The Eye of the Tiger

Wilbur Smith

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

For Harry Fletcher, life on St Mary's Island is good. He has a fine boat and a long list of rich clients eager to charter it for the big game fishing of the Mozambique Channel. He has a home amongst the palms above a white coral beach, and he has friends and pretty girls to share his paradise.

Harry has earned all this the hard way, but now he is at peace. Until suddenly men from the world of violence, which he has forsaken for so long, arrive on the island to plunge him once more into a deadly game - for an unknown prize against undeclared odds. Of one thing Harry is certain: to fail is to die.

The irrepressible Harry, adventurer and rogue, takes up the challenge and brings both a touch of hilarity and a chillingly ruthless sense of purpose to the quest as he gropes his way towards the legendary golden tiger and its fabulous eye.

The carefully observed setting among the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean adds a rare and exotic atmosphere to a splendid piece of story-telling. This is rich Wilbur Smith fare.

Review by Chrissi (140908) Rating (9/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 9/10
You know what they say about oldies and goodies? Well, this is one title that really qualifies. It is a great adventure story with sunken treasure ships, betrayal and evil people all out against Harry Fletcher. Harry has a bit of a chequered past but he has tried to get out and now runs a deep-sea fishing boat from a nice tropical island. Occasionally he takes on jobs which are questionable, but only when times are hard in the off season and he needs the money to pay for the upkeep of his boat, Wave Dancer.

Harry takes a charter from a party who are not interested in fishing but seem to be looking for something. Having used his local knowledge to find the place that they are searching for, Harry becomes expendable and has to fight for his life, leaving him injured and very curious about what it was they had wanted.

Then, when a beautiful woman shows up asking questions about where he took the men and what they found, Harry revisits the site and what he finds does not dovetail with the story that she has told him. To cap it all, and to keep him from sharing the secret, she tries to blow him up. Harry then sets out to investigate exactly what it is that people are so keen to find and what it is that is worth killing for.

I first read this book at about ten years old and re-reading it again was a pleasure. (I probably would not advocate such reading matter at this age but then again there was not a huge amount of choice and my parents had it on the shelf, so what do you expect?) Although it was written over thirty years ago, it reads as well as a modern, contemporary thriller. Fast paced, and well written, I would heartily recommend anyone browsing for something to read to pick this up - you have probably seen it lots of times in charity shops and car boot sales, so next time, pay your fifty pence and I promise you, you will not regret it.
Chrissi (14th September 2008)