Jason Dever

Another Great Taita Story from Wilbur Smith but...

Reviewed: 02-13-18

I am a huge fan of Wilbur Smith's Egypt books with The Seventh Scroll being my favorite. I was super excited to learn of this book having been left wanting more after listening to The Quest. However, I was disappointed to discover it was not a sequel but in fact a prequel to The Quest and happens sometime after the events of Warlock the 3rd of Wilbur Smith's Egyptian series. I did manage to overcome my disappointment and became absorbed in the narrative that Wilbur Smith weaved.

All said and done, it was still a W.S. Egyptian novel with all the trappings therein. Although, I would say though that this is probably my least favorite of them all. It lacks the depth and grandeur that the others have. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was I somewhat disappointed? Yes. Now this may be due to the fact that it felt like i was taking a step backwards after the incredible events that occurred in The Quest, but I couldn't get as excited or as enthralled in this book as I had the others.

If you're new to the series, I definitely can't recommend this one as a standalone story. Do yourself a favor and go read River God or Warlock. River God is the first in the series but Warlock is a better and more engrossing narrative. Myself, I started with Warlock, then Seventh Scroll, followed by River God and then finally the Quest. Personally I find Warlock and Seventh Scroll the best of the series.

However, if you're already a fan of Wilbur Smith's writing and his other Egyptian series, then I can definitely recommend this one. While not being as epic as his others, it is still an engrossing story about Egypt and Taita, and it will not disappoint.

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