Home :: Books :: Science Fiction & Fantasy  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Warlock: A Novel of Ancient Egypt

Warlock: A Novel of Ancient Egypt

List Price: $27.95
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 .. 10 >>

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The master switches to auto-pilot
Review: Actually, Wilbur Smith is my favourite author. He reached the zenith of his master story-telling powers with River God - an exquisite book. But even the most ardent fan must, sometimes, act the most challenging critic...

So, what happened Wilbur? Warlock is just third rate airport lounge pulp. So smooth and predictable one simply slips and slides from page to page with all the soul and charm of a warm plate out of the dishwasher...

Where has the 'real' Taita gone? Why is it all narrated in the third person? (Apart from the fact that it's the easiest descriptive writing style.) And why Oh why is Mr.WS not pushing the boundaries of his immense talent to levels only he can take us to?

All I can say is thank heavens I bought the paperback and didn't fork out on the massively expensive hardback.

Come on Wilbur...write from your heart not just to honour your publishing contract! (Surely the spirit of your new 'Genghis Kahn' love can inspire you to greater things, neh!!!)

Two stars for two words: Wilbur Smith.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mr. Smith Remains the Master of the Historical Epic
Review: This is Wilbur Smith's 28th book and I have read and enjoyed the twenty-seven that preceeded it. Most of his novels deal with Africa, but he has now turned his attention to ancient Egypt. The first novel, River God, set the scene for what follows in Warlock. The commercial reviews above describe more than adequately the story line, but what they don't impart is the impact of Smith's writing style as he weaves his story as though he had lived through it. It has all of the usual ingedients of a Smith story, i.e., intrigue, betrayal, sex, suspense, violence, cruelty, love, superstition, etc. You will find it hard to put down and when it ends you will be looking for the sequel which I hope is forthcoming.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not quite up to par with The Seventh Scroll or The River God
Review: But definitely an entertaining read. No one writes adventure like Wilbur Smith. Smith is known for writing stories that take place in his beloved continent of Africa. Usually, his novels contain lots of history, politics, violence, sex, romance, magic, and mystery. And this one follows that tradition.

The central character of Warlock is the wise sage, Taita. Taita, now an older and wiser man, attempts to help the rightful heir attain the rulership of ancient Egypt. Powerful forces, ofcourse, are in opposition to that goal. The timeline of the story falls between River God and the Seventh Scroll. However, this is actually the third book in the series.

Those who have read The River God and The Seventh Scroll have already read this novel, most likely. I recommend reading the previous two books first, prior to reading this one. It doesn't really matter which of the two you read first.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: All about Taita
Review: The prior reviewer must have read the French version.
This book was a great return to Taita's Egypt.
I read River God and loved it, having never heard of Wilber Smith. Followed up with 7th scroll and was disappointed (until the end). Warlock picks up where River God left off.

The book is different Smith spends MUCH more time on Taita, although I feel I still don't know much about him. The book is a bit long in character development, and many authors could (or would) have written less, yet I still have trouble putting his books down. Maybe it's me.

Looking forward to the fourth in the series (?). For now I'm surfing for more WAS titles.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent
Review: This was an excellent book. A traditional epic saga, involving love, violence, treachery and honour, Warlock transports the reader to the dangerous and somewhat mystical times of ancient Egypt.

It was written in a similar style to River God, and although it matched it in terms of sheer entertainment, it was not as tight and brilliant as the first book in this series. Among its shortcomings were the apparent shallowness of significant characters, such as Meren, Shabako and Merykara, and the rather abrupt ending.

People have complained that this book is overly violent, but they must take into account the fact that those were times when extra-judicial killings, rape and cruelty to animals were very common. To cross out with a pen any lines that contained violence -- as one reviewer here did -- so other people will never be able to read those parts (I'm assuming that it was a library book) is immature.

There have also been complaints about the 'magic' in the book, such as that used by Taita and other shamans and Magi, as well as complaints about racial slurs made by the nameless narrator. It must be realised that the narrator isn't really supposed to be Wilbur Smith, the author living in the 21st century; but rather someone from ancient Egypt who probably believed in magic like most ancient Egyptians did, and who held the racial prejudices common to those times.

