Wilbur Smith, prolific author of adventure tales, dies at 88

Wilbur Smith, a bestselling author who wrote dozens of adventure novels, has died at age 88. His office says in an online obituary that Smith died unexpectedly at his home in Cape Town, South Africa, on Saturday. A cause of death was not provided. Smith was born in 1933 in Northern Rhodesia — now Zambia — and set many of his stories in Africa, where he grew up on a cattle ranch and hunted game. His first novel, “When the Lion Feeds,” was published in 1964. He went on to publish another 48 novels, selling tens of millions of copies worldwide.