Through shipwreck and hurricane, in the ice of the Antarctic and the thundering surf of the African coast, Nick Berg is a man in his element, fighting back against the ruthless ambition of the arch-rival who stole his wife and son and robbed him of an empire.
The "Golden Prince" is deposed; once the flamboyant chairman of a huge shipping consortium, now the captain of a salvage tug.
Then a cruise ship, stranded with 600 people in the frozen wastes of the Antarctic, could be his chance to fight back. His heroic salvage of the liner sweeps him back to even greater power and even more deadly conflict with the man who has supplanted him as chairman.
Wilbur Smith was a prolific and bestselling South African novelist renowned for his sweeping adventure stories set against the backdrop of Africa’s dramatic landscapes and turbulent history. Born in 1933 in what was then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), he grew up in South Africa, where his love for storytelling was nurtured by the rich environment and tales of African history. His early years were shaped by his experiences in the wilderness, which later became a defining element in his fiction. After studying at Rhodes University, Smith initially worked as an accountant, but his true passion lay in writing. His breakthrough came in 1964 with When the Lion Feeds, a historical adventure novel that introduced the Courtney family saga. The book’s success led to a long-running series chronicling the exploits of multiple generations of the Courtney family, spanning centuries of African and world history. Alongside this, Smith wrote the Ballantyne series, focused on colonial Africa, and the Ancient Egypt series, which delved into historical fiction with a mythical touch. Over his six-decade career, Smith authored more than 50 novels, selling over 140 million copies worldwide. His works were characterized by meticulous research, vivid descriptions of the African wilderness, and gripping action-packed narratives. Whether set in the colonial era, the world of pharaohs, or modern-day Africa, his books often explored themes of survival, war, power, and human ambition. He collaborated with co-authors in his later years to expand his literary universe, ensuring his stories continued to reach new audiences. Beyond writing, Smith was an avid traveler and adventurer, drawing inspiration from his own experiences hunting, sailing, and exploring remote corners of Africa. While he was passionate about wildlife and conservation, some of his views—particularly regarding big game hunting—sparked debate. Nonetheless, his deep affection for Africa was evident in his writing, which celebrated both its beauty and its historical complexities. Smith’s influence on adventure fiction remains significant, with his books continuing to captivate readers around the world. His legacy endures through his richly woven tales of exploration, conquest, and the enduring spirit of Africa.
Jan 16, 9am ~~ This is my first official reading of Hungry As The Sea, but I have read it twice in my pre-GR years. I must be getting more critical in my old age because I remember liking it much more Back In The Day than I did this time around.
But it is still a Wilbur Smith book, and that means fast pacing, dramatic adventure, nearly unbelievable feats of strength by the main characters, incredibly male men and incredibly female women. Oh, and a lot of blood and guts due to violent deaths. That is always something to keep in mind with WS.
When we first meet main character Nicholas Berg he is at the very bottom of a low point in his life. He was married to a beautiful woman, had a young son, was boss of world renowned shipping company Christy Marine, and was developing projects that could revolutionize the way crude oil was transported.
But that was before the divorce.
Now Nicholas is angry, hurt, broke, owns nothing except two salvage tugs: one still at the shipbuilders in France and the other in Cape Town South Africa, where the crew are nervously awaiting the arrival of their new tug master, Nicholas Berg himself. Rarely does an owner act as Master. They have heard stories about him, but could he really know enough to be in charge of the hazardous situations a salvage tug encounters?
They will soon find out, and the whole experience will either bring Nicholas back to roaring life or destroy him forever. Add in a little romance and a few encounters with the ex-wife and her new husband (who oddly enough is now in charge of Christy Marine) and you get an idea of the dynamics of the story. Oh, and of course I forgot the hurricane and the potential environmental disaster lurking in the later chapters!
I usually love WS, but somehow this time through the book felt a bit over the top. The first section was the most intense, anything in Antarctica is, you know. But gradually I lost interest and began to wonder just how superhuman Nicholas Berg might really be. There are limits to anyone's endurance, after all. So I ended the book with more than a few eye rolls, and not all of them caused by the events happening on the pages. Some of my eye rolls were triggered by the pages themselves.
