Wilbur Smith

Wilbur Smith

Wilbur Smith was born in Kabwe, Zambia on January 9th, 1933 and passed away at the age of 88 on November 13th, 2021.

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Wilbur Smith Stats: The highest rated book by Wilbur Smith on Book Notification is When the Lion Feeds, the first novel in the Courtney series. The second-highest rated book is Warlock (Ancient Egypt #3).

The most read book by Wilbur Smith on Book Notification is River God, the first novel in the Ancient Egypt series. The second most read book is When the Lion Feeds (Courtney #1).

Below is a complete list of Wilbur Smith books in publication and chronological order, broken down by series. The most popular series by Wilbur Smith is the Courtney Series.

List of Courtney Books in Publication Order

Traces the fortunes of the ambitious Courtney family over several centuries.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
8.7
When the Lion Feeds
1964
Go
2
7.7
The Sound of Thunder / The Roar of Thunder
1966
Go
3
8
A Sparrow Falls
1977
Go
4
7.3
The Burning Shore
1985
Go
5
8
Power of the Sword
1986
Go
6
8
Rage
1987
Go
7
8
A Time to Die
1989
Go
8
7.3
Golden Fox
1990
Go
9
7.5
The Triumph of the Sun
1992
Go
10
8.5
Birds of Prey
1997
Go
11
8
Monsoon
1999
Go
12
8.5
Blue Horizon
2003
Go
13
8
Assegai
2009
Go
14
7.4
Golden Lion (With: Giles Kristian)
2015
Go
15
10
War Cry (With: David Churchill)
2017
Go
16
9
The Tiger's Prey (With: Tom Harper)
2017
Go
17
9
Courtney's War (With: David Churchill)
2018
Go
18
9.8
King of Kings (With: Imogen Robertson)
2019
Go
19
10
Ghost Fire (With: Tom Harper)
2019
Go
20
10
Legacy of War (With: David Churchill)
2021
Go
21
9
Storm Tide (With: Tom Harper)
2022
Go
22
8
Nemesis (With: Tom Harper)
2023
Go
23
Warrior King (With: Tom Harper)
2024
Go
24
8
Crossfire (With: David Churchill)
2025
Go

List of Courtney Books in Chronological Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
8.5
Birds of Prey
1997
Go
2
7.4
Golden Lion (With: Giles Kristian)
2015
Go
3
8
Monsoon
1999
Go
4
9
The Tiger's Prey (With: Tom Harper)
2017
Go
5
8.5
Blue Horizon
2003
Go
6
10
Ghost Fire (With: Tom Harper)
2019
Go
7
9
Storm Tide (With: Tom Harper)
2022
Go
8
8
Nemesis (With: Tom Harper)
2023
Go
9
Warrior King (With: Tom Harper)
2024
Go
10
8.7
When the Lion Feeds
1964
Go
11
7.5
The Triumph of the Sun
1992
Go
12
9.8
King of Kings (With: Imogen Robertson)
2019
Go
13
7.7
The Sound of Thunder / The Roar of Thunder
1966
Go
14
8
Assegai
2009
Go
15
7.3
The Burning Shore
1985
Go
16
8
A Sparrow Falls
1977
Go
17
10
War Cry (With: David Churchill)
2017
Go
18
9
Courtney's War (With: David Churchill)
2018
Go
19
8
Power of the Sword
1986
Go
20
10
Legacy of War (With: David Churchill)
2021
Go
21
8
Rage
1987
Go
22
7.3
Golden Fox
1990
Go
23
8
A Time to Die
1989
Go
24
8
Crossfire (With: David Churchill)
2025
Go

List of Jack Courtney Books in Publication Order (with Christopher Wakling)

A teen and his friends face danger in wild places like the Congo, Zanzibar, and the Arctic.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Cloudburst
2020
Go
2
Thunderbolt
2021
Go
3
Shockwave
2022
Go

