprises God of VengeanceWinter’s Fire and Wings of the Storm. Kristian worked as a narrative designer on the Multiplayer online survival roleplaying game Valnir Rok, developed by encurio GmbH. Kristian's novel, Lancelot, published in 2018 tells the story of one of the great figures of British myth and legend. It reached No. 6 in The Sunday Times bestseller list and No. 3 in The Times bestseller list. Its sequel Camelot, was published in May 2020.
Those in Peril is a book by the author Wilbur Smith. The book focuses on the lives of billionaire Hazel Bannock, who is the owner of the Bannock Oil Corp and Major Hector Cross, an ex-SAS operative and the owner of a security company Cross Bow Security. This company has been contracted to protect Hazel Bannock and her business interest and the story unfolds when Hazel's daughter is hijacked by Somali pirates.
Golden Lion or Golden Lyon may refer to:
Richard Johns is a UK film and television producer. As well as producing many commercially successful and critically acclaimed films, he has helped discover and foster the next generation of directors and writers across the UK, Europe and the US.
Wild Justice is an adventure novel by Wilbur Smith. It was partially set in Seychelles where Smith had a home for a number of years.
The Sunbird is a 1972 novel by Wilbur Smith about an archeological dig.
The Burning Shore is a novel by Wilbur Smith set during and after World War I.
Golden Fox is a novel by Wilbur Smith, one of the Courtney Novels. It is set from 1969 to 1979 and touches on the South African Border War and the revolution in Ethiopia.
Monsoon is a 1999 novel by Wilbur Smith. Monsoon follows the adventures of Hal's sons, William, Tom, Guy and Dorian. An Arab Corsair is ambushing merchant and war ships in the Indian Ocean and the English send Hal to contest him. The twin brothers, Tom and Guy, fall out over a woman and Guy leaves for India while William remains home in England. Dorian is captured by slavers and sold to the Prince of Oman, al-Malik, who adopts him as his son. There he meets Yasmini, one of the many daughters of the Prince. They fall in love and Dorian saves her from Zayn al-Din, another of the Prince's sons. Eventually Dorian and Yasmini run away, damned for committing incest. Many years of searching leave Tom tired of battle but by chance he faces Dorian in battle and almost kills him. Recognizing each other, they reunite and escape to Africa.
Blue Horizon is a 2003 novel by Wilbur Smith.
The Triumph of the Sun is a novel by Wilbur Smith set during the Siege of Khartoum. Smith himself said the following about the novel:
"That incident had all the elements of a great story setting because you have the captive characters who are having to interact with each other because there is no escape – siege conditions. Also the river. I’m fascinated by the great rivers of Africa. Played against that was a sort of island setting in the desert. Then it had such powerful influences at work – the British Empire against the revolting Mahdists, the conflict of religions, Gordon and the Mahdi, both of them totally fanatical, believing that they spoke directly to God, and unbendable and unbending."
The Tiger's Prey is a 2017 novel by Wilbur Smith. It is a Courtney saga novel, set in the 18th century.
