Wilbur Smith Books in Order

Twins Sean and Garrick Courtney come of age as southern Africa is rocked by war and the lure of gold. Love and jealousy split the brothers, pushing Sean into hunting, mining, and hard survival on the frontier.

A mercenary team is hired for a near-impossible job in the Congo: reach a trapped mining town and bring back its treasure before rebels do. Moving by rail through hostile jungle, they discover that the deadliest threat may be inside the carriage.

Sean Courtney finally leaves the bush with his son and a fortune in ivory—just as war brews between Boers and the British. New love and battlefield duty pull him into danger, while family tensions quietly turn darker.

1912, East Africa: a hard-edged adventurer is pulled into a violent fight over ivory and control in German-held territory. Between swamps, gunfire, and betrayal, survival depends on staying one step ahead of enemies who don’t play by any rules.

Rod Ironsides runs a South African gold mine where one bad decision can bury hundreds. When powerful outsiders push for quick profit, accidents, sabotage, and corruption start to stack up. Keeping the mine alive may cost Rod everything he cares about.

A dynasty built on diamonds begins to crack when a ruthless patriarch dies and leaves a poisonous inheritance behind. As heirs and rivals scramble for control of the company, betrayal turns to murder—and the truth is as hard to hold as a rough stone.

An archaeologist’s discovery hints at a lost African civilisation and a treasure with a bloody history. As expeditions race to uncover the truth, ancient legends start to feel uncomfortably real. The deeper they dig, the more dangerous the past becomes.

A gifted pilot is thrown into a war where skill isn’t enough and survival is never guaranteed. Shot down behind enemy lines, he must cross hostile desert with pursuers closing in—and decide what kind of man he’ll be when no one is watching.

Harry Fletcher lives for the sea from his island base, running charters and chasing the next big catch. When a chance discovery points to wealth beneath the waves, predators move in—turning paradise into a battleground where trust can get you killed.

Texan engineer Jake Barton signs on for what sounds like a simple delivery job—moving aging armored cars into a war zone. With an arms dealer as his partner and enemies on every border, the journey becomes a running fight for profit and survival.

In World War I, young soldier Mark Anders earns the respect of officer Sean Courtney. Back home, Mark finds his family ruined and corruption spreading. Working for the Courtneys, he uncovers a scheme that could destroy lives—and the land he loves.

A hard-bitten seaman is hired to salvage a wreck, but the job is tangled in corporate greed and deliberate sabotage. As storms and rivals close in, the sea becomes a courtroom with no rules—and the verdict is paid in blood.

A wealthy man’s obsession pulls a small group into a deadly contest for power and control. As alliances shift and violence escalates, one woman becomes the key to the plot—and the line between justice and revenge disappears.

In the 1860s, siblings Robyn and Zouga Ballantyne head into southern Africa to find their missing father. Their search collides with the slave trade and violent rivals, forcing them to choose what they’ll fight for.

Zouga Ballantyne chases fortune in the diamond fields and the dream of a new country. As Rhodesia is carved into being, family loyalties fray, rivals close in, and ambition turns dangerous.

Spanning generations, this Ballantyne saga moves from the violent birth of Rhodesia to the guerrilla conflict of the 1970s. As the land changes hands, the family faces loyalty tests, betrayal, and hard choices about survival.

Years after leaving Zimbabwe, a man returns to a country reshaped by revolution and fear. When he uncovers a plot tied to power and wildlife, he’s forced into the bush with enemies who’d rather erase the truth.

During World War I, pilot Michael Courtney falls for Centaine de Thiry, then tragedy leaves her alone and pregnant. Shipwrecked on the coast of South West Africa, she must survive the desert and rebuild a life in a ruthless new world.

Centaine de Thiry builds a diamond empire, but her sons Shasa Courtney and Manfred De la Rey grow into bitter rivals. Set against depression-era turmoil, the family’s struggle for power turns personal, political, and increasingly dangerous.

Shasa Courtney has money, influence, and enemies in a South Africa tightening under politics and fear. When violence and private grudges collide, his family becomes the target of a ruthless plan—and the past refuses to stay buried.

