A Time to Die

By: Wilbur Smith

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The lion charged. He came straight at them out of the thicket as his mate had done, but even more swiftly, driven by the agony in his belly and the black rage that filled him. He came grunting like a locomotive at full throttle, and they were unprepared. 

Hunters. Hunted. 

Sean Courtney, ex-guerilla fighter in the Bush War, is now a man of peace, leading hunting safaris in Zimbabwe for wealthy men. His current client is Riccardo Monterro, a strong-headed man whose beautiful, strong-minded daughter Claudia has reluctantly accompanied him on the search for the greatest of all trophies: the old bull elephant Tukutela.  

But the elephant, and Riccardo's obsession, will lead them over the border into a Mozambique still devastated by civil war. What began as a rich man's holiday will become a desperate battle for survival - and Sean must help them escape the most dangerous predator of all: Man.

©2018 Wilbur Smith (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

Slow start - typical Wilbur ending

Took a while to get into the story from the beginning, but improved through to the end.

One of my favorite novels

I read this book when it was first published, have re-read it several times since. Great story and I definitely recommend.
My only negative was the narators female voice. It just wasn't well done and every time he read one of her lines it sounded terrible. All his male voices were fine though.

If I hear the name Sean, or Siân, one more time...

I've never read a Wilbur Smith book before, so bought this audiobook on the strength of the author's reputation. Forgetting that it was a book lasting 21 hours, I kept thinking it had come to an end, only to find it hadn't.

It's basically a love story between Claudia and Sean. They hate each other to start with, and end up besotted with each other.

Sean Barrett has an interesting voice. He is English, yet has a South African twang to his voice when speaking naturally.
His voice is excellent for descriptive passages.

However, his attempts to be Claudia, using a not-very-good American accent in falsetto tones, whereby Sean is pronounced as Siân, are rather embarrassing.

Even more embarrassing are the sex scenes, be they between lions, other animals, or between 'Siân' and Claudia. His voice is like your dad. Listening to these scenes is toe-curling. It's like your dad sitting there in front of you reading them. Just unbearable. Horribly descriptive scenes of body parts and sex, and longing for them to be over!

The author uses the name of Sean much too much. Sean this, Sean that, Sean the other. People speaking to Sean say Sean every couple of sentences. There were plenty of occasions when a pronoun would have been easier on the ear.

The second half of the book is much better than the first half, and the last third is really rather exciting.

A bit too mushy in places, but I might listen to it again one day, but miss out the first half, and fast-forward through the toe-curling bits!

Disappointing

I’ve read and now listened to all of Wilbers long list of books. The only thing to say of this one is Sean Courtney should have shot the heroine in the first chapter and we could have all gone home. Waste of 20 hours of listening.

Nailbiting

The tension is maintained throughout and I could smell and hear the bush that I love so much.
A very dark time in Southern Africa's history. My cousin was a Selous Scout and my son was conscripted into South Africa's notorious 32 battalion during the bush war. Neither will speak of their experiences.
Excellent narration.

African adventure!

Exciting story but the parts which really captivated me were Smith's beautiful descriptions of Africa, its wilderness and landscapes. Felt rather melancholy at parts, but worth a read for sure.

great story

Easy listening action and adventure story. Maybe a bit long. Enjoyed it though. Well written.

I’m busyI have not seen any review guidelines

Audible have managed to spoil my enjoyment of not only my last book a time to die but also the entire audible experience! For me please show me the customer review guide lines. Or let me know where to find them.

Riveting listening, gives a new perspective from reading the book😊

Having read most of Wilbur Smith books in my youth, I am now enjoying listening to them in chronological order.

Great story and narration

Really enjoyed this book while relaxing on a sun bed on the costa del sol

Another Super Courtney instalment

Really enjoyed this! Sean Barrett really does a fantastic job at narrating this series! It felt a very different plot from the previous titles in this series, but immersive nonetheless.

Great listen,

Found this to be a captivating book and it won't disappoint. It provides a great insight into some aspects of modern African history for the uninitiated like myself, sparking my interest to find out more. It's centred on a love story which some may find a bit soppy but even that aspect is done well. And although a slow start it soon picks up speed with the end coming too soon for me. The performance is brilliant with the only small criticism being about the female American voice - not easy on the ears and her character was a little annoying at times, a little less "ohh Sean...." would have done me. But I am hooked so just about to start next book......