The Sunbird by Wilbur Smith 1974 (reprinted in 2002) This engrossing, exciting tale starts with an archaeological dig in Botswana. Two men, Dr. Ben Kazin, a brilliant archeologist, and Louren Stuyvesant, a rich, brawny adventurer, mount a search for the lost city of Opet. Believed founded by Phoenicians in the first century, Opet flourished for a time, then abruptly vanished. The discovery of the city excites the team—they unearth treasures, artifacts, gold, diamonds; it means the vindication Ben craves, the glory Louren seeks. A native populace seething with unrest, a tug of love between the two men and the beautiful assistant to the archaeologist, make this is a stirring adventure story. That's only the half of it, however, for opening a hidden tomb against advice plunges the two men into the past they have discovered. They become Huy, a poet and high priest serving under Lannon, a benevolent king he idolizes. As their fantastic, passionate, ultimately tragic story unfolds, the reader is immersed in the assiduous detail and the author's obvious love for the land. ~ Wilbur Smith was born in 1933 in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). ~ When he sits down to begin yet another epic, Wilbur Smith has no idea how the plot will develop. He believes this is what gives his work such powerful, organic life. The resolution to a story is sitting there in his unconscious as he writes, and with each turn of the narrative, events force characters to act and react spontaneously. ‘I am pretty old-fashioned,’ he says about his writing. ‘I believe in the triumph of good over evil and that love conquers all. I haven’t got really cynical.’ – St. Martin’s Press ~ Other Novels: The Dark of the Sun - 1965 Gold Mine - 1970 aka Gold Eagle in the Sky - 1974 Cry Wolf - 1976 Hungry As the Sea - 1978 Wild Justice - 1979 aka The Delta Decision The Diamond Hunters - 1987 The Eye of the Tiger - 1987 Shout At the Devil - 1987 Elephant Song - 1991 The Triumph of the Sun - 2005 Series -- Courtneys: When the Lion Feeds - 1964 The Sound of Thunder - 1966 A Sparrow Falls - 1977 The Burning Shore - 1985 Power of the Sword - 1986 Rage - 1987 A Time to Die - 1989 Golden Fox - 1990 Birds of Prey - 1997 Monsoon - 1999 Blue Horizon - 2003 Ballantyne: A Falcon Flies - 1980 aka Flight of the Falcon Men of Men - 1981 The Angels Weep - 1982 The Leopard Hunts in Darkness - 1984 Egyptian: River God - 1993 The Seventh Scroll - 1995 Warlock - 2001