Ralph wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow’s solemn speeches, but he was glad that Luke would be there beside him to lighten the mood, and in his new capacity as tech wizard, assistant director and sometimes tea boy at Jacaranda TV. Benni and Mayeni were coming along too: even though they’d never met Xai, they wanted to pay their respects. They planned to roll up in the OB van that had saved the lives of Xai’s friends and changed the course of national history.

  ‘That van deserves its own series,’ Luke had quipped on a group call to discuss covering the event. ‘I’m telling you, Benni, the idea is gold.’

  Benni had just laughed. ‘Well, when Mayeni seconds me to work with her new bosses at News 24, you can direct it yourself. You might just be keeping Jacaranda TV alive single‑handed.’

  Luke could do it too, Ralph thought. Certainly, Karl van Rok was pleased that his son had finally found something he loved doing, and had made a substantial donation to get the studio up and running again. And with Grant considering pursuing a career in news journalism now – policing the people in power – Jacaranda TV could turn out to be a training ground for a lot of new talent.

  And what about me? Ralph thought, flicking through the blank pages at the back of the old book. He’d thought he’d stay with his dad for ever, conserving the wildlife at Crocodile Lodge, helping to mind it for generations to come. But the past months and the trials he’d endured had changed him.

  There was so much to experience in this world, outside the confines set by childhood.

  ‘Life,’ Robyn had declared after Xai’s funeral, ‘is for living the hell out of while you can.’

  And he knew she was right.

  Living was the adventure, as big and wild as you chose to make it.

  Ralph picked up a fountain pen, thinking of the ordeals he’d survived, and all that life still held in store for him.

  We’re all adventurists, he thought.

  And he put his pen nib to the ancient paper and started to write.

  Wilbur Smith is one of the most successful authors in the world, having sold over 130 million copies of his incredible adventure novels. Wilbur died in 2021, leaving behind him a treasure‑trove of stories that will delight readers for years to come.

  Keith Chapman is a television writer and producer, best known as the creator of children’s television programmes Bob the Builder and PAW Patrol. Keith originates from Norfolk and currently resides in Monaco.

  Steve Cole is the best‑selling author of over 200 books. His work includes the Astrosaurs series, original fiction titles for Doctor Who, the Young Bond series and Swarm Rising co‑authored with astronaut Tim Peake. Steve lives and works in Buckinghamshire.

  For all the latest information about Wilbur, visit:

  wilbursmithbooks.com

  facebook.com/WilburSmith

  wilbur-niso-smithfoundation.org

  Wilbur Smith donates twenty per cent of profits received from the sale of this copy to The Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation. The Foundation’s focus is to encourage adventure writing and literacy and find new talent.

  For more information, please visit

  wilbur-niso-smithfoundation.org

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  First published in Great Britain in 2024 by

  HOT KEY BOOKS

  4th Floor, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square

  London WC1B 4DA

  Owned by Bonnier Books

  Sveavägen 56, Stockholm, Sweden

  bonnierbooks.co.uk/HotKeyBooks

  Copyright © Orion Mintaka (UK) Ltd, 2024

  Coverartwork © Ramazan Kazaliev, 2024

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  The right of Wilbur Smith and Ramazan Kazaliev to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 978-1-4714-1298-1

  Typeset by Envy Design Ltd

  Hot Key Books is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK

  www.bonnierbooks.co.uk

 

 

  Wilbur Smith, Prey Zone

 

 

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