Book Summary
Cloudburst (2020) marks the adventurous kickoff of the Jack Courtney series by Wilbur Smith (cowritten with Chris Wakling). The story follows fourteenyearold Jack Courtney, who travels from the UK to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with his parentsactivists attending a gorilla conservation conferenceand his friends Amelia and Xander. What begins as a routine educational trip soon turns into a thrilling mission when Jacks parents vanish, abducted amidst the rainforest while investigating illicit tantalum mining tied to a family-run operation. With wildlife and environmental stakes risingand facing betrayal from within his own familyJack must brave the jungle’s dangersincluding mercenaries, poachers, forest elephants, and hipposto find his parents and expose the corruption behind their disappearance

About the Author:
Wilbur Smith (19332021) was a Zambianborn novelist celebrated for his actionpacked historical adventures, primarily set in southern Africa. His career took off in 1964 with When the Lion Feeds, sparking a prolific output that spanned nearly 50 novelsmany charting the epic Courtney and Ballantyne family sagas, as well as ancient Egyptian-themed storiesselling over 140 million copies worldwideKnown for vivid storytelling and deep researchhe even worked in a gold mine to inform one novelSmith embraced the wild and drew from his own experiences as a bushman, diver, and conservationist. Cloudburst, coauthored with Chris Wakling, marks his venture into children’s fiction and reflects his enduring commitment to adventure narratives and environmental themes, with proceeds partly supporting literacy and adventure writing through the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation