Book excerpt: They've come from out of the shifting sands and down from ancient mountains. Mounted on horse and camel, carrying gleaming swords and plundered rifles, the sons of Allah are led by a holy warrior imbued with jihad,driving his army of thousands to wipe out the last Englishmen from the isolated Nile city... Along with hundreds of others, British trader and businessman Ryder Courtney is trapped in the capital city of Khartoum. In Khartoum, the fates of a legendary British general, a brilliant, mercenary trader, a beautiful woman and a courageous soldier will become one. They know that time is running out and rescue is improbable. So they prepare for one last stand--and the beginning of an epic journey of survival... From a passionate rivalry for a woman to an unforgettable face-off between warriors, Wilbur Smith's The Triumph of the Sun is adventure fiction writ large--alive with the sounds of throngs, the terror of battle, and the mystical fire of human courage in the darkest moments of all.