A review by straaawbs
River God by Wilbur Smith
5.0
How can you possibly resist a book about ancient Egyptians?
River God was a pleasure to read. At over 600 pages it still managed to keep the action flowing right until the end and it doesn't hurt that Taita is one of the sweetest and most likable characters I've come to know in a long time.
At first I wasn't too sure about this book. I bought it on a spur of the moment and didn't know what to expect from it. Taita comes across as a priss to begin with, and there is that question of how Egyptian society flourished for thousands of years without him, considering the fact that he invents just about everything. But the fact that he's a slave, and a eunuch, set him apart from the prototypical hero. He's not exactly what you'd expect from a slave, however, as he's well loved and respected and wields a good deal of power and influence. And his his being a eunuch means the book isn't filled with the gratuitous sex scenes which plague so many others of its ilk! He was lovely. Smart, resourceful, gutsy and loyal, and definitely not suffering from that irksome macho-man syndrome. He might be a bit vain, but we get to see his flaws too. And he's pretty. Don't give up if the first few pages don't grab you immediately. It should grow on you.
The action just kept coming, and it's been a while since I was so hooked on a book, constantly wanting to know what happens next. It was an epic. Seriously. I loved it. Though the writing was a little cheesy at times, but it was still readable so that's a very minor quibble. There's something for everyone in this book. There were battles, wars, murders, marriages, medical emergencies, animals, gods, births, deaths, journeys, friendships, enemies... You won't have time to get bored.
I can't vouch for the book's historical accuracy, although obviously I would expect Taita's story to be completely fabricated, but it didn't seem too far off the mark in general aspects of Egyptian life. Besides, authors are allowed to take liberties in historical fiction.
I'm not sure how quickly I'll rush on to the next books in this series, if only because I want to preserve the memory of Taita as he is in River God. But this will certainly be a re-read somewhere down the line.
River God was a pleasure to read. At over 600 pages it still managed to keep the action flowing right until the end and it doesn't hurt that Taita is one of the sweetest and most likable characters I've come to know in a long time.
At first I wasn't too sure about this book. I bought it on a spur of the moment and didn't know what to expect from it. Taita comes across as a priss to begin with, and there is that question of how Egyptian society flourished for thousands of years without him, considering the fact that he invents just about everything. But the fact that he's a slave, and a eunuch, set him apart from the prototypical hero. He's not exactly what you'd expect from a slave, however, as he's well loved and respected and wields a good deal of power and influence. And his his being a eunuch means the book isn't filled with the gratuitous sex scenes which plague so many others of its ilk! He was lovely. Smart, resourceful, gutsy and loyal, and definitely not suffering from that irksome macho-man syndrome. He might be a bit vain, but we get to see his flaws too. And he's pretty. Don't give up if the first few pages don't grab you immediately. It should grow on you.
The action just kept coming, and it's been a while since I was so hooked on a book, constantly wanting to know what happens next. It was an epic. Seriously. I loved it. Though the writing was a little cheesy at times, but it was still readable so that's a very minor quibble. There's something for everyone in this book. There were battles, wars, murders, marriages, medical emergencies, animals, gods, births, deaths, journeys, friendships, enemies... You won't have time to get bored.
I can't vouch for the book's historical accuracy, although obviously I would expect Taita's story to be completely fabricated, but it didn't seem too far off the mark in general aspects of Egyptian life. Besides, authors are allowed to take liberties in historical fiction.
I'm not sure how quickly I'll rush on to the next books in this series, if only because I want to preserve the memory of Taita as he is in River God. But this will certainly be a re-read somewhere down the line.