Título: Desert God
Escrito por Wilbur Smith
DESCRIPCIÓN Y/O SINOPSIS DE ESTE EBOOK
Ex-slave. Philosopher. Chosen one.
Taita has risen from nothing to become the most trusted man at the Pharaoh’s side. Only he can plot a mission that will return Egypt to its former glory. Only he can muster the force that can break the back of Egypt’s greatest enemy.
Across the lush plains of Egypt, Taita, the eunuch slave whose freedom is long since won, now stands as a unique advisor to the Pharaoh. He is confidant, strategist poet and a father figure to the Pharaoh’s teenage sisters, Tehuti and Bekatha.
Southern Egypt has an enemy it cannot shake for too long: they have been fighting the Hyksos people in the north since time began. And to finally crush them the Pharaoh must turn to his most trusted friend. Taita has an ingenious plan that will see Egypt destroy the Hyksos army and form the coveted alliance with Crete. This plan will take him, his expedition commander Zaras, and a team of warriors on an epic journey up the Nile, through Arabia to Sidon and the magical city of Babylon, and across the open seas to Crete.
They will meet battle and betrayal on their journey but Taita must also contend with his charges, the spirited young princesses, Tehuti and Bekatha, whose respective love for warriors Zaras and Hui, threaten Taita’s plan to use them as offerings in his alliance with Crete, and the future of Egypt itself.
Wilbur Smith is a master at the helm of one of the greatest stories of all time.
BREVE FICHA TÉCNICA DEL LIBRO
Formato del ebook: Kindle PDF EPUB MOBI
Tamaño del archivo: 1782 KB
Longitud de impresión: 432 páginas
Editorial/Editado por: HarperCollins (25 de septiembre de 2014)
Idioma: Inglés
OPINIONES:
A «You Are There» Novel That Draws You In!
Set in what historically is called the Second Intermediate Period of Ancient Egyptian history, Wilbur Smith brings to life in his newest novel Desert God, the struggle between a defeated Egypt and their foreign invaders, the Hyksos. Through the eyes and life of a wise and cunning Egyptian eunuch named Taita who seeks to gain an alliance with the Cretians and the Sumarians for the purpose of driving them out of Egypt and restoring Pharoah Tamose as the ruler of a united Egypt, Smith takes us on a colorful, tense (and intense), at times graphic, and highly detailed journey into that ancient world.
With strong character development in the both the main characters of Taita, the two royal princesses Tehuti and Bekatha, and the supporting cast and combined with a significant attention to detail across a variety of settings and situations, Desert God drew me in and kept me reading as the plot unfolded. As it did, I found myself thoroughly immersed in the journey as I felt as if I was walking and riding alongside Taita on the Mediterranean Sea as they raided their Hyksos enemies, approached the forbidding island of Crete, and ambushed the Hyksos on the coast near the town of Sidon (located in modern day Lebanon). Additionally, Smith’s detail descriptions of military uniforms, tactics, and weapons alongside the topographic detail add a depth to the narrative and a level of realism that good historical fiction includes.
I thoroughly enjoyed Wilbur Smith’s Desert God. I look forward to reading more of Smith’s books!
Taita Should Have Been Left Beside the Blue Nile
As a longtime fan of Wilbur Smith’s Taita character from River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt and The Seventh Scroll (A Novel of Ancient Egypt), (both of which I have read numerous times) I couldn’t wait to read Desert God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt. I must confess that I find myself disappointed.
Frankly, Smith seems to have lost the plot. Rather than the beautifully drawn word pictures that transport the reader straight to This Very Egypt and the brilliant genius that is Taita, I found Desert God colorless, peopled with entirely flat nonentities and a Taita that cannot begin to measure up to the Taita of old. Worse, those word pictures that plunged the reader straight into the Egypt of 2000 BC, with all of the sights, sounds, and smells, are entirely missing.
Grandma’s $0.02 – All good things come to an end. Better that Taita should have been left beside the Blue Nile where we last saw him.
Overall a good read!
I’ve read a number of Wilbur Smith books over the years. Some I loved (Cry Wolf) and some I hated (Shout at the Devil). But for the most part I have found his stories interesting and in some cases spellbinding. With Desert God I found a story that was intriguing with interesting characters and wonderful plot twists but with one annoying trait.
The story is historical fiction based in ancient Egypt. When I picked up the book I was unaware that this was a follow up to River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt (Novels of Ancient Egypt). I had not read that book but since Desert God is more of the «continuing adventures of Taita» story instead of an actual sequel the book does stand on it’s own. No need to read the first one as the author brings you up to speed pretty quickly. Taita is a former slave who has become an important counselor to Pharoah and respected figure throughout Southern Egypt. His instincts are always spot on and he has the ability to manipulate people.
What I liked the most about the story is the character development as well as the continued excitement as Taita travels the known world. Each character is wonderfully described and developed. It does help to make this a page turner as the author takes us deeper and deeper into all the intrigue and viciousness this period could offer.
However I’m usually not a big fan of novels written in the First Person perspective. I prefer to be outside looking in, if that makes sense. What I have found with First Person style novels is there tends to be too much self-justification and egomania with the main character. No matter what they do it’s always justified, no matter who it hurts. Desert God takes that to a new level as everything Taita says and does is perfect and you know this because he tells you over and over again. He brags about himself incessantly. One example from page 77: «Even after all these years I was able to recall the precise dimensions of Mamose’s funeral barge. My memory is infallible. I never forget a fact, a figure, or a face.» That particular quote stood out to me because it was at that time I started to get annoyed with Taita’s constant matter-of-fact boasts. Seriously it’s almost every page.
But if you are able to get over the egomania that is Taita this is a very good read. Well written with vivid characters and wonderfully described scenery. I would definitely recommend it for Wilbur Smith fans and to those who love the First Person perspective.