List of Ballantyne Books in Publication Order

Follows a family through colonial Africa, focusing on wealth, racial struggle, and tribal rivalries.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
7
A Falcon Flies / Flight of the Falcon
1980
Go
2
7
Men of Men
1981
Go
3
8
The Angels Weep
1982
Go
4
8
The Leopard Hunts in Darkness
1984
Go
5
7.5
The Triumph of the Sun
1992
Go
6
9.8
King of Kings (With: Imogen Robertson)
2019
Go
7
10
Call of the Raven (With: Corban Addison)
2020
Go
8
Fire on the Horizon (With: Imogen Robertson)
2024
Go

List of Ballantyne Books in Chronological Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
10
Call of the Raven (With: Corban Addison)
2020
Go
2
7
A Falcon Flies / Flight of the Falcon
1980
Go
3
7
Men of Men
1981
Go
4
7.5
The Triumph of the Sun
1992
Go
5
9.8
King of Kings (With: Imogen Robertson)
2019
Go
6
Fire on the Horizon (With: Imogen Robertson)
2024
Go
7
8
The Angels Weep
1982
Go
8
8
The Leopard Hunts in Darkness
1984
Go

List of Ancient Egypt Books in Publication Order

Warriors, treasure hunters, and pharaohs saga in ancient Egypt.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
7.5
River God
1994
Go
2
6.9
The Seventh Scroll
1995
Go
3
8
Warlock
1995
Go
4
6.6
The Quest
2007
Go
5
8.7
Desert God
2014
Go
6
9
Pharaoh
2016
Go
7
8
The New Kingdom (With: Mark Chadbourn)
2021
Go
8
8
Titans of War (With: Mark Chadbourn)
2022
Go
9
6
Testament (With: Mark Chadbourn)
2023
Go
10
House of Two Pharaohs (With: Mark Chadbourn)
2025
Go

List of Ancient Egypt Books in Chronological Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
8
The New Kingdom (With: Mark Chadbourn)
2021
Go
2
8
Titans of War (With: Mark Chadbourn)
2022
Go
3
7.5
River God
1994
Go
4
8
Warlock
1995
Go
5
6
Testament (With: Mark Chadbourn)
2023
Go
6
House of Two Pharaohs (With: Mark Chadbourn)
2025
Go
7
6.6
The Quest
2007
Go
8
8.7
Desert God
2014
Go
9
9
Pharaoh
2016
Go
10
6.9
The Seventh Scroll
1995
Go

List of Hector Cross Books in Publication Order

A security contractor fights ruthless enemies to protect his family and avenge their tragedies.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
10
Those in Peril
2011
Go
2
10
Vicious Circle
2013
Go
3
10
Predator (With: Tom Cain)
2016
Go

List of Prey Zone Books in Publication Order (with Steve Cole, with Keith Chapman)

Siblings Ralph and Robyn Ballantyne must stop man-made predatory dinosaurs and a deadly virus.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Prey Zone
2022
Go
2
The Serpent's Lair
2023
Go
3
The Scorpion's Sting
2024
Go

List of Standalone Novels in Publication Order

Ranked by popularity, the top standalone books are Hungry as the Sea, The Sunbird, and Shout at the Devil.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
8
The Dark of the Sun / The Train from Katanga
1965
Go
2
8
Shout at the Devil
1968
Go
3
8
Gold Mine
1970
Go
4
8
The Diamond Hunters
1971
Go
5
8.7
The Sunbird
1972
Go
6
8
The Eye of the Tiger
1974
Go
7
8
Cry Wolf
1976
Go
8
8
Hungry as the Sea
1978
Go
9
8
Wild Justice / The Delta Decision
1979
Go
10
9
Eagle in the Sky
1980
Go
11
8
Elephant Song
1991
Go

List of Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
On Leopard Rock
2018
Go
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Wilbur Smith

Wilbur Smith (Wilbur Addison Smith) was born on January 9th, 1933. Wilbur passed away November 13th, 2021 at 88 years old. Wilbur Smith was born in Kabwe, Zambia.

Wilbur Smith is known for writing in the Historical Fiction, Thriller, and Literary Fiction genres.

