River God

River God by Wilbur Smith is the first of a 10-book historical novel series about ancient Egypt. I chose to read this book as the result of my interest in the history of Egypt and as preparation for a trip there in a few months.

 

The story seems to have taken place in about 1780 BCE, and is primarily about the very talented eunuch slave Taita, who was the property of Lord Intef. Taita was mainly assigned to take care of and educate his daughter, the beautiful Lostris. However, because of Taita’s many talents, he quickly arose to become an important advisor to the Pharoah. The story is also one of political intrique. Taita’s owner is revealed to be the bad guy when the militarily superior Hyksos kill the Pharoah and force the other people aligned with the Pharoah to leave Eqypt. In their absence, Taita helps evolve the new Pharoah’s military through the introduction of horses, the use of chariots, and the creation of a better bow (all of which may be historically accurate).

 

The story is also one of Taita’s travel during this period of excile, his capture by the brutal Ethiopan chief Arkoun, his eventual return to Eqypt, and the military successes that made that possible.

 

I probably would not have picked this up had it not been for my upcoming trip, and if I had begun to read the book, I would not have finished it. It was a long book, 675 pages, and I listened to the audio format. I hung in there to the end of the story, but I had several long breaks while I read a dozen other books. At this time, I have no plan to read the other nine books in Smith's Egyptian Series. I cannot give River God a strong recommendation.