Desert God audiobook

For Egypt LoversOh Egypt, wonderful Egypt!Sublime, mysterious, charismatic Egypt!Land of Nile, Luxor, Abu Simbel, Karnak, Giza, Sakkara, Pharaohs, Cleopatra, Pyramids,...Kaleidoscopic wonders come into my mind, everytime I think of you, dear lovely Egypt!...Hmmm!... Sorry, friends, it seems I'm embarking in a virtual Egypt tour, instead of writing a review! 😉You can count half a dozen paragraphs, but none of them seems to be about this book!Well, well!... Since it's a thriller, the less you'll know, the further you'll enjoy! 😉So... What can I say?!...It's a quite compeling read that will lead you straight to the heart of Ancient Egypt :)Do you get thrilled by an enthralling historical thriller?Are you an Ancient Egypt lover?If Yes and Yes, by all means gift yourself this precious book!!!This story was born for minds like yours 😉

Aventuras e Desventuras pelo Mundo Antigo Aton e Taita, dois eunucos que ascenderam na vida, graças à sua admirável argúcia, empenham-se animadamente numa partida de bao, e deleitam-se com o melhor vinho do Egipto.Porém está longe de ser esse o objectivo deste encontro de amigos de longa data!...Taita, o favorito de Hórus, é agora um dos principais conselheiros do Faraó e tutor das princesas Bekatha e Tehuti.O Egipto está em risco de sucumbir às hostes bárbaras e Taita, tem a seu cargo a meticulosa missão que consiste em elaborar um plano de salvação.E é esse o tema que debate animosamente com Aton, que lhe presta valiosas informações!...As lindas e jovens princesas Bekatha e Tehuti, que se encontram a cargo de Taita desde o falecimento da Rainha Lostris, também entram no xadrez da guerra, pois a sua beleza será um valioso chamariz na obtenção dos melhores aliados.Mas será que as mimadas e rebeldes princesas estarão dispostas a abdicar da aventura do amor, em prol do seu amado Egipto?!...O "Deus do Deserto" é uma aventura de guerra e paixão que os amantes do Mundo Antigo, irão certamente adorar :)

It has been seven years since The Quest was published, the 4th and what I assumed was the final novel of the Egyptian series by Wilbur Smith. But the character of Taita is just too delicious a character to stop exploring at only four novels, so we can all rejoice that he is back.This novel was emotionally satisfying for me in several ways. First, it’s a nice return to form. The first two books in this series, led by the ground-breaking River God, were awesome but the third was not as enjoyable and the fourth was a bit of a disappointment. This fifth novel not only brings back the marvelous character of Taita, the “long-liver” sage/scientist/inventor/eunuch but also the vibrancy of ancient Egypt and surrounding lands. These novels are billed as historical novels but, really, that is only because they take place in history. I did not do any fact checking on the events or personalities in this novel but I’m not sure I would feel comfortable relying on it for accuracy. Rather, this is a pure adventure novel with some important elements of fantasy including mythological deities impacting events on Earth.The book is told from Taita’s first person point-of-view and his unsuccessful attempts at being humble at his own amazing successes falls short and is half the fun of reading all of these books. To hear him tell it, Taita is single-handedly responsible for most of the rise of the Egyptian empire, although he keeps such facts between himself and the reader. Indeed he is content to let the Pharaohs take the credit for his resourcefulness. The novel is written in a fun-to-read style and reminds me a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books about John Carter of Mars or David Innes of Pellucidar. One adventure leads to another as Taita leads armies and navies in a chess match of intrigue against encroaching neighboring empires. Guile and charisma are his primary weapons and he wields them expertly, resulting in an absorbing well-rounded adventure novel complete with evil warlords, pirates, and damsels in distress. The final 50 pages were one of those edge-of-your-seat, can’t-read-fast-enough conclusions that I always hope for in an adventure novel. The book concludes in a satisfying way and, happily, it appears there may be more novels coming in the future. I can’t wait!4.5 stars rounded up to 5.Recommended Age: 14+Offensive Language: NoneViolence: Yes, several scenes of war carnage, and references to rape and pillageSex: Referenced. Frequent titillation and one graphic description of a pleasure “temple”

I very much enjoyed this book. Unusual for most historical fiction I've read in the past, it is set in the Bronze Age Middle East --- with, contrary to how Ancient Egypt is portrayed, if at all, in Western fiction, Egypt, this time, as the good guys struggling for its survival against the invading Hyksos barbarians. Even more unique, the, at first take, seemingly unlikely hero in this story is a eunuch named Taita --- who's lack of physical manhood is, as the plot unfolds, no limit upon either his intellect, cunning, resourcefulness, and courage. I will not give away events in the book, but, suffice to say, Wilbur Smith does an outstanding job of creating a highly engaging tale that brings Ancient Egypt to life and shows the humanity of a culture that we largely associate too much with mummies and massive tombs and temples. I was leaning towards rating this book 4 stars, but the climax of the book near the end was incredible ---- I could not put this book down! A very fascinating book to read -- thoroughly worth the time!

Wilbur Smith. Awesome.Desert God.It's seven years since we last seen an Egyptian novel from Wilbur, in the guise of The Quest. Now Taita is back,this is the fifth book in the fantastic Egyptian series. As in all Wilburs book the descriptions are fantastic, you really do think you are their. In this story Taita is trying to beat of the Hyksos who are Egypts biggest enemy. As well as the battles Taita was involved in he also had to protect the pharaohs two sisters.This is a book you will really enjoy from start to finish. Highly recommended.5 stars. 01 October 2014.

