River God, Vol. 1
- Book Review,
by Wilbur Smith
From Publishers Weekly
Set against the backdrop of the Hyksos invasion of Egypt, circa 1780 B.C., Smith's adventurous tale of ancient love, intrigue and avarice was a three-week PW bestseller. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Smith, whose 23 adventure yarns have sold more than 50 million copies, sets his most recent epic in civil war-torn ancient Egypt. The first print run is 150,000 copies.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
River God offers many of the features that make a good audio title: a first-person narrator with a distinct personality; a fast-paced, fascinating story; and many opportunities for description. The narrator and his royal masters strive to gain control of the upper and lower kingdoms of Egypt while going through adventures, battles, political intrigue and romance--all with vivid descriptions of life in ancient Egypt. The story pushes the limits of credibility at times, but it's such fun that it doesn't matter. Reader Dick Hill does an excellent job building tension and excitement, as well as keeping interest for twenty-four hours of listening. T.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
Smith is a consistently popular writer, and his latest endeavor has considerable publicity push behind it. In other words, expect high demand. He goes fictionally where Norman Mailer, in Ancient Evenings (1983), went before: pharaonic Egypt. But he ventures forth into this world with less demanding results; it's simply easier for the reader to fathom Smith's re-creation than Mailer's, because it's less mystical, less detailed, more concrete. That's not to say, though, that Smith has not done his homework as he tells the story of Taita the eunuch, slave to a noble's daughter. Taita narrates the dramatic events of which he was either witness or participant as his mistress receives the dubious honor of marriage to the pharaoh. The brutality of life in ancient times is everywhere evident in Taita's tale, which involves fatal intrigue at every turn. It's clear Smith knows his subject: his graphic depiction of lust, bloodletting, politics, and, in Taita's case, honor is firmly grounded in rich details that evoke the period. Brad Hooper
From Kirkus Reviews
Smith's 23rd doorstopper--nearly all of them about South Africa (Elephant Song, Golden Fox, etc.)--gallops swiftly through the action and flying blood his fans have come to relish, though for the first time Smith sets his story in Egypt 2,000 years before Christ. Readers hoping for descriptive riches on the order of Norman Mailer's Ancient Evenings will quickly find their hopes flattened by the banal style and fountaining clich‚s here, which give only a faint sense of the domestic particulars of daily life in those days, and will haave to satisfy themselves with Smith's sheer storytelling. At the start, Smith's narrator is the 30-year-old eunuch Taita, chief slave of Lostris, the 14-year-old daughter of Lord Intef. Lostris's breasts are ``the size and shape of ripe figs just ready for plucking, and tipped with rose garnets,'' while she has ``the neatest, tightest pair of buttocks in all Egypt.'' Lostris is beloved of young warrior Tanus, whose bow is so stiff only he can draw it and then loose three arrows before the first has landed. These matters once in place, the story will spread over three decades, during which Taita, Tanus, and Lostris put up with the machinations of her father, My Lord Intef, who is Grand Vizier; Lostris marries the Pharaoh; Tanus becomes supreme commander of the armies and battles the Hyksos invaders; he and Lostris have a moment of madness in the tombs of Tras as Tanus sires Memnon; the Pharaoh dies in battle, Lostris becomes queen, Tanus loses a major battle against the Hyksos and then his life to the magical blue sword that can pierce any soft bronze sword or shield; Memnon becomes pharaoh and Lostris dies. Brightly colored, sweeping escapism. (First printing of 150,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"A grand tale of intrigue, deception, true love and exile."--Denver Post
"Vivid and fascinating...Packed with passion, war, intrigue and revenge."--Orlando Sentinel
"Vivid detail...Sumptuous storytelling...A feast!"--Detroit Free Press
Review
"A grand tale of intrigue, deception, true love and exile."--Denver Post
"Vivid and fascinating...Packed with passion, war, intrigue and revenge."--Orlando Sentinel
"Vivid detail...Sumptuous storytelling...A feast!"--Detroit Free Press
Book Description
For Tanus, the fair-haired young lion of a warrior, the gods have decreed that he will lead Egypt's army in a bold attempt to reunite the Kingdom's shared halves. But Tanus will have to defy the same gods to attain the reward they have forbidden him, an object more prized than battle's glory: possession of the Lady Lostris, a rare beauty with skin the color of oiled ceder--destined for the adoration of a nation, and the love of one extraordinary man.
International bestselling author Wilbur Smith, creator of two dozen highly acclaimed novels, draws readers into a magnificent, richly imagined saga. Exploding with all the drama, mystery and rage of a bygone time, River God is a masterpiece from a storyteller at the height of his powers.
From the Publisher
These audiobooks from Macmillan UK offer abridged readings of some of the world¹s most popular authors. Handsomely packaged, they feature readings by eminent actors of the stage and screen, including James Fox, Martin Shaw, Tim Pigott-Smith, and David Rintoul.
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