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    River God
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    River God
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    River God
    Audiobook24 hours

    River God

    Written by Wilbur Smith

    Narrated by Dick Hill

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Ancient Egypt. Land of the Pharaohs. A kingdom built on gold. A legend shattered by greed. Now the Valley of Kings lies ravaged by war, drained of its lifeblood, as weak men inherit the cherished crown. On the eve of the festival of Osiris, the loyal subjects of the Pharaoh gather in Thebes to pay tribute to their leader. Exploding with all the passion and rage of a bygone time, River God is a masterpiece of historical writing.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 25, 2006
    ISBN9781423328766
    Author

    Wilbur Smith

    Described by Stephen King as “the best historical novelist,” WILBUR SMITH made his debut in 1964 with When the Lion Feeds and has since sold more than 125 million copies of his books worldwide and been translated into twenty-six different languages. Born in Central Africa in 1933, he now lives in London.

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    Reviews for River God

    4/5

    582 ratings22 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The River God is a rousing tale of ancient Egypt. This story is epic in scope with forbidden love, devastating strife, a daunting enemy, and an exodus into an unknown land. It's narrated by Taita, the eunuch slave, who tells the story of his life as events unfold in Egypt thousands of years ago. He works for Lord Intef, a tyrannical ruler who is second only to the Pharaoh. Taita is also responsible for raising and educating Intef's daughter Lostris whom he loves more than life. He is also a close confidant to Tanus, young soldier and mighty warrior leader of the Blue Crocodile division of the Pharaoh's fleet. Tanus and Lostris fall in love but evil Lord Intef refuses to let them wed.

      River God is well written and is less of a historical novel than a epic action adventure story. Readers can criticize the historical facts, but no one can criticize how stirring and emotional it is. The author takes us on a journey through Egypt which is depicted with such astonishing detail the reader will think they are on the Nile. There were so many great scenes including the hippopotamus hunt at the very beginning and the invasion of the Hyksos with their indomitable chariots and horses, defeating the Egyptian forces and causing our heroes to flee up the Nile. Years will pass before they are able to return.

      It is a sweeping saga that is well written and very imaginative. Taita's unequaled intelligence was a bit unbelievable but this eventually seems important for the development of the plot. I don't recommend this for the squeamish because there are lots of animal deaths and some discussion of Intef's sexual interest in young boys that might be disturbing. I found them to be brief and easy to skim through because the story was so gripping. It was a great piece of storytelling and I'm already picking up the second book in the trilogy (Seven Scrolls) which takes place 4000 years later. I should note that I listened to this and maybe that was part of the reason I enjoyed it so much.
    • 3/5
      An entertaining tale of ancient Egypt, told from the perspective of an arrogant slave. Wilbur Smith creates good environmental detail and demonstrates an intimate knowledge of the subject matter.
    • 4/5
      3.5 starsIn ancient Egypt, Taita is a slave, eunuch, and doctor. When his mistress, young Lostris, is betrothed to the Pharoah, Taita goes with her. Lostris, however, is in love with Tanus, also a friend of Taita's, so Taita helps them steal time with each other. The time period of the book covers almost the entire lives of Lostris and Tanus, so there are also wars and travel in the book. It was good, but long. That is, the story was good, but I can't say I particularly liked any of the characters. Taita was just way too good to be true, in fact. Not only was he a doctor, but he was a horse-whisperer, a chariot-designer and builder, a play-writer, an astronomer, a philosopher and more and he excelled at all these things. Not bad for being a slave! I didn't really like Lostris or Tanus, either, and I didn't like some of the things they did. I also didn't like the hunting scenes in the book. Now, despite this fairly negative-sounding review, I didn't really think that badly of it. I did like it, overall.
    • 2/5
      Taita is almost as bad as Ayla when it comes to inventing stuff way earlier than it was actually invented, and the reason is even more annoying -- instead of showing off all the research, like Auel did, Smith uses Taita's ridiculous talent to skimp on worldbuilding. Also this book wobbles on the line between absorbing and melodramatic and sometimes falls to one side.
    • 2/5
      Een aardig verhaal over Egypte, ongeveer 2000 BC. Het verhaal wordt verteld door deze Taita, die zowat de speerpunt blijkt te zijn van het menselijke leven. Hij is goed in alles wat hij doet en aanraakt. Hij is een schrijver, uitvinder, muziek, militaire strategieën, architectuur, beeldhouwen, schilderen, wetenschap, meteorologie, cartografie, waarzeggen etc etc. Hij is niet bescheiden, en vertelt continue hoe goed hij wel is in het een of het andere. O ja.. hij is ook nog eens bijzonder knap, en onweerstaanbaar voor alle vrouwen en mannen, ondanks het feit dat hij ooit door zijn meester is gecastreerd en gegeseld.

      Sommige delen van het verhaal waren echt goed, maar helaas waren die er niet veel.
    • 5/5
      Rhodesian born author Wilbur Smith is not as well known in the US as in the UK and many other countries throughout the world. However, his first major novel was published in 1964 and since that time he has written over 30 additional titles with sales exceeding $65MM. His historical fiction and adventure novels have continually received high praise, maintained a strong following, and for those who were fortuitous in starting a library collection of his earlier works, provided a fairly good return on their financial investments.

      This novel RIVER GOD, first published in 1993, is the lead book of a 4 part Egyptian series. Set nearly 2,000 years BC, it chronicles a transitional period of approximately 40 years. During a time leading up to Egypt’s conquer by eastern savages using strange beasts and a seemingly floating apparatus (wheeled chariots pulled by horses), to the eventual over throw of the invaders.