In southern Africa’s borderlands, a veteran game ranger tries to protect wildlife and the people who depend on it as a brutal war closes in. Caught between soldiers, poachers, and mercenaries, survival becomes a moral test.

A Courtney descendant is pulled into a Cold War hunt for a legendary Soviet operative known as the Golden Fox. The chase stretches from Africa to Europe, where one wrong move could topple careers, governments, and lives.

A determined man and a brave woman are drawn into a globe-spanning fight where greed and corruption feed on Africa’s wildlife. From remote mountains to international boardrooms, they chase the truth behind a ruthless trade—and risk becoming targets themselves.

In 1880s Sudan, a young Courtney officer and a hardened Ballantyne veteran are swept into rebellion and siege around Khartoum. Between battlefield chaos and private passions, they must decide what loyalty means when an empire starts to crack.

In ancient Egypt, the gifted eunuch slave Taita serves the royal household as war threatens the kingdom. When invasion forces a desperate escape up the Nile, Taita must use wit, engineering, and loyalty to keep his people alive.

A modern expedition uncovers an ancient set of writings that point to a lost royal tomb and a fortune buried with it. As rival hunters and hired killers close in, the clues left by Taita turn the desert into a deadly puzzle.

Egypt’s royal line is under threat, and Taita is forced back into the heart of court intrigue and war. Facing a ruthless enemy who uses fear like magic, he must protect the throne through strategy, deception, and sheer nerve.

In the 1660s, young Hal Courtney is dragged into a world of piracy, slavery, and sea battles on the Indian Ocean. Fighting to reclaim his freedom, he builds a crew and sets out on a dangerous quest for revenge and treasure.

A Courtney sea captain is drawn into the ruthless politics of the Indian Ocean trade, where empires, pirates, and merchants collide. A mission for the East becomes a fight for survival, loyalty, and a fortune worth killing for.

Pushed to the edge of the known world, the Courtneys sail toward southern Africa in search of a new start. Storms, slavers, and rival captains turn the voyage into a brutal test of leadership and love.

Taita leads a perilous journey beyond Egypt’s borders, where unknown lands and hidden enemies threaten every step. What begins as a mission for the kingdom becomes a personal reckoning, as he races to secure Egypt’s future before it’s stolen.

In colonial East Africa, big-game hunter Leon Courtney is pulled from the bush into espionage, violence, and high politics. As rival powers circle and personal enemies sharpen their knives, Leon learns that survival can depend on one clean throw.

When pirates kidnap a young woman at sea, security expert Hector Cross is hired to bring her home. The chase runs from luxury yachts to lawless coastlines, where ransom talks are pointless and rescue means building a private army.

Hector Cross thinks the worst is behind him, but a vengeful enemy returns with a new plot. Forced into a running battle across continents, Hector must outthink a rival who turns every rescue into a trap.

An older Taita is drawn back into the struggle for Egypt’s survival when a young ruler faces enemies on every side. As armies march and desert routes turn treacherous, Taita’s plans must hold—or the kingdom will fall to chaos.

Hal Courtney is back on the Indian Ocean, chasing a pirate threat that could cripple trade and cost thousands of lives. The hunt leads through betrayal and hidden islands, where a stolen fortune and old grudges make the final battle inevitable.

With Egypt’s throne under pressure, Taita is sent on a mission that mixes politics, deception, and open war. Allies are unreliable, rivals are patient, and a single mistake could end a dynasty. The fate of the kingdom rides on one bold plan.

Hector Cross is pulled into a brutal manhunt when an old enemy resurfaces with the money and reach to strike anywhere. As bodies start to fall, Hector has to choose between justice and vengeance—while staying alive long enough to finish the job.

A Courtney captain is drawn into a savage raid that leaves him hunting a ruthless enemy known as the Tiger. With allies scattered and danger on every shore, he must outsmart a foe who turns people into prey.

Saffron Courtney grows up on a Kenyan estate under her father Leon’s watch until tragedy changes everything. Seeking answers and adventure, she heads to England and is pulled into the gathering storm on the eve of World War II.