Wilbur Smith was the author of the Courtney series which consists of 24 novels. The Courtney series started in 1964 with the novel When the Lion Feeds. The most recently released novel in the Courtney series was Crossfire which was released in 2025. There are no upcoming novels for the Courtney series.

Wilbur Smith has appeared on the Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! international list one time. His novel The Eye of the Tiger was ranked #7 in 1991.

War Cry was listed among the Best Historical Fiction Thrillers of 2017 by The Real Book Spy.

Wilbur Smith: Awards & Accolades

Wilbur Smith has won multiple awards including: The British Book Awards, Outstanding Achievement, in 1996 and the Crime Thriller Awards, ITV3 Crime Thriller Living Legends, in 2013.

Wilbur Smith: Lists & Other Mentions

  • River God was a BBC: The Big Read Selection in 2003.

Wilbur Smith: TV/Movies Based on Books

The Seventh Scroll was adapted into a TV mini-series. This aired in 3 parts in 1999. The series was also based on the first novel in the Ancient Egypt series, River God.

In 2001, the standalone novel The Diamond Hunters was converted into a two-episode mini-series. It starred Alyssa Milano and Sean Patrick Flanery.

The Dark of the Sun , also known as The Train from Katanga, was made into a movie called Dark of the Sun in 1968. As a side note, that movie also had an alternate title of The Mercenaries. It starred Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, and Kenneth More.

Shout At The Devil was made into a movie in 1976. Wilbur Smith wrote the screenplay for this m movie which starred Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.

Wild Justice, also known as The Delta Decision, was adapted to a movie in 1994. It starred Roy Scheider as Colonel Peter Stride and was directed by Tony Wharmby.

Related Authors

Fans of Wilbur Smith also enjoy these authors:

  1. Edward Rutherfurd, author of: Sarum.
  2. Ellen Marie Wiseman, author of: What She Left Behind.
  3. Kristin Hannah, author of: The Nightingale.
  4. Ken Follett, author of the Kingsbridge Series.
  5. Khaled Hosseini, author of: The Kite Runner.
  6. Andrew Gross, author of the Ty Hauck Series.
  7. Anita Shreve, author of the Fortune's Rocks Quartet Series.
  8. Victor Hugo, author of: Les Misérables.
  9. Paulette Jiles, author of: News of the World.
  10. Adele Parks, author of the DCI Clements Series.

Wilbur Smith: F.A.Q

When was Wilbur Smith Born?

Wilbur Smith was born on January 9th, 1933.

When did Wilbur Smith die?

Wilbur Smith died on November 13th, 2021 at 88 years old.

Where was Wilbur Smith Born?

Wilbur Smith was born in Kabwe, Zambia.

What awards has Wilbur Smith won?

Wilbur Smith has won the following awards: Outstanding Achievement at the British Book Awards (1996) and the ITV3 Crime Thriller Living Legends at the Crime Thriller Awards (2013).

What was the first book Wilbur Smith wrote?

The first book written by Wilbur Smith was When the Lion Feeds, published in 1964.

What was the most recent book Wilbur Smith wrote?

His most recently released work was House of Two Pharaohs on October 7th, 2025.

What is the most popular book by Wilbur Smith?

Based on the number of readers on Book Notification, the most popular Wilbur Smith book is River God. Here are his most popular books:
  1. River God (7.47)
  2. When the Lion Feeds (8.7)
  3. The Seventh Scroll (6.89)
  4. Warlock (8)
  5. The Quest (6.57)

What genres does Wilbur Smith Write?

Wilbur Smith primarily writes in the Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, and Thriller genres. His work includes sub-genres such as Family Saga, Military and War Historical Fiction, and Historical Family Saga.

How many books has Wilbur Smith written?

Wilbur Smith has written 61 books across 12 series.
  • 24 books in the Courtney Series
  • 3 books in the Jack Courtney Series
  • 8 books in the Ballantyne Series
  • 10 books in the Ancient Egypt Series
  • 3 books in the Hector Cross Series
  • 3 books in the Prey Zone Series
  • 11 Standalone Novels
  • 1 Corban Addison Standalone Novels
  • 1 Non-Fiction Books

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