Rating: Summary: A Very Good Book, a real Page-turner Review: "River God is a very good book, with vivid detail & a very good plot, The Main Charecter & narrorator, Thita guides you through ancient Egypt with ease, there are high-tension parts in the book that keep you hooked. Since I am somewhat facinated by Ancient Egypt, this book immediately caught my attention. It was a very long book(18 sides) but it is well worth the read. Thita & Wilbur Smith paint an exquisite tapestry that makes you feel like your walking alongside Thita in Thebes. Definetly worth buying & keeping. I have even lost some sleep with this book. Reading it untill the wee hours of the morining.
Rating: Summary: An engaging and captivating work of fiction. Review: An 'overblown soap opera'? Maybe. Then again, I do not read books of this nature for edification. I read them for entertainment. Furthermore, I do not care for soap operas. Yes, the main character of the story, Taita, is a bit pompous. Nonetheless, this story is wonderful if escape is what you seek. Characteristic Wilbur Smith writing - adventure, plot, emotion, and vivid imagery. Buy it. It is definitely worth a read.
Rating: Summary: A Story of Epic Proportions Review: I usually have my own niche when it comes to reading books. I'm not a genre reader, but when it comes to books, I always liked making out my own opinions before I buy them. That's why I keep on sticking to the same writers and same style books. Starting new stuff is fun, but I just hate being let down in the long end. I met a friend of mine one day when he was feeling really down after a fight with his girlfriend. As a mean of cheering him up, we took off to our local bookstore. Upon seeing this book, he started getting pretty much poignant and begged that I buy this one. I never heard of Wilbur Smith from the fat lady that keeps singing, but since I was a nice guy and I didn't really want to break his heart, I did the unspeakable. I bought a book written by a guy I'm not familiar with his writing, recommended by a guy who has just broken up with his girlfriend and going for the same book she bought for him as a gift. It was just a weird situation, which the only way you could get out of was to buy the thing and get away with it. I did... And I can't say that I did a bad choice at all... The book is huge and intimidating and I admit, it took a great many nights to finish. One thing is for sure, though, it grabs hold of you. It mesmerizes you with the descriptions and the ethereal setting that is Pharaoic Egypt. It takes you on a magical journey filled with joy, hardness, heartache and sadness. It leaves you laughing out loud at times, and at times, you just feel a hollowness in your stomach that you just can't understand where it's coming from. The narration is so well written that you feel as if, the lead character, Taita, is talking right in front of you with no printed or a 3000 year barrier between the two of you. Smith is really able to contort with the ideas and amalgamates them nicely into an epic that just itches to be read at one go even with the seemingly huge content. There are many twists of plots, but the pacing never slows or bores you. Smith succeedes in capturing your eyes, your mind and, most of all, your heart. The book inspired me to buy the sequel, the Seventh Scroll, just to see how the story is continued through in the modern world. And that decision did not require a solemnly single friend with a broken heart recommending it for me.
Rating: Summary: Much Ado About Nothing Review: This book was pure soap opera in an exotic setting.It was completely predictable and over-blown.
Rating: Summary: I rank this one 1st in my Wilbur Smith collection Review: I am a huge Wilbur Smith fan. "River God" is the best novel I have ever read. My second favorite Smith book is his newest: "Monsoon", 3 "Men of Men", 4 "The Sunbird", 5 "Golden Fox", 6 "Burning Shore", 7 "The Diamond Hunters". If you have read all the Wilbur Smith books like I have, you'll yearn for more, but it takes him years to come up with a new book these days. You might look at "Churchill's Gold" by James Follett after you have read all of Mr. Smith's books. It is very similar in style and quality to most of the Courtney series. If you like "River God" you will probably also love "The Sunbird". It is very similar in theme.
Rating: Summary: the seventh scroll Review: The sequel to River God is even better than the original. The novel keeps a steady riveting rhythm and rich character with out the slower start of River God. I recommend reading the two books in conjunction to really appreciate the ancient Egyptian Protagonist. This is a rousing novel that begs to be made into a film.
Rating: Summary: river god Review: A wonderful book. It started a little slow and at first I didn't care for the protagonist, but that quickly changed. This quickly became a delightful richly embroidered tale that made me deeply regret that I eventually ran out of pages. It has become one of my favourite novels.
Rating: Summary: WONDERFUL Review: The River God is one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. Set back in the time when the Pharaoh's ruled Egypt, there comes a man named Taita who leads Egypt and his mistress through years of prosperity and hardship . The book is wonderfully written with characters that are believable and who the reader cares about. The detail in which Smith writes actually transports you to another world. At times the book leaves you wondering is this fiction or non-fiction. By far Smith's best work and If you like this book you should read the Seventh Scroll.
Rating: Summary: A fun read Review: The protagonist is too overwhelmingly knowledgable to be real, but the story is fantastic! While some of the details might be far fetched the overall effect ties well to what is known about the era of the 13-15th dynasties of Egypt. The Hykos did invade Egypt at that time. I wish, though, that Smith had found a better way to introduce the "ideas" that only Taita supposedly developed.
Rating: Summary: My favorite of all time--a re-read and review Review: In literature, sagas of ancient Egypt have been told by archaeologists, detectives, ancient kings and wariors, but now we witness this luscious and violent land through the eyes of a slave, Taita. As an advisor to royalty, Taita's life is an epic tale of violence, beauty, war, betrayal and victory. Down the Nile from Luxor to Thebes to Nubia and beyond, we are taken on a stunning adventure through a land where life is cheap and man is cruel and barbaric. In the midst of this Hell that is his everyday Egypt, Taita invents the fantastic, builds the great and beautiful and demonstrates that there is goodness and compassion in the human spirit. I read this book in Dec. 1996, and have just read this excellent book again. This review at the time nor any review since, could do this great book true justice.
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