In the middle years of World War II, SOE agent Saffron Courtney infiltrates occupied Europe to hunt a dangerous intelligence leak. At the same time, the man she loves is trapped on the other side of the war—and betrayal is everywhere.

In this memoir, Wilbur Smith looks back on the life behind the novels: the African landscapes that shaped him, the risks he took, and the work habits that kept him writing. It’s part travel story, part personal history, and part writer’s notebook.

1754: siblings Theo and Connie Courtney are torn apart when war reaches their childhood in India. One escapes into a wider world, the other is taken by the enemy. Years later, the French and Indian War brings their fates back together.

After the Sudan campaign, Ryder Courtney and soldier Penrod Ballantyne are pulled into another struggle as rival empires tighten their grip on Africa. With spies and soldiers closing in, their loyalties—and lives—are tested on and off the battlefield.

In the early 19th century, a young adventurer pushes into southern Africa’s interior, chasing fortune and a new life. His choices—brave, reckless, and sometimes brutal—lay the foundations for the Ballantyne family saga that follows.

Jack Courtney and his friends are caught in a sudden crisis that turns an exciting trip into a fight to stay alive. With communications down and adults out of reach, they must solve what caused the disaster and escape before it gets worse.

The war is over, but the Courtney family’s enemies haven’t vanished. As Saffron and Gerhard face a new plot tied to old loyalties, Leon Courtney is drawn into upheaval in Kenya, where violence threatens everything the family has built.

In a later era of ancient Egypt, investigator Piay tackles a murder and political plot that could fracture the kingdom. He turns to the sage Taita, and together they follow clues that point to a dangerous new enemy.

A new adventure pulls Jack Courtney into a race against time when a powerful storm and a human plot collide. Cut off from help and hunted for what they know, Jack and his friends have to outthink grown-up enemies to get home.

A group of teens steps into a dangerous ‘prey zone’ where the rules are simple: run, hide, or fight back. With predators on the loose and a human enemy steering events, they must stay alive long enough to uncover the truth.

When a sudden shock turns a routine journey into a disaster zone, Jack Courtney and his friends are forced into survival mode. Someone is using the chaos to cover a crime, and the only way out is to expose it before they’re silenced.

1774: Rob Courtney dreams of the sea from a quiet African trading outpost. After a death in the family, he stows away on a ship to England with only the Neptune Sword. Soon the Courtneys are caught in revolution and war.

As war threatens Egypt, Piay and Taita uncover a plot that could topple the Pharaoh. To stop it, they must navigate rival generals, hidden assassins, and battles where the wrong message can cost an army.

A shadowy enemy returns to challenge Egypt’s fragile peace, leaving a trail of deaths and fear. Piay and his mentor, Taita, race to uncover the mastermind before panic turns into rebellion—and before the kingdom’s enemies strike from within.

A discovery tied to Egypt’s past threatens to reshape its future, and Piay is sent to investigate before the wrong hands seize it. With Taita guiding him, he follows clues through court intrigue and violence where truth is a weapon.

The teens’ next mission drops them into a place built for secrets, where danger strikes from the shadows. As snakes become both threat and clue, they have to solve what’s really being protected in the ‘lair’—and escape before they’re trapped for good.

South Africa, 1899: war is coming, and Colonel Penrod Ballantyne is sent to Mafeking to raise and train men for the fight. With his wife Amber beside him and the Courtneys drawn in, two families face a country tearing itself apart.

A new mystery puts the group on the clock when a single sting can turn lethal. With the environment working against them and criminals closing in, they must find an antidote—and the person behind the attack—before time runs out.

When a rival claimant rises, Piay is forced to back a young leader who must become a warrior king. With Taita advising, they fight on two fronts: the battlefield and the court, where betrayal can be deadlier than arrows.

1943: SOE agent Saffron Courtney sails to New York aboard the Queen Mary with a dangerous mission—build support for the Allies while uncovering a Nazi spy ring and a mole inside the British Embassy. With enemies close, every conversation could be a trap.

As Nomarch of Memphis, Piay is trying to hold order when a murdered scribe is found bearing the mark of Anubis. He calls on his mentor Taita, and together they face a warlord’s plot to restore the Red Pretender—and break Egypt in two.