River God

From the Publisher

Praise for River God

"The brutality of life in ancient times is everywhere evident in Taita's tale, which involves fatal intrigue at every turn. It's clear Smith knows his subject: his graphic depiction of lust, bloodletting, politics, and, in Taita's case, honor is firmly grounded in rich details that evoke the period."– Booklist

“Gallops swiftly through the action and flying blood his fans have come to relish. Brightly colored, sweeping escapism.”— Kirkus

"A rich, compelling look back in time [to] when history and myth intermingled." – San Francisco Chronicle

“A grand tale of intrigue, deception, true love and exile.”—Denver Post

'An epic of sex, death and intrigue in the Valley of the Kings ... richly written ... packs in the action ... excellent.' – Weekend Telegraph

'Superlatively evocative....Smit&hgrave;s descriptions hardly falter over 500 pages and [River God] has relentless momentum.' – Observer

'Big, brave and blockbusting ... brilliantly detailed descriptions of life on the Nile.' – Mail On Sunday

'Grand mythical material.... the set pieces are fabulous.' – Times Literary Supplement

“High adventure . . . There is never a lull in this majestic novel, one filled to overflowing with passion, rage, treachery, barbarism, prolonged excitement and endless passages of sheer, exquisite color.”—Washington Post

"An epic… Smith joins the ranks of one of the grand masters of twentieth-century novels."—Tulsa World

“Vivid and fascinating ... packed with passion, war, intrigue and revenge...The details are intimate, inspiring ... The author makes you see it, hear it—even smell it. —The Orlando Sentinel

 “Vivid detail... Sumptuous storytelling... A feast!”—Detroit Free Press

 “Involves fatal intrigue at every turn. It’s clear Smith knows his subject: his graphic depiction of lust, bloodletting, politics, and, in Taita’s case, honor is firmly grounded in rich details that evoke the period.”—Booklist

 “Compulsively readable historical novel...containing all the standard elements of great adventure—intrigue, romance, greed, cruelty, and furious action.”—Publishers Weekly

“A full-blooded epic.”—The Times

 “A page-turner...few novelists can write action scenes that all but leap off the page the way Smith can...his detailed portrait of ancient Egypt is fascinating.”—Anniston Star (TX)

“Like a good action movie, the book ends with a show-down…well-written and entertaining.”—Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)

“Compulsively readable...contains intrigue, romance, greed, cruelty, and furious action...rewarding and satisfying.”—El Paso Herald-Post (TX)

“An epic novel of ancient Egypt, a great adventure with all the right ingredients: victories and defeats, secrets and revelations, life and death, reverence and godlessness, hate and love.”—The Des Moines Register

Praise for Wilbur Smith

“Smith is a master.” —Publishers Weekly

“One of the world’s most popular adventure writers.” —The Washington Post Book World

“A rare author who wields a razor-sharp sword of craftsmanship.” —Tulsa World

“Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared.” —The Times (UK)       "Best Historical Novelist—I say Wilbur Smith, with his swashbuckling novels of Africa.  The bodices of rip and the blood flows.  You can get lost in Wilbur Smith and misplace all of August."—Stephen King

"Action is Wilur Smith's game, and he is a master."—The Washington Post Book World

“The world’s leading adventure writer.” —Daily Express (UK)

"Wilbur Smith rarely misses a trick."—Sunday Times

“Smith is a captivating storyteller.” —The Orlando Sentinel

“No one does adventure quite like Smith.” —Daily Mirror (UK)

"A thundering good’ read is virtually the only way of describing Wilbur Smith’s books.” —The Irish Times

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Set against the backdrop of the Hyksos invasion of Egypt, circa 1780 B.C., Smith's adventurous tale of ancient love, intrigue and avarice was a three-week PW bestseller. (Feb.)

Library Journal

Lostris, a new princess of ancient Egypt, is in love with the dashing army officer Tanus, whom she has known since childhood. But a nobleman who ruined Tanus's father and schemes to do the same to Tanus gets in the way. Determined to win Lostris and win revenge for his father, Tanus sets out with his army to rid the kingdom of the bandit clans that leech the wealth of the kingdom. The story is told from the perspective of Taita, a eunuch slave. Strutting about with all the substance of cardboard, the tale's comic book characters manage to have talents and characteristics that emerge just in the nick of time to move the story along. Narrator Dick Hill does his best to breathe some life into the story line. Quite often, Taita's narrative comes to a dead halt as he explains some fact or ritual that usually has little relevance to the action. Still, it is these compelling details of ancient Egyptian life that are the saving grace of the story. Despite its handicaps, River God moves along at a fair pace and should find an audience among fans of escapist novels. Recommended for large fiction collections.-Susan B. Lamphier, Somerville P.L., Mass.

Brad Hooper

Smith is a consistently popular writer, and his latest endeavor has considerable publicity push behind it. In other words, expect high demand. He goes fictionally where Norman Mailer, in "Ancient Evenings" (1983), went before: pharaonic Egypt. But he ventures forth into this world with less demanding results; it's simply easier for the reader to fathom Smith's re-creation than Mailer's, because it's less mystical, less detailed, more concrete. That's not to say, though, that Smith has not done his homework as he tells the story of Taita the eunuch, slave to a noble's daughter. Taita narrates the dramatic events of which he was either witness or participant as his mistress receives the dubious honor of marriage to the pharaoh. The brutality of life in ancient times is everywhere evident in Taita's tale, which involves fatal intrigue at every turn. It's clear Smith knows his subject: his graphic depiction of lust, bloodletting, politics, and, in Taita's case, honor is firmly grounded in rich details that evoke the period.