I have no idea how I could read this exact edition at least twice before and not remember this, but there were four pages towards the end that were blank. Not four in a bunch, they were spread out, but it meant I was all involved in the action, held my breath, turned the page, and there was no print on it! Have mercy, I couldn't believe it. Luckily it was easy enough to figure out from the following pages what had happened in the blank spot, but when it happened again a few pages later I looked ahead to get prepared. What if some really vital information was missing?!
It wasn't, but it was still a shock all four times.
This year I had six stand alone Wilbur Smith novels planned for my reading, but I have removed one of them since I read it last in 2021 and that is really too soon for a reread. So I will eventually be dipping into four new-to-me titles.
Wilbur Smith is one of my favorite authors. He is also one of the most frustrating because I either tend to love his books (most of them) or just hate them (Sunbird? oh please!) I'm happy to say that this falls in the former category. The edition I just read is from 1978 and basically fortold the BP Oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This book is full of adventure, intrigue, revenge and romance. One of the best adventure books I've ever read.
This is a good book; maybe not Smith's best, but certainly above average for the genre. The combination of solid plotting and engaging technical detail (who knew there could be such a thing?) makes for an eventful and thought-provoking read.
The then-contemporary storyline covers salvage workers on the world's oceans. It doesn't sound like the most entertaining of subjects, but in Smith's hands it's both suspenseful and exciting. The initial extended set-piece involving the attempted salvage of a ship and the rescue of passengers in some extremely hostile icy contains is excellent and really kicks things off on a high.
The middle section of the story does get bogged down a bit with a romantic sub-plot, although the hero is interesting enough to keep you reading. Things build to an inevitable climax which makes use of some plot contrivance but nonetheless doesn't disappoint. The villain in this one isn't quite as diabolical as in some of Smith's other novels but nonetheless I found this to be, as a whole, a well-plotted and enjoyable book that I'm glad I found the time to read.
5 descriptions of weather -rivaled only by those in David Brin's Earth? 4 descriptions of the movement of the sea. -1 descriptions of love interests' POV/gaze. yuck. AVG 2.6
I'll read anything that has storms and ocean-going salvage tugs. This book has both, in addition to a vendetta, corporate and individual malfeasance, and romantic rivalry. The parts of the book dealing with those latter elements are the weakest. But Smith writes really well about ships during storms; the salvaging of the ocean liner in the beginning is riveting. One reviewer on Amazon complained that Smiths gets too technical and detailed during the storm scenes. Hell, man. That's the best part!
There were times, however, when I felt I had fallen into an As the World Turns version of Alice in Wonderland. The story revolves around the rivalry of Duncan Alexander (the bad guy) and Nicholas Berg (the good guy) for control, of Christie Marine and the attentions of Chantelle Christie, owner of the company and a large fortune. The “child” at issue is the “Golden Dawn,” and immense (7,000 foot) super tanker (my incredulity at the size was beginning to become an irritant) designed by Nicholas but built by Duncan after Duncan forced Nicholas from the company. The inevitable then takes control of the plot, you know, Duncan cuts corners, the ship in Nicholas’s view is unsafe, and the maiden voyage will be carrying Nicholas’s son by Chantelle. Yawn. Nicholas, meanwhile, has built his dream salvage tug. You can guess where this is going.
Four stars for the storm scene in the beginning; one for the soap.
Non proprio il mio genere preferito ma si è rivelato un romanzo entusiasmante e coinvolgente. Il perfetto esempio dell'effetto ciliegia: una pagina tira l'altra. L'eccelsa capacità descrittiva ed empatica dell'autore mi hanno travolta: mi sono persa tra le onde in balia di una tempesta, ho provato paura ed eccitazione per il pericolo, mi sono infreddolita tra i ghiacciai, sono stata accecata dal sole e dal ponte ho osservato i cambiamenti del vento. I lettori poco avvezzi alla nautica potrebbero trovare alcune parti tecniche un po' noiose... Io le ho amate!!
