cdeane61's review against another edition
4.0
Love his characters, with all their flaws, and the weight of the county's history on their shoulders.
His storylines are fast paced, filled with interesting cultural information, evocations of the land, and just plain good.
The books are translated from Afrikaans, but read to me like they were written in English.
Have not read one of his books that I did not like, each one is a treat.
His storylines are fast paced, filled with interesting cultural information, evocations of the land, and just plain good.
The books are translated from Afrikaans, but read to me like they were written in English.
Have not read one of his books that I did not like, each one is a treat.
raytheron's review against another edition
5.0
~ English version of the review follows the Afrikaans ~
Wat 'n boek! Dis my eerste Deon Meyer, maar gaan beslis nie my laaste wees nie.
Meyer is 'n bobaas storieverteller, sy karakters is beide geloofbaar en volrond en sy navorsing is uitstekend. Ons voel met en vir karakters soos Emma, Lemmer en Jacobus, want hulle is bo alles menslik, met al hul swakhede en sterktes.
Die manier waarop hy kontensieuse gebeure uit beide die (boek se) hede en Suid-Afrika se verlede ineen werk, is uitstaande. En langs die pad laat Meyer so terloops sy siening van sake uit, maar dit is nooit indringend of ongeplaas nie. Wat hy by monde van Lemmer van die "Ryk Afrikaner" dink, byvoorbeeld, is onafskeidbaar van die wel en wee van sy karakters.
Die spanningslyn in "Onsigbaar" gun die leser min kans om asem te skep. Meyer vleg die elemente van sy storie baie behendig tot 'n vloeiende geheel. Die draaiboekskrywer in hom help beslis as dit by sy skryfwerk kom. Ek is geweldig beïndruk deur "Onsigbaar" en kan dit nie sterk genoeg aanbeveel nie.
Nou moet ek net meer van sy boeke in die hande kry, iets wat nogal moeilik is hier in Australië.
***
What a novel! This is my first Deon Meyer, but will definitely not be the last.
Meyer is a master storyteller, his characters are both credible and fully rounded, and his research is excellent. We feel with and for characters like Emma, Lemmer and Jacobus, because they are, above all, human, with all their strengths and weaknesses.
The way in which he works contentious events from both the (book’s) present and South Africa’s past into his story is outstanding. Along the way Meyer almost casually drops hints as to his view of things, but these are never intrusive or unnecessary. What he (by way of Lemmer) thinks of the “Rich Afrikaner”, for instance, is an essential part of the lives of his characters.
The tension in the storyline of “Onsigbaar” (available as “Blood Safari” in English) is relentless and does not give the reader any opportunity to pause for breath. Meyer masterfully weaves the elements of his story into fluent whole. His work as scriptwriter definitely helps when it comes to his narration. I am deeply impressed by “Onsigbaar” and cannot recommend it strongly enough.
Now I need to get hold of more of his books in Afrikaans, not always easy when one lives in Australia.
Wat 'n boek! Dis my eerste Deon Meyer, maar gaan beslis nie my laaste wees nie.
Meyer is 'n bobaas storieverteller, sy karakters is beide geloofbaar en volrond en sy navorsing is uitstekend. Ons voel met en vir karakters soos Emma, Lemmer en Jacobus, want hulle is bo alles menslik, met al hul swakhede en sterktes.
Die manier waarop hy kontensieuse gebeure uit beide die (boek se) hede en Suid-Afrika se verlede ineen werk, is uitstaande. En langs die pad laat Meyer so terloops sy siening van sake uit, maar dit is nooit indringend of ongeplaas nie. Wat hy by monde van Lemmer van die "Ryk Afrikaner" dink, byvoorbeeld, is onafskeidbaar van die wel en wee van sy karakters.
Die spanningslyn in "Onsigbaar" gun die leser min kans om asem te skep. Meyer vleg die elemente van sy storie baie behendig tot 'n vloeiende geheel. Die draaiboekskrywer in hom help beslis as dit by sy skryfwerk kom. Ek is geweldig beïndruk deur "Onsigbaar" en kan dit nie sterk genoeg aanbeveel nie.
Nou moet ek net meer van sy boeke in die hande kry, iets wat nogal moeilik is hier in Australië.
***
What a novel! This is my first Deon Meyer, but will definitely not be the last.
Meyer is a master storyteller, his characters are both credible and fully rounded, and his research is excellent. We feel with and for characters like Emma, Lemmer and Jacobus, because they are, above all, human, with all their strengths and weaknesses.
