legna
12-31-2001, 08:42 PM
"River God" by Wilbur Smith
River God is a must read book for anyone who loves to read historical novels. Beware, do not think of starting this book if you wish to sleep at night- it takes a hold of you and doesn't let go. Mesmerising!
Overview
The "first person" in this story is Taita, perhaps one of the most capable and arrogant central characters ever developed. Taita was a slave, but that was really in name only - his talents and abilities allowed him to enjoy a large degree of freedom. A stunningly handsome man, among his many skills Taita was a poet, painter, architect, doctor, politician, Svengali. However, first and always foremost, Taita was a eunuch. Taita's incredible abilities and achievements were tempered by the sad fact he could never gain the prize he desired most, the reciprocation of his adoration for Lostris, his mistress. Ironically, his position was only possible because because of his lack of manly parts.
The opulent life of the ancient Egyptian nobility and royalty is vividly brought to life - you can almost smell it on the pages. Many witers have achieved that. What sets "River God" apart, however, is when the story takes a turn with the Hyksos invasion, where the Egyptians, their military might long unchallenged, met more than their match. The Hyksos, with their horses and chariots, proved to be an opponent the Eqyptians had no idea how to battle - the Egyptians didn't even have the wheel at that stage. To buy time, they employed that age-old military strategy - retreat. And what a retreat!
We all know the Nile is one of the Earth's mightiest rivers, but most of us have never seen it, and perhaps don't realize the true magnitude of the incredible path it has cut through Africa on it's never-ending journey to the Mediterranean. It's almost impossible to imagine the scale of the retreat, the thousands upon thousands of soldiers, slaves and common people who accompanied the court in an effort to find a safe place to use as a platform for a counter-attack. The retreating Egyptians had to drag all their stuff (they were no light packers!) and themselves up the Nile's many cataracts, where the sheer cliffs and savage terrain denied them access to the banks. Fortunately, among his many skills, Taita was also an engineer, coming up with masterly ways to negotiate the river, even as he was designing a better chariot. Horses stolen from the Hyksos were bred and trained, soldiers learned to ride, drive chariots, and learned a completely different way to wage war. Then in the relative safety of the grasslands of the upper reaches of the Nile, they met new and different challenges, bitter losses and desperate setbacks. Thank goodness Taita was always there to save the day.
Rating
9 and a half out of a possible 10 stars
http://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gif
View the book (http://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/vstoremovies/filimhobbit/page.html?mode=itempage&file=/page/itempagev4/itempage.spl&prodID=648881&catID=26307)
River God is a must read book for anyone who loves to read historical novels. Beware, do not think of starting this book if you wish to sleep at night- it takes a hold of you and doesn't let go. Mesmerising!
Overview
The "first person" in this story is Taita, perhaps one of the most capable and arrogant central characters ever developed. Taita was a slave, but that was really in name only - his talents and abilities allowed him to enjoy a large degree of freedom. A stunningly handsome man, among his many skills Taita was a poet, painter, architect, doctor, politician, Svengali. However, first and always foremost, Taita was a eunuch. Taita's incredible abilities and achievements were tempered by the sad fact he could never gain the prize he desired most, the reciprocation of his adoration for Lostris, his mistress. Ironically, his position was only possible because because of his lack of manly parts.
The opulent life of the ancient Egyptian nobility and royalty is vividly brought to life - you can almost smell it on the pages. Many witers have achieved that. What sets "River God" apart, however, is when the story takes a turn with the Hyksos invasion, where the Egyptians, their military might long unchallenged, met more than their match. The Hyksos, with their horses and chariots, proved to be an opponent the Eqyptians had no idea how to battle - the Egyptians didn't even have the wheel at that stage. To buy time, they employed that age-old military strategy - retreat. And what a retreat!
We all know the Nile is one of the Earth's mightiest rivers, but most of us have never seen it, and perhaps don't realize the true magnitude of the incredible path it has cut through Africa on it's never-ending journey to the Mediterranean. It's almost impossible to imagine the scale of the retreat, the thousands upon thousands of soldiers, slaves and common people who accompanied the court in an effort to find a safe place to use as a platform for a counter-attack. The retreating Egyptians had to drag all their stuff (they were no light packers!) and themselves up the Nile's many cataracts, where the sheer cliffs and savage terrain denied them access to the banks. Fortunately, among his many skills, Taita was also an engineer, coming up with masterly ways to negotiate the river, even as he was designing a better chariot. Horses stolen from the Hyksos were bred and trained, soldiers learned to ride, drive chariots, and learned a completely different way to wage war. Then in the relative safety of the grasslands of the upper reaches of the Nile, they met new and different challenges, bitter losses and desperate setbacks. Thank goodness Taita was always there to save the day.
Rating
9 and a half out of a possible 10 stars
http://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gif
View the book (http://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/vstoremovies/filimhobbit/page.html?mode=itempage&file=/page/itempagev4/itempage.spl&prodID=648881&catID=26307)