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catsflipped's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Another chapter an epic tale. Taita is over 150 years old, known as a long liver he is now a powerful warlock. Supernatural themes become stronger in this the 4th book of the Ancient egypt series.
Taita's quest is to find out why the Nile runs dry and to attempt to bring the water back. Egypt is dying and Taita must face all kinds of Evil on his journey to the Nile's source. He will also make many allies, new friends and be reunitied with someone from his past.
It's a long book but every page adds to the richness of the story, there are twists and turns along the way. I felt after so many pages the ending was a little weak but it does lay the foundation for what may be to follow.
Taita's quest is to find out why the Nile runs dry and to attempt to bring the water back. Egypt is dying and Taita must face all kinds of Evil on his journey to the Nile's source. He will also make many allies, new friends and be reunitied with someone from his past.
It's a long book but every page adds to the richness of the story, there are twists and turns along the way. I felt after so many pages the ending was a little weak but it does lay the foundation for what may be to follow.
topdragon's review against another edition
4.0
This is the fourth and perhaps final volume of Wilbur Smith's ancient Egyptian series, which began with the excellent "The River God" followed by "The Seventh Scroll" and "Warlock". Many folks have commented on the declining quality of this series and I see that, as well, to some extent. The first book was just so outstanding (it's in my top 10 list of all time great reads) that some deterioration was inevitable. This book seems to have received some brutal reviews though.
The book continues the story of Taita, a "long-liver" sage who sets off to solve and set right a series of plagues that are hitting the Nile Valley. Turns out the source is the evil "God" Eos. The cat and mouse confrontation between these two form the basis of the novel. Another major plot thread is the reincarnation of Taita's true love from the first book in the series. Since Taita is an enoch from way back, the author finds a way to have his manhood regrown through a process akin to using stem cells. I'll admit to this whole sub plot being extremely convenient for the main characters, a bit too contrived for my taste.
I think many people have problems with this book because it is not what they are expecting. This entire series is billed as "historical fiction" and the first book certainly seemed to be so but that moniker has long since worn off. The series has transposed into fantasy, pure and simple. The title itself is indicative of the genre and there are numerous examples of true magic throughout the book: pillars turning into faces that give directions, Taita turning invisible at will or mind travelling over great distances to give messages to others. Whatever historical accuracy might exist here is beside the point. Also, this is a fairly erotic novel with numerous sexual innuendos and some downright graphic sex scenes in it. This is my 6th Wilbur Smith book and although he does put in quite a few erotic encounters I think this is his rawest novel so far of the ones I've read.
I've pointed out some of the negative aspects of this novel, but there are positive points also, particularly if you don't mind the fantasy aspects. The story itself flows well and urges the reader to keep turning pages to see what happens next. The author has a way of allowing the reader in to his characters' minds making it realistic despite the very nature of the fantasy involved. And it's a downright fun book to read. A grand adventure full of danger, excitement, pitfalls, triumphs, and a good, satisfying ending. There is a definite end but should the author wish to continue the series, there is room for it to keep going. If he does, I will continue along with him.
The book continues the story of Taita, a "long-liver" sage who sets off to solve and set right a series of plagues that are hitting the Nile Valley. Turns out the source is the evil "God" Eos. The cat and mouse confrontation between these two form the basis of the novel. Another major plot thread is the reincarnation of Taita's true love from the first book in the series. Since Taita is an enoch from way back, the author finds a way to have his manhood regrown through a process akin to using stem cells. I'll admit to this whole sub plot being extremely convenient for the main characters, a bit too contrived for my taste.
I think many people have problems with this book because it is not what they are expecting. This entire series is billed as "historical fiction" and the first book certainly seemed to be so but that moniker has long since worn off. The series has transposed into fantasy, pure and simple. The title itself is indicative of the genre and there are numerous examples of true magic throughout the book: pillars turning into faces that give directions, Taita turning invisible at will or mind travelling over great distances to give messages to others. Whatever historical accuracy might exist here is beside the point. Also, this is a fairly erotic novel with numerous sexual innuendos and some downright graphic sex scenes in it. This is my 6th Wilbur Smith book and although he does put in quite a few erotic encounters I think this is his rawest novel so far of the ones I've read.
I've pointed out some of the negative aspects of this novel, but there are positive points also, particularly if you don't mind the fantasy aspects. The story itself flows well and urges the reader to keep turning pages to see what happens next. The author has a way of allowing the reader in to his characters' minds making it realistic despite the very nature of the fantasy involved. And it's a downright fun book to read. A grand adventure full of danger, excitement, pitfalls, triumphs, and a good, satisfying ending. There is a definite end but should the author wish to continue the series, there is room for it to keep going. If he does, I will continue along with him.
vortimer's review against another edition
1.0
The series already made a genre switch from historical fiction to modern thriller in the second novel. That worked well, as it was familiar ground for Wilbur Smith. But now in the fourth, it veers into a bad fantasy novel, full of magic and monsters in ancient Africa. The Smith novels I read as a teenager were always pretty red blooded, but this violent mess is full of epic amounts of deeply uncomfortable to read sex as the 156 year old eunuch protagonist meets the 7 year old reincarnation of his true love from the first novel, and gets magically restored over the following few years, to whole bodied youth by the followers of the evil immortal sorceress/demi sex goddess and then, for good measure, the Fountain of Youth.