So I have read this series completely backwards ...oops ! I think knowing it's part of a series is what draws me to the info I'm missing but Wilbur smith does write these in such a way you can read them as stand alone novels .I love anything ancient Egypt related and always open to recommendations so please feel free to give them :) ...this didn't disappoint , thrilling read and perfect mix of Egyptian culture / romance / war and tragedy . I'd certainly recommend reading this !

Prolific author Wilbur Smith's latest novel, "Desert God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt" (William Morrow 2014), is the third in his series about Taita, former-slave turned adviser to a Pharaoh. The novel opens as a land-locked Egypt fights for survival against the barbarian Hyksos. Through this first person account, we see how Taita analyzes threats, assesses options, and crafts solutions that invariably work out. Even the surprise ending is a win for Taita as he masterfully turns disaster into success.I love historic fiction, done well, it's a perfect blend of a plot-driven 'history mystery' and a peek into how people led their lives long before machines did it for us. With dozens of books to his credit, Wilbur Smith is a master if this genre. His voice is forthright and clear with a strong sense of place and time.The main character in "Desert God", Taita, is fascinating. He is full of confidence, brilliant, and an extraordinary problem solver. When he is working on a problem, the story becomes a procedural on how he reaches brilliant solutions. Taita is like the heroes I love in thrillers, but lacking the flaws, insecurities, and broken dreams that usually accompany them. Despite this, Taita has an objective acceptance of his superior skills-- "It always surprises me how a few kind words from me are treasured by even the lowliest members of our entourage. One often forgets how one is revered by others less talented than oneself." "I often think that I am too forbearing with those who are not as sharp-witted as I am." "Modesty usually prevents me from employing the word beautiful when describing myself, but honesty requires me to do so in this instance."While he lacks humility, he also avoids hubris.Noticeably missing in this story was an inciting incident--a crisis around which the plot revolved. The first third of "Desert God" could have been a simple summary of the Egyptian dynasty tightly constrained to Taita's version of a noble life. Because of his super-human skills (a trait that is explained toward the end of the book), he is not a particularly reliable narrator for an historic novel. It took at least a third of this four hundred-plus page book to find the plot. I won't tell you what it is, but it surprised me.Wilbur Smith, with over 125 books to his resume and 125 million fans in 26 languages, is a good find. Overall, "Desert God" is a good mix of history and plotting. I never felt like it was too narrative or pedantic. I've already ordered the two prequels to Desert God (which Amazon reviews say are better than this one--I can't wait).

Smith is a master story teller. I enjoyed reading “River God” so much that when I saw this new book about ancient Egypt “Desert God” I grabbed it.Our protagonist Taita is the former slave, eunuch and fixer-to Pharaoh. He has appeared in his other Egypt books. I heard an interview with Smith and he said that Taita’s vanity is played for laughs. He stated he had lots of fun making Taita conceited and ostentatious to the extreme.From Thebes, young Pharaoh Tamose rules a divided Egypt. Hykos invaders control the lower Nile. Tamose sends Taita to reclaim the lost land. Taita must from an alliance with King Nimrod of Babylon and Supreme Minos of Crete. He loots a treasure of silver ingots and sends it to pharaoh. He treks across desert to Babylon then goes to Crete. Taita has diplomatic complications, lots of action, sea battles, land battles and the author provides sufficient particulars of landscape and people, food and drink to satisfy history buffs. Smith tends to write characters as formally good or bad. At times the narrative seems rushed and toward the end of the book key elements are covered by quick exposition to accelerate the plot. Overall Smith blended intrigue, action, and suspense on a solid foundation of history to make a great historical novel. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Mike Grady narrated the book.

Desert God by Wilbur Smith is a well written book. It's a slower paced read than the previous books I read recently, so it took me a while to get used to it. Once I did, I really enjoyed the story. The narrator, Taita, is also the main character. He thinks very highly of himself and considers himself and Egypt superior than most other people and societies. I find it amusing how Taita describes his enemy's brutalities, yet he doesn't recognize the same in him or his men or when he does, he justifies his actions. The book does go into graphic detail of the dead or dying men under the hands of Taita and his men or by others.The description of the places Taita sees and the adventure he experiences is outstanding. The author tells the story as if he has been there himself - not a figment of his imagination. I read once that the author knows his Egyptian history and uses his knowledge in his novels, but some of these places as the author describes, can't exist anymore, if they ever did. In addition, I read River God a few years back and I remember enjoying it very much too. I haven't had the opportunity to read the next few books in the series. It might have been nice to have read them before this book, but it wasn't necessary. Desert God stands on its own. Taita does mention a few past experiences, which does not hinder this story in any way. This is a great book to read while on vacation or when there is time to relax and fully immerse into the adventures of Taita fighting for his Egypt.

historical fiction Desert God by Wilbur Smith, good time killer, always enjoy Wilbur Smith books even not so good ones, Taita is an interesting character, very full on and not modest though he pretends to be. Got some major historical events going on, themes that are new are exploding Volcanoes, similar themes are sea and land battles, chases being pursued, deceptive tactics, some downright sneakinest, its just missing wild lions and beast attacks, then it would have been a typical full on WS book, anyway enjoyed and it was any easy read.

This was a much quicker read than other Wilbur Smith books. Not sure if it is because it is shorter or a better book but I did enjoy it. It ends rather abruptly but I assume that means that the adventures of Taita will continue.I am thinking of going back now and starting River God again. I dropped it because it felt tedious but now that I have read more of WS's books, I might like it better.