All in all, a great and compelliing (if slightly flawed) read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An Great Read, But Slightly Weaker Than River God
Review: River God was a maseterpiece. I didn't expect Warlock to exceed it,and it doesn't, but even still, it is a damn good book. Taita is enigmatic as ever (and has become "one with nature" from wondering for years in the wilderness) and has such a powerful presence that he has earned himself the distinguished honor of being my second favorite character of all time (behind Sinuhe from "The Egyptian"). Mintaka (the hyksosian princess)replaces Lostris as the beautiful,charming and intelligent heroine. Nefer (the young pharoah) is all but a splitting image of his grandfather, and Naja & Trok (and Ishtar) provide some serious hellraising as the usurpers.
As with River God, the reader is transported back through time to the 14th dynasty. Wilbur Smith is so descriptive (without boring the reader)that you will be able to feel the sand grains in your eyes, hear the flowing of the nile and feel how the common Egyptians felt regarding their leaders. The plot, which contains plenty of planning, cunning and deceit, unfolds beautifully. The story is action packed, adventurous and loaded with gruesomely gory scenes, and some rather steamy sex scenes are thrown in as well. Readers with weak stomachs are to be cautioned because there are several scenes which would make Stephen King cringe. Overall, this is an exciting action packed love story, set in ancient Egypt during the years of the Hyksos, written by an excellent story teller with a special knack for detail. There you have it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It had potential but..............
Review: Being a big fan of anything Egyptian and never having read Wilbur Smith before, I started reading this book with eager anticipation. Unfortunately while the outline of the story had potential, Smith ruined it with unnecessarily detailed descriptions of brutality to all sexes and animals, and even worse some of the most racist and innacurate descriptions of some of the ethnicities involved in the story.

For example when describing a Nubian he describe them as savages as well as characters that you would have seen in old black and white movies of old Hollywood! If Smith knew anything about Nubians he would know that they started the first dynasty of Eygptians and produced some of the most famous and powerful Pharoahs building Pyramids thousands of years before the dynasty of Eygptians that appeared much later.

Also many characters lacked any solidity. For example, Meren who is supposed to be the Nefer's boyhood friend, never utters a line throughout their escape from the odourous Trok, and no relationship is ever made evident as you would expect to friends to have. Taita the central figure is fine and is the only one we get a real sense of, however I feel that there should be a book written that would explain his life becoming a warlock.

As I said this book had potential but was ruined by too many inaccurate stereotypical characters. He is definately not a Christian Jaqs.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Just a little too graphic for me
Review: I fall in the category of those turned off by the vivid descriptions of death, torture and cruelty to animals. When Mr. Smith wants to, the story could be extremely interesting. His description of a sandstorm was magnificent. His descriptions of different forms of death and violence are also magnificent, but just a big turnoff for me. A particularly gruesome chapter was the one about "running the red road". I can only assume that the "red road" is named for the amount of blood spilled along the way. I found that the only way I could finish the book was to skip all the parts where he started describing war strategy and skimming the really bloody parts.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Turn off.
Review: I'm relieved to see I'm not the only one disappointed in Warlock, because it's only the second Wilbur Smith I've read, and the other was much better. I was very uncomfortable with the soft porn relating to children in Warlock, which was completely unnecessary, and also the description of the suffering of animals. I actually found myself covering up the offensive text with a pen as I went so that nobody else would have to see it. Mr. Smith's descriptive talent was used much more effectively in Sunbird. I'm relieved that Warlock is the exception, rather than Sunbird.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Had to Hurry Up & Finish the Book, I see...
Review: I LOVE Wilbur Smith. I read River God twice just because I wanted to make sure I didnt' miss a single word. I loved Warlock, I couldn't put it down.

And then... All of a sudden, there was a "Star Trek" Ending. By this I mean that the whole story builds and builds toward a gut wrenching end, and then it just wraps up in the last few pages. It's almost like Mr. Smith realized he had to turn in the manuscript and had less than 24 hours to finish.

Don't get me wrong, the story was wonderful. Wilbur Smith is an excellent writer, but I was very disappointed that the story dropped off and was put away nice and neat almost instantly. I would recommend reading this, but don't count on a monumental ending.


<< 1 2 3 4 .. 10 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates