Action is the name of the game yet again for Wilbur Smith with life threatening danger constantly lurking as only the Courtney family can create. Little too formula-istic for me and I did not care about Gerhard Van Meerbach even though he was depicted as being a German who hated Nazism. I was hoping he ‘d die in the end.
The horrors of Nazism are we well delivered in this novel, horrirs we must never forget. Good on ya Mr. Smith. ( )

This is great historical fiction about WW2. It's the story of the wartime experiences of Saffron Courtney and Gerhard von Meerbach. After meeting in Paris early in 1939, they are separated by the war in which each of them participates for their countries. Saffron joins the British SOE and works in Belgium behind enemy lines. Gerhard joins the Luftwaffe and becomes an air ace and war hero. There's some absolutely shocking stories of the depravity of the Nazis in their execution of their "final solution". The villain of the piece, aside from Hitler, is Gerhard's elder brother Konrad, a fanatic Nazi and war profiteer. It looks as if Konrad will return in a sequel to avenge the Nazi's defeat. There's a great ending which will probably set the stage for this sequel. Recommended. ( )

A fast-moving adventure set during World War II. Lovers Saffron Courtney and Gerhard von Meerbach are having a romantic time in Paris on the eve of war.

They go their separate ways: von Meebach to the Luftwaffe where he rises through the ranks. He’s not a Nazi but his nemesis, brother Konrad, is the epitome of Nazi barbarism. Konrad’s obsession for revenge fuelled by jealousy is an engaging sub-plot. Von Meebach is prominent in the Battle of Stalingrad where his opposition to the Nazi regime hardens and one day he verbalises in a bar full of Nazi officers what everyone else is thinking.

The Special Operations Executive recruits Courtney and send her to Occupied Belgium where the Nazis have infiltrated the network. She infiltrates the upper echelons of the Nazi party and learns crucial information. When she rejects the advances of an SS leader, she unleashes the forces of the party, determined to find her. She gets away and back to Britain and safety.

As the Allies close in on Germany, the SOE sends Courtney to the Reich to find agents taken prisoner. Unbeknown to her, she is on the way to a reunion with von Meerbach but he is critically ill and her journey is far from easy.

Courtney’s War is strong on ticking the adventure genre’s boxes; not so strong on characterisation. The characters border on stereotype but it did not detract in a big way from a gripping read.



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It is easy to see why Wilbur Smith is such a global success with 40+ titles and 130+ million sales. He writes no nonsense narrative driven adventure stories for an adult audience. Literary flourishing is rejected in favour of storytelling that draws the reader in with believable character and high action.

In this volume we follow Saffron Courtney - young, beautiful, talented - through the course of World War II. As a secret agent for the SOE she helps to smash a corrupt spy ring in Belgium and then, as the war comes to a close, chases down and rescues high value allied prisoners in German camps. In parallel, we follow her lover, Gerard Von Meerbach - an anti-Nazi German forced to fight - as a decorated fighter pilot in th Battle for Stalingrad and then as a political prisoner in the German camps for his refusal to publicly support Hitler and the Nazis.

Both Saffron and Gerard are believable characters with plenty of nuance and are placed in situations where the outcome is not always certain. This is not going to win the Booker or a Pulitzer, but as out-and-out high quality entertainment I think this is hard to beat. ( )

This is a great addition to the exciting Courtney Family series. It is not necessary to read all of the previous books before getting to this one, but it is such a great series that I do recommend the entirety. ( )