It, of course, depends upon personalities, but in my opinion, River God, by Wilbur Smith, is the greatest book yet written.
The story takes place In Egypt, circa 1500 B.C. The historical novel is written from the perspective of a slave named Tiata. In this novel you will find, pulse pounding adventure, ever-lasting love, wonderful goodness, the foulest of evils, danger, genius, stupidity, beauty, heroes, heroines, loyalty, betrayal ,tears and unbounded joy.
Caution: reading this book may, at times, cause you to forget to breathe. :-):-)
Having been to Egypt ,ie Cairo and then on from Luxor to go up the river Nile to the Aswan dam. The tour guide who did lectures on Egyptian History in a University over there told us all about the country. Seeing the actual places and the stories they hold was fascinating and brought it all to life.
We stayed in Giza, the hotel was by the great pyramids.
I am not sure I would call Wilbur Smith’s books great literature but he is, like Jeffery Archer, a good story teller.
One of the most irritating things about Wilbur Smith is that his heroes are all the same - very manly and almost handsome but not quite perfect with a broken nose or a scar and the heroines are likewise almost beautiful, their perfection spoilt by a slightly large mouth or nose.
I haven’t read one of his books for decades but I used to enjoy them.
Yes, I totally agree. There is nothing like actually being there. I could not say what was my favorite ancient site. I very much enjoyed the trip down the Nile from Aswan to Luxor. Inside The Great Pyramid at Giza was awesome. Though to be honest, I chickened out when going down into the Red Pyramid, way, way too small of a passage and too darned far. I was a bit disappointed that people are limited to only 3 tombs/day in The Valley Of The Kings. I spent 3 whole days in the Museum of Antiquities in Cario, No tour group, I like to travel at my own pace,; go where I want, when I want and for how long I want. I sat cross-legged against a wall, for several hours gazing at one particular Pharaoh’s statue while flocks of tourists were herded passed.
One of the most irritating things about Wilbur Smith is that his heroes are all the same - very manly and almost handsome but not quite perfect with a broken nose or a scar and the heroines are likewise almost beautiful, their perfection spoilt by a slightly large mouth or nose.
I haven’t read one of his books for decades but I used to
enjoy them.
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Bakerman replies
Sorry to disagree, but Tiata, in “River God” is far from manly.
And Ben Kazan, in “Sunbird” is a hunchback.
Bakerman replies Sorry to disagree, but Tiata, in “River God” is far from manly.And Ben Kazan, in “Sunbird” is a hunchback.
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Ha ha! I was just thinking that Bakerman. I have read River God a few times now and absolutely love it. I have read a few of Wilbur Smith’s books but I think this is probably his best. Somehow he makes you feel like you are actually there. It’s definitely in my top ten.
I think “Sunbird” is my 2nd favorite Wilbur Smith novel. When-ever I read his books I can lose track of several days. He has a way of transporting me to the past. And his ability to come up with phrases often leave me stunned. Many times I have wondered how he can come up with the perfect description and I think that I could never have dredged up that word or phrase. Like this opening to River God.
“The river lay heavy on the desert, bright as a spill of molten metal from the furnace. The sky was a smoky heat haze and it beat down upon the earth with all the fury of a coppersmith’s hammer”
Sue and I were invited to go and see the artists tomb of those who did the painting in the valley of Kings tombs.
We went down this narrow corridor and into this underground room. The paintings on the walls (protected by plastic screens) looked as if done yesterday not thousands of years ago. Outside this particular tomb was the ruined village they lived in.
Nubian doing stick dance on board boat. Notice how dark skinned he is, different from the Egyptians. They don’t really know when or how the got to live in Egypt
Hatshepsut “Foremost of Noble Ladies”;[5] 1507–1458 BCE) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh.
Wow ! You must have boarded one of the hotel/barges ABOVE the Aswan High Dam and headed SOUTH. To get into Nubian territory must have been a very long trip. I hoped they stopped at Abu Simbel.
P.S. When I was at Hatshepsut’s Temple, in 2007, the interior was still open to the general public. Did you know the Hatshepsut’s lover was buried very close to her, just to the right of the great ramp. Since he was a commoner, they had to keep their romance a deep secret. His small tomb was very well hidden and only in modern times was it discovered.
This was repositioned stone by stone here as where it was going to be flooded by lake Nassar. Went in a coach convoy with armed guards as protection from attack by lybians
Haven’t been to Egypt but love the Architecture, History, Imagine living there in those times had to be Rough compared to the conveniences we have today, they truly had to be hearty people.
I agree most of his heroes are horribly arrogant too.
River God is not as bad as the insufferable Courtney sagas but the hero does and knows everything !
I wonder if the heros are reflections of what the author might like to be (Wilbur Smith doesn’t sound like the sort of character i would like to meet if his comments re his own children are anything to go by )
Similarly Dick Francis also good writer but his heros are all the same tall, fit clever cool dark and handsome( Dick Francis was a little plump man after he stopped racing )
For those of you interested in Egypt, I can thoroughly recommend the books written by Christian Jacq. I have virtually collected a full set over the years, all of them difficult to put down once you start reading.
We were fortunate enough to enter King Tutankhamun’s tomb when we went to Egypt about 15 years ago. You had to pay an extra fee on top of the entrance fee to the Valley of the Kings but it was well worth it though to see the young King’s tomb. The tomb was a lot smaller than the other tombs and not as highly decorated, there were narrow steps going down into it, we weren’t allowed to take photos and it was very claustrophobic.
