In the original dust jacket. Black board binding.

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Half-brothers and blood enemies, Manfred and Shasa are caught up in a savage war to seize the sword of power in their land. The story follows them through two decades of South African history, telling of their rivalry in a deadly struggle.

Review: A long read but boy did I savour and cherish every last page. As always Smith has this captivating writing style that resonates his characters thoughts and feelings through you and explains even the most intricate of descriptions simplistically. He is a natural storyteller. Power of the Sword takes place around 15 years after the events of the Burning Shore- Centaine’s son Sasha is now near a grown man and Manfred, her discredited son, is a year younger. The novel takes you through their journey from adolescence to adulthood both experienced through two very diverse roads and shaped by the political views of their background and the burgeoning second world war. It is a story about endurance through a time of depression. However what marks this book as being its own from the others is that we now see the Courtney family from a new perspective. Whilst we have always been made to side with this family of wealth and power we can now make our own judgments upon them. Centaine, for instance, was a heroine in the last book, and whilst she still may be, she makes decisions in this book which are remorseless to ensure her and Sasha’s survival and prestige. As a result we find ourselves sympathising with Lothar and Manfred De La Rey whose struggles are hot. These latter characters become respected through their humble endeavours. Then, through twists of fate and intricate character development, we observe the reverse. Manfred, although being justified in doing so, is beguiled by the Nazis as Sasha wizens and earns his respect as a British hero championing their cause in South Africa. Nonetheless, it goes without saying that Centaine reaps what she sown from her previous passion as she experiences a new flame. I couldn’t put the book down and the ending was a real page turner. It almost becomes a thriller! In conclusion, credit to Mr Smith for creating these complex and believable characters that will stay with me forever.

Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Northern Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist specializing in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries. He gained a film contract with his first published novel, When the Lion Feeds, which encouraged him to become a full-time writer. He went on to write three long chronicles of the South African experience, which became best-sellers. He acknowledged his publisher Charles Pick’s advice to “write about what you know best”; his work focuses on southern African ways of life, with emphasis on hunting, mining, romance, and conflict. By the time of his death in 2021, he had published 49 books. They have sold at least 140 million copies.