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ajnel's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"The New Kingdom" (like "Titans of War"), brings in the adventures of a new protagonist into the word of Taita. Unfortunately, Hui is a polarising protagonist (unlike Taita or Piay), whose ignorance and sometimes outright stupidity, will either endear him for his youthful flaws or cause the reader to root for the so-called "bad guys". As with "Titans of War", the novel follows a clear incident-to-incident formula with a main theme loosely interweaved throughout . The adventures in "Titans" however felt better connected and more diverse than those depicted in "New Kingdom". The pace does pick up in act two but dwindles down around the climax, which again is improved on in "Titans". The writing somewhat lacks the rich descriptive elements for which the Egypt series is known, and character development is largely focused on the main protagonists. This despite, the novel does have enough adventure to it to make it a worthwhile Sunday afternoon read.
kinghawk's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
talktomegoose's review
3.0
I found this book really infuriating which is annoying, as I love Egyptian history/mythology and I really want to read more historical fiction set in this time period. The first third of the book promises a juicy and engaging story, but then the rest of it is spent with Hui zig-zagging between different loyalties and camps in order to get back to Lahun and get revenge for events that transpired earlier (yawn). If anything I really wanted him to stay with the Hyksos for the majority of the book as they were the most interesting faction that we see, and it seems like Smith is setting us up to get used to staying with them, but then he just...doesn't?
Like how is he suddenly considered one of the best generals of the Pharaoh's elite guards when we have zero reason to believe that - he's not proved himself as even halfway decent at battle strategy, let alone one of the best of the best?? Also, how much time actually passes between the start and finish of the book?? Hui is 17 (I think) at the outset, but somehow by the end he's a trusted general and skilled in combat, and I can't even remember any significant portions where Smith actually mentions time passing. If he does, it's never actually made clear how much time passed between when the book started and where it ended up. Confusion.
Honestly skimmed the final quarter of the book as I couldn't wait for it to end so I could start something else, which is a shame as I really, really wanted to like this one. I don't want to rate this any lower than 3* because there were some genuinely good moments - Smith is really good at crafting very visceral and engaging fight/battle scenes and moments of sudden action, but a bit like a generic action movie the story really starts to lull and drag as soon as these moments are over and it's more character based.
Initially rated this one 4 stars as Goodreads (frustratingly) doesn't let you do half-stars, so downgraded this from 3.5* to 3* as I can't quite bring myself to give it 4.
Like how is he suddenly considered one of the best generals of the Pharaoh's elite guards when we have zero reason to believe that - he's not proved himself as even halfway decent at battle strategy, let alone one of the best of the best?? Also, how much time actually passes between the start and finish of the book?? Hui is 17 (I think) at the outset, but somehow by the end he's a trusted general and skilled in combat, and I can't even remember any significant portions where Smith actually mentions time passing. If he does, it's never actually made clear how much time passed between when the book started and where it ended up. Confusion.
Honestly skimmed the final quarter of the book as I couldn't wait for it to end so I could start something else, which is a shame as I really, really wanted to like this one. I don't want to rate this any lower than 3* because there were some genuinely good moments - Smith is really good at crafting very visceral and engaging fight/battle scenes and moments of sudden action, but a bit like a generic action movie the story really starts to lull and drag as soon as these moments are over and it's more character based.
Initially rated this one 4 stars as Goodreads (frustratingly) doesn't let you do half-stars, so downgraded this from 3.5* to 3* as I can't quite bring myself to give it 4.
rockyrocksit's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
frej_bask's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
amberlyswords's review
2.0
This book was okay. Both the writing was okay and the paced of plot was fine but it was boring. The cover of book was okay and the characters were okay but I did got frustrated with some of their choices.
carmelade6645's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thelittlebookishnerd's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Rape and Slavery
rachmleg's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't realize this was part of a series when I picked it up. It stands alone well.
halfbloodprincess_hogwarts's review
** spoiler alert ** I thought this would have been a different kind of novel. It started off nice and reminds me of something you would read in a historical fiction class.The writing is ok but I just find it so boring and feels like a drag in the first fifty pages. I want to like this book and really like the characters we've already been introduced to. I know at some point the MC brothers bond with be completely, though it already is severed after the murder of their "friend". My interest is peaked and curiosity has me wondering how it gets to to the boy's dad being killed.
The pace is just way tooooo slow for me and I just could not push on. Maybe I will give the audio book a try because I am way too impatient to just sit in one spot to read. I should have stuck to my guns and not read this book, none of his previous works caught my interest and I thought this sounded good. I should just avoid historical fiction all together.
The pace is just way tooooo slow for me and I just could not push on. Maybe I will give the audio book a try because I am way too impatient to just sit in one spot to read. I should have stuck to my guns and not read this book, none of his previous works caught my interest and I thought this sounded good. I should just avoid historical fiction all together.