Another great book from Wilbur Smith. This time about a man, Nicholas Berg, who owns a salvage company and rescues disabled ships at sea. The first rescue in Antarctica is unbelievable as is the last one in the Caribbean during a hurricane. His rival in all things, Duncan Alexander, is a real ass and you will rout for his downfall from the first minute he enters the pages. What a greedy jerk!
I thoroughly enjoyed this around the world roller coaster ride of adventure and romance.
A good adventure-thriller book by Wilbur Smith. The protagonist is a well-rounded hero who manages to fight against both natural elements and a fierce human enemy at the same time. The story also shows how a stormy ocean can challenge the structure of huge oil tankers.
Read By: Robert Gladwell (he sounds the worse for drink, rly!) Duration: 19:43 Description: Nick Berg sets out to salvage a cruise ship stranded with 600 people in the frozen wastes of the Antarctic.
winter 2012 seven seas adventure tbr busting 2012 filthy lucre
“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” - Voltaire
This book totally surprised me. It starts off very technical, but interesting. If you ever told me I would like reading about the details of search and rescue and recovery of damaged oil tankers I would have said no way. It brings you along and without realizing you have gone from an interesting how to manual to a story and then you have to keep going. It was informative, thrilling and captivating. A must read for anyone who likes sea stories and a should read for land lovers.
Very good sea adventure; sea-going tug tries to reach the Golden Adventurer before his competitors do. Battling competitors, South Africa storms, ex-wife with new husband...
Despite the fact that the author of the book was Wilbur Smith, when I started reading and saw that the story involved a ship being rescued by a powerful rescue boat, I put the book aside! What a mistake ! Later, I continued reading where I had discontinued. There was no putting the book down from that point.
The boats / ships totally intrigued me, but as with other books by this author, the story involved strong and forceful personalities, and women who complicate men's lives. I write this knowing that there are men that just can't walk away from an ex-wife who was unfaithful, took their property, and prevented them to the best that she could from recovering. And yet, no matter how intelligent or powerful in business a man might be, when that same woman appears in front of him beautifully as he could ever remember, he forgets her poisonous character and he might as well slobber on the floor at her feet like a puppy.
To the good, however, I learned not only about rescuing boats, and international shipping but also, how they insure boats and how they determine payment for the rescue or salvage of distressed boats. And I had hope for the 'hero' Nicholas Berg, but he didn't prove himself worthy of any woman.
Hungry as the Sea has all the action, suspense and romance a 400-pager can hold. It is Dirk Pitt on 500 acid trips! When Nick Berg accepts the challenge to save his own supertanker from turning the oceans from a big oily mess, he gets more than he bargains for. He'll have to fend off the competitive wiles of Duncan Alexander, a rich tycoon who cares little for the environment and plenty about making money. He'll also have to fight off hurricane winds, oil slicks and a beautiful ex-wife who plans to steal him from his one true soul mate, the mega-babe of Miami U., Samantha Silver. Indiana Jones himself would be seasick with all this much adventure. We're talkin' sex out the wazoo and stunts outa a Bruce Willis movie! It even has a message about our enviroment, and may have predicted the tragedy of the BP slicks of a few years back. Nick Berg is "right ahead" and "right on"!
• HUNGRY AS THE SEA by Wilbur Smith, William Heinemann 430 pps. 170,000 words, no chapters, broken by asterisks. A damn good yarn with romantic interest. Set at sea and portraying the trials of a salvage tug boat captain and shipping magnate fallen from grace and left by his wife. The hero meets his romantic partner when he dives into icy seas to rescue her after she tries to save the lives of the passengers of the cruise ship he is trying to salvage. The fight between him and the man who stole his wife and company is central to the story. There is much about the sea, the vessels, shipping companies and pollution caused by oil. It is an informative and entertaining read which I found very readable. A page-turner.
