A review by smgrable
Gilgamesh the King by Robert Silverberg
4.0
An ambitious and sprawling retelling of the Gilgamesh epic from the perspective of the King himself! Masterfully written; I was in awe page-by-page of the author's ability to channel the voice of a character who embodies the very definition of "larger than life."
The story centers, naturally, around Gilgamesh and his life and kingship of the city of Uruk, his own telling of his own story. The opening scene is the death and funeral of his father, a king himself and a god incarnate, which deeply seats a fear of death in young Gilgamesh. As he grows into a man, Gilgamesh faces the wrath of weak kings, the machinations of neighboring lords and priestesses, the will of the gods, and the glorious and devious goddess Inanna. He gains and loses a brother in his only physical equal, Enkidu, and crosses the world in search of immortality, the only thing he cannot possess.
Pick up a copy of this one... well worth the read, with beautiful lessons on trust, leadership, the role of myth and legend in the world, and the disappointment of heroes in myth and reality. Especially lovely if you have read any of the translations of the original Gilgamesh Epic.
The story centers, naturally, around Gilgamesh and his life and kingship of the city of Uruk, his own telling of his own story. The opening scene is the death and funeral of his father, a king himself and a god incarnate, which deeply seats a fear of death in young Gilgamesh. As he grows into a man, Gilgamesh faces the wrath of weak kings, the machinations of neighboring lords and priestesses, the will of the gods, and the glorious and devious goddess Inanna. He gains and loses a brother in his only physical equal, Enkidu, and crosses the world in search of immortality, the only thing he cannot possess.
Pick up a copy of this one... well worth the read, with beautiful lessons on trust, leadership, the role of myth and legend in the world, and the disappointment of heroes in myth and reality. Especially lovely if you have read any of the translations of the original Gilgamesh Epic.