The Sunbird

Blurb

The Sunbird is a 1972 novel by Wilbur Smith about an archeological dig.
The novel was a favourite of Smith's, who claimed it was heavily influenced by H. Rider Haggard. Smith:
It was a very important book for me in my development as a writer because at that stage I was starting to become enchanted by the lure of Hollywood. There had been some movies made of my books and I thought "whoa, what a way to go… All that money!" and I thought "hold on - am I a scriptwriter or am I a real writer?" Writing a book that could never be filmed was my declaration of independence. I made it so diffuse, with different ages and brought characters back as different entities. It was a complex book, it gave me a great deal of pleasure but that was the inspiration - to break free.
Academic Martin Hall has criticized The Sunbird for its inherent stance against African nationalism and implicit defense of white rule in southern Africa.
Progressive death metal/rock band Opeth took its name from the word "Opet", which in the novel is the name of a fictional Phoenician city in South Africa and whose name is translated as "City of the Moon".