While I'll admit to not being really crazy about Mr. Smith's more recent works, I have to say his early stuff is what got me reading. This book in particular sticks with me. This man knows how to tell a yarn.
Very good book. Full of depth and intriguing storyIines. For a story that is 45 years old it resonates closely with many of the environmental concerns that we are experiencing today.
I usually love Wilbur Smith books, but unfortunately this one just didn't do it for me. The story starts off well, but then gets dragged into this false romance between the protagonist (Nicolas Berg) and a young blonde woman (Samantha Silver) who he rescues on a cruise ship salvage mission. The story then leads into stopping a oil tanker carrying 100 million tons of deadly crude oil from the South Arabian Gulf to the Orient Amex refinery in Galveston, Texas. The problem is that the design of Golden Dawn is far from flawless and that the El Barras crude has a cadmium sulphate constituent of between 2000 and 40000 parts per million. There has probably never been a more deadly cargo in the history of seafaring. In spite of Nicholas Berg's persistent efforts, nothing can stop Duncan Alexander. The Golden Dawn is about to undertake her voyage from the Arabian Gulf around Good Hope, one of the most dangerous seas of the world with a cargo that could wipe out virtually every creature living in the sea...and there's a tornado thrown in as well just to spice things up.
Wonderfully researched, however the story just didn't interest or captivate me. Characters just felt plastic, stereotypical and unrealistic. Masculine chauvinistic man and nymphomaniac woman. I don't know what world Wilbur Smith lives in but all the men and women are all the same in his book's. Weak woman and strong dominating men. This to me always is his downfall and ruins a good adventure story.
Overall, I wouldn't recommended this book, but at the same time there are some good action scenes and well researched information about ships and the sea. Let down by poor romance and annoying characters. Three stars. 😒💏🛳
Not the best book by the writer. This book can be clearly divided into two parts. The first part is really good and deals with how salvage business works and how the protagonist is built up as a character. The 2nd part is almost an anti climax on how the lead character changes. He eventually becomes a one man army with buckets of luck - the story becomes improbable. It would have been better if the story ended with the first part of his adventure. Too many side plots as well, making the end very tedious.
An enjoyable high seas romp, the whole cadmium/marine biologist & business/love usurper story lines are a bit corny. As is the jolly good sport overcomes sleazy businessman theme. Once the engineering defects in the ship are brought to light, the plot cruises to its inevitable end. I would have preferred the sleazy businessman to have docked the crude, pocketed the cash and gone on to wreak more socio-political havoc, as it would make the book more realistic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book starts off exciting and ends the same way. I only have a sort time to read a few pages at a time throughout the day. I found myself anxious to be able to get back to the book every time I put it down. The story also opened up an interesting view into ocean salvage. I find it is a curious topic and one which I expect to try and read more about in the future.
This is most likely my all time favorite book. I first read it many years ago and fell in love with the idea of working on tugs. I got to spend some time with smaller tugs but nothing like the ones in this book, I couldn't find one that size on the east coast of America. It's a great story that I would recommend to anyone.
This is my favourite Wilbur Smith book ... despite the fact that I get violently sea sick in real life, I love the story of adventure and romance on the high seas ... Nick is a modern day piratical figure and his heroic deeds deserve a movie ...
This book is amazing. It does start out slow but picks up the speed after the first 100 pages. It gives us the perfect mixture of romance and action. I strongly recommend this book as it is easily one of my favorite books.
Wilbur Smith continues to amaze me with his versatility. Especially his excellent descriptions. I have read, to date, sixteen WS novels and have yet to find one which failed to keep me riveted to every word. I am determined to read many more. What a great voyage!!
Close enough to a four to give it one. I enjoy learning while reading and learned about tow ships and competing for money in the high seas and the danger involved. Sometimes too much information but many sub plots that kept this book interesting.
A fantastic page turner! Would have given it four stars, but the characters were mostly only two dimensional and I found some of the leading lady’s dialogue jarring. However, a really immersive and a fun read that provided for great daydreaming in between chapters.