By the time he has triumphed over her in a magic sex duel to save Egypt, his ward has turned 16, so happy ending.
I've returned to Smith after picking up this series earlier this year after (with the exception of one book gifted to me a decade ago) a 25 year hiatus, but after experiencing the most spectacular both series and author meltdown I've ever encountered with this novel, I'm wondering about abandoning the rest of the series.
By the time he has triumphed over her in a magic sex duel to save Egypt, his ward has turned 16, so happy ending.
I've returned to Smith after picking up this series earlier this year after (with the exception of one book gifted to me a decade ago) a 25 year hiatus, but after experiencing the most spectacular both series and author meltdown I've ever encountered with this novel, I'm wondering about abandoning the rest of the series.
readingwhileipoop's review against another edition
2.0
The Quest is the fourth book in the ancient Egyptian series.
And I have to say, I am disappointed at Smith. The first two books of this series- The River God and The Seventh Scroll were AMAZING! The third one, Warlock was okay for me. But the Quest was a very dull read for me.
The protagonist Taita was a slave during the first two books but in this one he became a Magus and a magician and whatnot. I found him very pretentious and at times wanted to hit him with the book.
It felt to me that the book was filled with unnecessary and repetitive detail which could have been avoided.
And the adult parts added another dimension to me disliking towards the book. I really am not into adult books and these sort of description sort of reduces my interest in a book.
And the descriptions made me feel like I was reading a script of a pornography at times (sorry for my language).
This book was not worth my time at all.
I would give it 1.75 stars. :3
And I have to say, I am disappointed at Smith. The first two books of this series- The River God and The Seventh Scroll were AMAZING! The third one, Warlock was okay for me. But the Quest was a very dull read for me.
The protagonist Taita was a slave during the first two books but in this one he became a Magus and a magician and whatnot. I found him very pretentious and at times wanted to hit him with the book.
It felt to me that the book was filled with unnecessary and repetitive detail which could have been avoided.
And the adult parts added another dimension to me disliking towards the book. I really am not into adult books and these sort of description sort of reduces my interest in a book.
And the descriptions made me feel like I was reading a script of a pornography at times (sorry for my language).
This book was not worth my time at all.
I would give it 1.75 stars. :3
alykat_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
I really liked that the author included a map of the area because I referred to it so many times throughout the book.
This was a long one. There were quite a few spots where the story lagged and I had to push through. About 11 years pass throughout this novel, but time passage wasn't consistent. There would be battles that would be big sections (that didn't particularly add to the story, just described people being killed) covering a time period of a couple days; then the story would skip ahead a couple years within a few paragraphs. Some of the stuff that got drawn out felt unnecessary, and shaving off 200 pages of this would have made for a more enjoyable, faster-paced read.I was also disappointed that the first 600 pages is this journey to defeat Eos, and all this build up of how difficult it would be to defeat her; yet her defeat was summed up on 2 pages. And what defeated her was just him basically having sex with her and 'sucking out her soul & knowledge' during sex. That was the big thing to defeat her? A huge let down for sure. Kinda cool she turned into a huge, stinky bug though. .
I'm kind of curious about the before (this is #4 in the series) and the after of these characters and the land, so may or may not decide to pick up other books in this series. Ancient Egypt itself is fascinating to me, similar to Greek mythology, and even more so since I've been to Egypt.
This was a long one. There were quite a few spots where the story lagged and I had to push through. About 11 years pass throughout this novel, but time passage wasn't consistent. There would be battles that would be big sections (that didn't particularly add to the story, just described people being killed) covering a time period of a couple days; then the story would skip ahead a couple years within a few paragraphs. Some of the stuff that got drawn out felt unnecessary, and shaving off 200 pages of this would have made for a more enjoyable, faster-paced read.
I'm kind of curious about the before (this is #4 in the series) and the after of these characters and the land, so may or may not decide to pick up other books in this series. Ancient Egypt itself is fascinating to me, similar to Greek mythology, and even more so since I've been to Egypt.
milesbw's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
latas's review against another edition
1.0
I had read Wilbur Smith's Rage long ago and had loved it. Since then i was on the lookout of Wilbur Smith's books. I bought this without even reading the reviews. It was an absolute waste of my time and money.
tkat's review against another edition
5.0
This fourth installment in the story of the magus Taita is I believe the best one yet. It has actually inspired me to move on from Wilbur Smith's Egyptian series to his other books because I enjoyed this one so much.
All I am going to say about this book is that I am so happy for Taita and how this book ends for him, and I hope that this is not that last that we see of these wonderful characters.
All I am going to say about this book is that I am so happy for Taita and how this book ends for him, and I hope that this is not that last that we see of these wonderful characters.
annemieks's review against another edition
dark
2.5
In a series, one expects a certain consistency in characters and story telling. I raked this part four of the Egyptian series so low, because it made a complete change from adventurous to esoteric.