The way in which he works contentious events from both the (book’s) present and South Africa’s past into his story is outstanding. Along the way Meyer almost casually drops hints as to his view of things, but these are never intrusive or unnecessary. What he (by way of Lemmer) thinks of the “Rich Afrikaner”, for instance, is an essential part of the lives of his characters.
The tension in the storyline of “Onsigbaar” (available as “Blood Safari” in English) is relentless and does not give the reader any opportunity to pause for breath. Meyer masterfully weaves the elements of his story into fluent whole. His work as scriptwriter definitely helps when it comes to his narration. I am deeply impressed by “Onsigbaar” and cannot recommend it strongly enough.
Now I need to get hold of more of his books in Afrikaans, not always easy when one lives in Australia.
rmichno's review against another edition
2.0
Lost my interest. Main charcacter was too much of an enigma. The plot ran out of steam 2/3 of the way through. I stopped caring about the mystery so I gave up.
yorugua1891's review against another edition
4.0
Deon Meyer does an outstanding job in engaging the reader in this thriller. He does so in a couple of different ways. First, using the first person narration by Lemmer, the main character, who is a bodyguard with a turbulent past and that shies away from any meaningful human interaction. Second, by presenting us with Emma, the client that at times seems really fragile and at others a bundle of energy and strength, and that presents Lemmer with some challenging situations, both personal and professional. Finally, by weaving an intricate plot, that keeps us guessing all the way to the end, and adding doses of action and a little bit of romance to spice things up.
The main reason why I am giving this novel 4 stars instead of 5 is that towards the end, the way in which the main plot is resolved is certainly lackluster. It left me with a feeling that I have been cheated out of a great novel and almost made me mad. I had to wait a day before writing this review, because if not, I would have probably focused much more on this negative aspect and forget about the myriad of positive ones. So beware, if having an ending that is kind of a let down in terms of its quality is a big issue for you, you may be thoroughly disappointed in this novel. But if the journey getting there is what matters most, you will probably love it. For me, I ended up somewhere in between.
The main reason why I am giving this novel 4 stars instead of 5 is that towards the end, the way in which the main plot is resolved is certainly lackluster. It left me with a feeling that I have been cheated out of a great novel and almost made me mad. I had to wait a day before writing this review, because if not, I would have probably focused much more on this negative aspect and forget about the myriad of positive ones. So beware, if having an ending that is kind of a let down in terms of its quality is a big issue for you, you may be thoroughly disappointed in this novel. But if the journey getting there is what matters most, you will probably love it. For me, I ended up somewhere in between.
nicolewrites's review against another edition
4.0
Free Nook Book
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It's set in Africa and describes the racist views of the different regions. The main characters became easy to like and the book kept my interest with lots of action. Not a typical read, but I would recommend!
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It's set in Africa and describes the racist views of the different regions. The main characters became easy to like and the book kept my interest with lots of action. Not a typical read, but I would recommend!
horizon_9's review against another edition
3.0
Ik wilde eens een keer iets heel anders lezen, dus vroeg ik mn moeder om me een van haar boeken aan te bevelen. Nu weet ik weer waarom ik over het algemeen niet zo'n fan ben van dit soort boeken. Het leukste aan dit boek vond ik dat het geschreven is door een Zuid-Afrikaanse auteur. Het verhaal speelt zich ook af in in Zuid-Afrika en gaf een interessante inkijk in de problemen die nog steeds in Zuid-Afrika spelen.
lezra's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
This book was very forgetful, Deon has some really greats books out there, this one wasn't one of them.
sunny76's review
4.0
Totally worth the $1.99 on Amazon's Daily Kindle Deal. Some people might say it's a little preachy about animal rights in Africa, I thought it added to the story and character development. I will read more by Mr. Meyer.
jeremyhornik's review against another edition
3.0
Nice thriller. Murder, conspiracy, in various safari parks. Main focus is the biases and prejudices of the protagonist, and how he has to overcome them to solve the mystery.
renee_conoulty's review against another edition
3.0
The sole reason I picked up this book was because I wanted to read a book set in Africa for a reading challenge. I found the audiobook edition of this via the Oneclick Digital app, downloaded the book and pressed play. I adored the narrator, Saul Reichlin. His South African accent was perfectly suited to the novel and did a fantastic job of differentiating the characters using tone and dialect. There is a bit of something for everyone: politics, action, romance, mystery.