Pharaoh (Ancient Egyptian Series #6)

by Wilbur Smith

Overview

Pharaoh Tamose lies mortally wounded. The ancient city of Luxor is surrounded. Taita, the Pharaoh's advisor and hero of Desert God and River God, once again finds himself caught up in a whirlpool of ruthless intrigue that threatens the very foundations of the beloved empire he has pledged his life to protect. Plunged into dangerous and deadly waters more treacherous than the Nile, he must use his intelligence, alchemy, and cunning to protect his Pharaoh and keep safe all he loves. With the timely arrival of an old ally the tide is turned, but Taita is branded a traitor. The new Pharaoh, Utteric, is young, weak and cruel-- and threatened by Taita's influence within the palace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062276605
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/30/2017
Series:	Ancient Egyptian Series , #6
Pages:	512
Sales rank:	104,118
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Described by Stephen King as “the best historical novelist,” WILBUR SMITH made his debut in 1964 with When the Lion Feeds and has since sold more than 125 million copies of his books worldwide and been translated into twenty-six different languages. Born in Central Africa in 1933, he now lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2016
Since the five novels in veteran author Smith's ancient Egypt series have sold nearly 1.5 million print copies in the United States alone, historical fiction fans will welcome the next entry. Series protagonist Taita, the Pharaoh's adviser, is up to his neck in roiling intrigue.

Library Journal

Sept. 7, 2016
Smith (Desert God, 2014, etc.) continues the saga of Lord Taita, loyal consigliere to Pharaoh Tamose.Sadly, as Taita drives the last of the invading Hyksos from Egypt, Tamose dies. That’s troublesome for Taita because Tamose’s eldest son and heir is a cowardly, hedonistic pervert who calls himself Utteric Turo the Great. Utteric fears Taita. Utteric is also wary of his own brother, Rameses, next in line for the throne. Utteric betrays them both, but after imprisonment, derring-do, and escape, Taita and Rameses sail to Greece’s Bay of Githion, where they’re assured support from King Hurotas. Hurotas was once Tamose’s Capt. Zaras, an Egyptian officer, later persona non grata because he eloped with Tamose’s sister, Princess Tehuti, after being assigned to escort her to marry Minos of Crete. Tehuti and Hurotas’ beautiful daughter, Princess Serrena of Sparta, is like Taita—intelligent, possessor of warrior skills, master of a mythical blue sword with a ruby pommel—and because she was sired by Apollo, divine. Hurotas and Taita contrive alliances among multiple kings to invade Egypt and overthrow Utteric. These Egyptians seemed fascinated with Greek gods, but the novel skids into standard action territory—all swords, chariots, and magic with palace intrigue and set-piece battles. There’s a Serrena-Rameses magnetic attraction but little other human drama. Smith’s Taita continues to think much of himself—“my abundant charms soothed...my exquisite...protocol prevailed”—but constant self-appreciation creates an unsympathetic hero. The dialogue doesn’t distract, and characters are generally all good or all bad. The bad die gruesomely while the pace, like Taita’s self-regard, never slackens. A swords-and-sandals action-adventure no worse or better than the first five in Smith’s Egyptian series.

Kirkus Review