River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Wilbur Smith
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Book Reviews of River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt
Book Review: Flaw in the Horse Sense
Summary: 5 Stars
**Warning-Possible Spoilers**
I recently re-read Wilber Smith's epic River God and noticed a serious flaw in the logic of the story.
Upon the Egyptian's first encounter with the Hyksos, they are treated to a military encounter of ancient "shock & awe" as they are roundly defeated by the Hyksos use of chariots and horses in battle. It is explained that the Egyptians, having never before seen or encountered horses in their land, quickly denounce them as being supernatural creatures of the underworld, and they promptly proceed to slaughter the "evil monsters" upon encountering them a second time. Tanus never overcomes his enmity of horses, steadfastly refusing to ride like Taita, although he does come to value their military advantage.
All perfectly logical, except...
In the earlier part of the novel Taita, on one of his spy missions to investigate the bandits (Shrikes) attacking Egyptian trade and villages, clearly encounters a merchant and his very pregnant wife "riding on a burro/donkey/ass."
Granted, horses of the type employed by the Hyksos (likely small steppe horses or Przewalski's Horse) are larger and faster than burros. However, it would be clear to anyone, and especially someone as intelligent as Taita, that a burro/donkey/ass looks and acts an awfully a lot like a horse! If the Egyptians were already utilizing burros/asses as beasts of burden, the introduction of the Hyksos horses should not have been such a complete and utter revelation!
Sorry, but it just bothered me. I still loved this novel though. It is, without a doubt, one of Smith's best adventures, and Taita is one of the best characters (literally-LOL!) ever.
Book Review: Rare and Dazzling
Summary: 5 Stars
As a person that loves historical fiction, I was intrigued by the title, when it said that it was a novel set in Ancient Egypt.There seems to be so few books that are written in this time period.
I picked it up at my local library, one day after work ,and decided that I would read a couple of pages to see if I wanted to check it out or not.I ended up reading three chapters, before I could pull myself away. This was a book that was next to impossible to put down.
It is a story of Ancient Egypt, told through the eyes of a eunuch slave and the girl (who would become a future queen)that he is sworn to protect. It is the story of someone who sees the rise, fall and eventual rebirth of the Egyptian Empire and the part that he played to help shape it. The hero, Taitha ,goes to any length to protect two lovers, sways the opinions of a Pharaoh, witnesses the Egyptian war with the Hyskos, lives with an Ethiopian king and much more. The main point of the story that was so moving to me was, throughout all of the lies and the manipulation and power struggles, Taitha never loses his humanity. He never loses his compassion, he never loses sight of the fact that his duty is to the woman that he has sworn his whole life to, he never strays from undying devotion and love for the people that mean everything to him. Taitha sacrifices everything, even his own personal feelings, to save and protect his Queen. I have never read any Wilbur Smith books before. This was my first one, but I will have to say that this novel brings to life the world of the Ancients, stirs the emotions and leaves the reader wanting more. A rare and dazzling entertainment that I did not want to end.
Book Review: Great escapism
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the small pleasures of traveling around so much is to find local writers/books/movies that I wouldn't know otherwise.
Wilbur Smith is the name I never noticed before,although I am life-long bookshop browser. Perhaps I was looking in the wrong direction or simply didn't know him,I clearly remember last year in South Africa checking out his novels in bookshops and thinking "hm,this sounds interesting" but this time I decided to give him a try. Boy,was it worth it.
"The River God" is his famous first (of many) books set in ancient Egypt and its a beautiful never-ending saga in full MGM splendor,with lots of chariot races,wild beast hunting, royal palace intrigues,travels on the Nile and so on - the main character is eunuch called Taita who is all-knowing force behind the throne and he gradually becomes more and more indispensable to royals with his wisdom and knowledge. The period is very well researched and it gives the reader almost the smell of the places,also noticeable is the author attempt to present the story from ancient Egyptian point of view,for example locals initial mistrust to arrival of new,unknown animals (horses) for whom they believe they are man-eaters. The novel was much better than I expected and it was a perfect escapism,I could hardly wait to finish my work and dive into world of old Egypt.
Luckily this novel was just beginning of several ancient Egypt novels with the same characters so now I know where to follow.
Book Review: Brilliant story-telling, epic tale - don't take it as history, though!
Summary: 5 Stars
While this is considered to be historical fiction, based upon the fact that there are bits and pieces that are truly based upon actual historical fact - such as locations and some certain events - overall, "River God" is more fiction than history. That does not stop it from being a brilliant piece of story-telling! I couldn't put it down - the characters were richly built, and their world was created so vividly that I would become completely immersed - when I would stop reading and close the book, a sudden "silence" would settle around me, like I had actually been there. This is, to me, the sign of a truly great story-telling/reading experience. I certainly plan to get the follow-up book, The Seventh Scroll (A Novel of Ancient Egypt), as well as Warlock: A Novel of Ancient Egypt, which is also set in this world.
If you are a fan of ancient Egypt (as long as you don't mind some inaccuracies in the pursuit of good story-telling), a fan of historical fiction, enjoy a story of star-crossed lovers, like a good epic story-telling event, etc., you will enjoy this book. Definitely find a way to get a copy of your own!
Book Review: Fascinating!
Summary: 5 Stars
A friend recommended this book to me, and lent it to me. She told me nothing about it except that I had to read it. I'm not one of those people who looks in the back of a book first. I skipped any introductions, and went straight to Chapter 1. I absolutely loved reading it, and was immersed in the story. Then, I read how this book came to be written and that it was based upon ancient scrolls which were found.
I was blown away, and extremely excited to read the other books in this series! I have not been disappointed! It was due to my reading of this book that I became actively interested in learning more about ancient Egypt.
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