      Of the half dozen books I’ve read by Wilbur Smith, this is one of my favorites so far. He undertakes sufficient amounts of research to provide a reasonable degree of time, place, and events for his dialog and story line. While there may be a few new historical learning’s for novices of this period, the real purpose and draw is in the amazingly good and entertaining read.

      There is also the fact (at least for me) that he deals with subject matter that is different and creative; not something that corresponds to dozens of other current writers, becoming lost in a foggy array of sameness. It is not a literary masterpiece, intellectual or profound statement; it is just a good old fashioned, fun and engrossing book that pulls you in and one you can hardly put down until finished.
    • 5/5
      Holy cow! what a fun and exciting book!
    • 5/5
      cracking read, the main character Taita, is a little too good at everything though, so although I gave it 5 stars cause I love Ancient Egypt, I think perhaps 4 stars may be more accurate! Either way its a great book that deserves a read. It may not be all that historically accurate, but that's not what I look for in a historical fiction, I look for a great story that happens to be set in a different period. I don't mind if facts etc are twisted to fit the story, thats cool actually cause I'd rather an author sacrifice facts than plot. probably my favourite Ancient Egypt book
    • 4/5
      Very entertaining, almost gave it 5 stars. Taita is a great character.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. Smith veers from his usual style with this book. He normally writes about his native South Africa, but with this one, he gets inside the head of an ancient eunuch in ancient Egypt. The story is thrilling, imaginative and haunting - what more can I say.
    • 5/5
      Amazing read. I love historical fiction, and have always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt. Wilbur Smith made it come alive. Fast paced, full of action and incredibly well developed characters. This is the first book I've read by this author and I cannot wait to read more by him.
    • 4/5
      This is the only Wilbur Smith I have ever read. I was quite impressed with it - the prose was simple and accessible, and the author didn't let too much description get in the way of a good story. On the negative side, some of the battle scenes went on a mite too long for my liking, and the main character was a bit too clever - was there anything he couldn't do? (other than procreate?)On the other hand I'm very glad I read all the way through, if only for the explosive Author's Note right at the end.
    • 4/5
      What an epic novel - it stirred my interest in Egyption history. Couldn't put it down.
    • 5/5
      This book is by far my favourite. It has everything a good story should! I have read the other books by Wilbur Smith that followed from this book, but they can't compare to this one!
    • 1/5
      A decent story about life in egypt around 2000BC is marred by hamfisted writing. I didn't hate the book, but i sure hated parts of it. In general the story isn't bad, but the writing made me cringe at best, and annoyed or angry at worst. It is full of 2-dimensional characters who never change (or change from one flat personality to another), constant deus ex machina (in the form of actual egyptian gods) and somewhat creepily sexual writing that is out of place and excessive.River God is narrated by a slave Taita, who, the way the book tells it, is the pinnacle of human life. He is amazing at everything he does and touches - writing, invention, music, invention, military strategy, architecture, sculpture, invention, painting, invention, science, weather prediction, cartography, astrology, fortune telling, invention, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. He is more annoying in that he's in no way modest; since he's narrating, he constantly tells you how good he is at everything, not that he's trying to brag. And i shouldn't forget to mention how amazingly beautiful he is, irresistible to men and women. Basically if Taita had not existed, Egypt would have collapsed 4000 years ago.The writing is better than the DaVinci Code, but not by much.
    • 5/5
      The first time i attempted to read it I couldn't get into it. I picked it up a year later and couldn't put it down. Taita is one of my favourite character in a book EVER. The second book in the series WARLOCK is amazing, and I got into it straight away. Wilber Smith has a way of bringing to life Egypt. I was never into books set in this era, but I have been converted. Peter Jackson should make the movie!
    • 1/5
      Smith churns books out by the dozen, but as churners go, he's hard to beat. His books remind me of glorious B-movies: full of colour and drama and sex. In short, they seem much better when you're reading them than they do in retrospect. But I mention this one because I have a protest to make - something in my view absolutely disgraceful. At the end of the book, the author speaks directly to the reader in his own voice, talking about an archaeological discovery that partially validates his fiction. On investigating this, I found it to be a lie. What on earth possessed the man? I shall never read another book of his again.
    • 5/5
      The first one of his books set in Ancient Egypt. Battles, treasure, romance, the usual ingredients. This one I enjoyed a lot more than his others though, because it was a different setting from his usual African family sagas.
    • 2/5
      Wilbur Smith has been churning out these adventure stories for years, so in a sense if you’ve read one, you’ve read them all. They are almost all set in Africa and this one differs only marginally, as it is set in Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs. There’s lots of gore, because naturally every second person is a baddie, and there’s double dealing between the ageing Pharaoh, his beautiful and much younger wife, and one of his leading soldiers. So when the young wife succumbs to the soldier’s charms, you know the much-awaited son of the Pharaoh is about to make his entrance. Fairly predictable, although the story races along. A pleasant enough way to waste some time, but this one is not about to set the world on fire. I only read this because it's number 29 on the Top 100 (so high? Unbelievable) and can't find it in my heart to recommend it.
    • 5/5
      Wow, did I enjoy this book! Wilbur Smith is a fabulous story teller. I had no idea the Ancient Egyptians had so many interesting and terrible ways to kill, maim and dismember each other. Gory to the max but an exceptionally good read!
    • 4/5
      Perhaps Wilbur Smith's best work. A rollicking yarn that brings to life Ancient Egypt. A great holiday read, once I started this I was gripped and couldn't put it down !
    • 5/5
      This has been my all time fav book, out of the many hundreds of bks read over the years. I highly recommend it. I have read it numerous times.