Flight of the Eagle by Peter Watt (Corgi, £6.99)

FOLLOWING on the heels of Cry of the Curlew and Shadow of the Osprey, Flight of the Eagle completes the trilogy of novels featuring the Duffy and Macintosh families.

Set in the New South Wales of transportation times, and moving up to the tropical Queensland outback of Australia, heart-stopping drama, incredible privation and retribution romps through the pages of this novel.

Peter Watt, self-confessed devotee of Wilbur Smith, has made no bones about wanting to emulate his hero by encapsulating the love of his country, Australia, in dynamic novels, in much the same way that Smith has done with his homeland, Africa.

It would seem that he has matched the genre completely.

Captain Patrick Duffy has divided loyalties. He is adored by his maternal grandmother, matriarch of the Macintosh family, his renegade father is wanted by the police and his grandmother has plans for him that will conflict with his need to meet his father.

Old family feuds die hard, and Lady Edith Macintosh has ensured the estrangement of Patrick and his father for her own ends.

This novel expounds the virtues of the Aboriginal way of life, and shows the changes that the immigrants forced on the race, painting a vibrant picture of life in Australia before ''tinnies'', ''sunnies'' and surfing. If historical novels are for you, this trilogy is a must.

Annie Dendy