This is right in line with most of Wilbur Smith's books. The development of Africa on the backs of the impoverished blacks. A theme throughout all of his books is the coexistence of these diverse groups and the mutually beneficial relationships that can and do exist between them.

This book falls about in the middle of his tales of Africa. I liked the earlier books on the development of gold mining in Africa better but once you are hooked on Wilbur Smith you have to continue until all are read.

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Fluff or not? Fluff
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---- Comments ----
Characters are predictable in this saga of mining, gambling, corruption, blackmail, ambition, and lust - the usual supporting ingredients for swashbuckling, lascivious protagonist in middle management at an African mining company. Rod Ironsides plays the poor underdog in a high stakes game of love, life, and death. Predictably he comes out on top with both the girl and the company while the unsurprisingly predictable villain ends up . . .

---- What I liked ----
Not really very much, once again an easy, light, read that wasn't an entire waste of time.

---- What I didn't ----
This was a harlequin romance with a little mining and stock market corruption thrown in to try to appeal to a broader audience: the story really lacked the descriptive mass and African influence that is Smith's trademark.

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There is some criticism of this book it's too short or too simple, and in a way, it's justified. This book is 37 years old! Would you compare a 37 year old movie with today's movies? Or even fashion, or a football team's playbook? Things get better, writers improve.

Having said that, I still like this book. I don't know anything about gold mining, but it seems technically sound. True, the characters are simplistic, the plot is simplistic. Villians are evil and get their just due. Good guys win. There are no double or triple twists in the book. It's just simple straightfoward story about gold mining and a few characters in it.

A simple straightfoward story with a nice ending. Heck, that sounds better by the minute! In fact, that's what I wish the world would be like today, where you know who the good guys are and you know who the bad guys are and they lose! Yeah, that's what we need more of! Two thumbs up, definitely!

Transport yourself back to good old 1970 and enjoy this book! You need a break from 2007!

I've read many of Wilbur Smith's novels and enjoyed them tremendously. This book falls into the category of a short story for the author. It was entertaining but didn't have the depth of detail that his longer books have. I got the feeling that this could have been a longer novel cut short for some reason.

"Gold Mine" is a great adventure book. Rod Ironsides becomes manager of the Sonder Ditch and must fulfill his duty the best he can. Rod becomes involved with Terry Steyner, the wife of Rod's manager. Eventually, Rod has to make a plan for the drilling of the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is full of water and any slight miscalculation could prove fatal.

From beginning to end, "Gold Mine" is one of the most exciting books I've ever read and I recommend anybody who likes adventure books to pick it up right away.