Warlock: A Novel of Ancient Egypt (Novels of Ancient Egypt)

Ok, if you haven't read river god - read that first, and then warlock. Warlock speaks of the tale of nefer seti - Tanus' grandson. The book is fast paced, violent and terrific to read. Wilbur smith has a way with his words and paints the pictures of ancient egypt. This book is in the third person unlike River God which was like a story narrated by taita - I preferred that but it doesn't hurt the narrative in any way. The book is pretty violent, and can gross out some people. If you are squeamish about blood and torture then this book isn't for you. But if you're looking for a rollocking adventure - you shouldn't miss this.

Wilber Smith has done it again. His sequel to River God was done in an incredibly smooth sequel novel. The third person narrative was crafted in a smooth transition from the first person narrative of the novel River God. My awe at the once slave, eunich Taita, now a Magus (magician, etc), from his humble first person narrative in River God, to his third person narrative in Warlock, has only increased ten fold. The book is brutal, savage, sweet, and a lot more. Wilbur Smith is a great artist, crafting his characters over 3 generations with superb detail to chronology, history and detail. I only hope that there will be another sequel...I still have 70 pages to read in Warlock, and hope that Taita survives to tell another tale in his long 200 year life.!!!! Bravo Mr. Smith...you are a master of storytelling!!!!

This novel just sucked me in. I just couldn't put it down. Wilber Smith knows how to develope his characters and expand the readers vocabulary. I highly recommend this book.

Wilbur Smith returns to the ancient Egypt of "River God" for this one. Unlike "River God" this one is not told from the standpoint of the slave Tatia, but in the third person. Tatia, now a old man and the warlock of the title, is advisor to pharoah Mamose, the son of Queen Lotsris. However both Mamose and his Hyskos rival are murdered through some complicated plots, (even a writer of Smiths caliber has trouble pulling this off, since Mamose most trusted advisor, and assasin, is a cousin to one of the hated Hyskos) The two new "false kings" decide to cement their new union with interstate marriages and the plot becomes far more complicated from there. As I said, even a master wordsmith such as Wilbur Smith has trouble keeping all this straight, let alone readable, but somehow he does it. The rapid pacing that is the hallmark of a Smith novel is there, although it is a bit slower, action-wise, than is usual in one of his books. (River God was also like this.)Any Wilbur Smith is worth reading, since at his worst, Smith is better than 90% of the other writers out there, and Warlock is far from his worst. This book totally stands alone from "River God", not being a sequel so much as another book using a few of the original characters. For what its worth, of the three "Egypt books" I would read them in the order they were written... "River God", "Seventh Scroll" (which takes place in modern times oddly enough), and then "Warlock" since I think you will enjoy "Scroll" a lot more if you read it immediatly after "River God". (Those two are far more "connected" that "River God" and "Warlock" are.) "Warlock" is an excellent Wilbur Smith, which in itself is reason enough to check it out.

A great read. Wilbur is the singularly best storyteller ever. Be sure to read River God before starting Warlock. River God is great and Warlock keeps the saga going. I only wish Wilbur could write faster as I can't wait for his next work. Now it's on to Seventh Scroll.