Warlock

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Wilbur Smith

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Pages: 375 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0330376306

Pub: Pan Books

Pub date: 2002-05-24

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 76496

Editorial Review:

Wilbur Smith (a name synonymous with the massive blockbuster thriller) has recaptured the verve and impact of his earlier work in Warlock. This Egyptian epic thriller follows on from the equally accomplished River God and The Seventh Scroll and re-establishes Smith at the top echelons of thriller writing. The customary continent-spanning canvas is here, with a key new element in an adroitly handled supernatural aspect that gives the sequence the feel of fantasy whilst still retaining the plausibility that was always Smith's strongest asset.
The reader is plunged into a vividly realised evocation of life in ancient Egypt but one presented with insights into the various characters that infuse a very contemporary feel. In the secluded deserts of North Africa, Taita has spent the years since the death of his adored Queen Lostris studying to become a Warlock, steeped in the arcane arts of the ancient Gods and a master practitioner of magic. Responding to an occult summons, Taita abandons the desert and returns to civilisation, only to find himself at the centre of a massive conflagration in which dark and sinister forces are undermining the throne of Egypt and attempting to destroy the young prince Nefer. Soon, his hard-won skills are tested to the limit.
As in the previous books in the sequence, Smith knows that a strong and passionate agenda on the part of his protagonists will allow the reader to identify with them, despite the gap of centuries. Here, it is family ties: Taita is defending the young prince who is the grandson of his lost Queen, and we are quickly engaged in a narrative that rarely flags over its considerable length. The action set pieces are as impressive as one would expect:
The instant he was within range the Cobra struck again, but Nefer caught the blow on the thick leather folds of the bag. The beast's fangs snagged in the leather and held fast. As Nefer swung back the snake was dragged with him. It was hauled cleanly out of the nest, a writhing, seething ball of coils and polished scales. It thrashed against Nefer's legs, the heavy tail lashing him, hissing fearsomely, clouds of venom spraying from its gaping jaws and dribbling down the leather bag. So great was its weight that Nefer's whole body was shaken violently.
--Barry Forshaw

Reader Reviews:

EXCELLENT (3/4 people found this helpful)

This was the third novel I read by Wilbur Smith.I basically bought it because I loved Egyptian history.

It was an excellent story and I enjoyed it. Don't want to say anything about the story because I don't want to spoil it for you.

It was an enjoyable read and the story caught you right from the start, it takes you on a great journey.

Looking forward to the fourth in the series.

Compulsive read. :-)

Brilliant book to read after "River God" (9/11 people found this helpful)

I like to call this a 'Sequal' to 'River God'. Of course, you don't HAVE to read the latter before this, but both are incredibly gripping, and page-turning. Make sure you haven't got anything else to do when you start reading this, because you won't want to stop! Again, excallent if you love Ancient Egypt. The story gets going more or less straight away and its action all the way through!

Warlock: The Egyptians Strike Back (15/15 people found this helpful)

the original in this trio of books, river god, without a doubt makes my favourite read in the history of my favourite reads. Part 2 , the seventh scroll - flashing forward a few millennia also was fantastic (maybe even top 10). Warlock, going back to ancient Egypt, should have followed in the same success... however as strong as it was, it failed to meet the high bar of its predecessors. I would put it down to the formula being changed. Where as it needed a fresh approach & a new concept to make it a novel in its own rights, I am not entirely convinced that this was the recipe for success. the formula in question is the introduction of magic / wizardry / sorcerous powers / the force (?!). The book is set a few decades after the 1st novel (overlook the fact that taita is probably outlived ancient Egyptian life expectancy many times over!). Queen Lostris is dead, her bloodline is in danger of ending, new powers are emerging in the political arena, and Taita, well taita the hero from river god has left the house of lostris and now is a hermit in the wilderness, studying, praying and doing all things mystical to become a warlock. note the similarities with a character from a well loved series of films? cough! old Ben kenobi, star wars cough! further case study comparisons include a not-so-unique escape from an enemy palace within the novel. "these aren't the droids your looking for..."

Despite being the title character, taita surprisingly takes more of a back seat role. for this I was glad - as a favourite character in river god - his warlocky abilities in this book didn't grip me or allow me to 'believe' in the tale as much. I preferred the action to remain on the 'down to earth' characters. saying that, however, it was refreshing to have taita's presence, as with him, you kinda knew things couldn't go too wrong - especially with those powers...

A big change from river god - is the switch from 1st person narrative to 3rd person. I think I prefer the former option - it adds a lot more personality and opportunity for emotive description. with the tale following many different stories & characters it would have been hard to have a single narrator. Again, a change in the formula from original, possibly taking some of the charm away. However the characterisation, storylines and wilbur's trademark 'romance' remain strong and make up for some of the losses as such. to touch upon the romance, some would describe as too in-your-face and over powering. I disagree. I will say that the encounters seemingly come out of nowhere, are very graphic (in quite a tasteful way), and then disappear just as fast. a number of times whilst reading (as a self-confessed skim reader), I would end a page and question 'did I just read that?' and would have to flick back and re-read just to make sure. its good to be shocked now and again. There are some great character cameos from 1st novel - which I loved even if they were brief. I soon forgot their lack of presence outside the first few chapters as the story gripped me again in true wilbur smith style.

I'm glad I read it, I think the Egyptian series has now brought itself to a well deserved end. For those devotee river god fans - I think its unavoidable to get another taste of taita's tales - although beware, it is a completely different concept / formula from that of #1. still a 'gripper' and a 'hard-to-put-downer' but definitely not river god returns. Any one picking this book up afresh, would suggest getting the background flavour and taste for the series by reading river god & seventh scroll first.

A bit Harry Potter (2/4 people found this helpful)

As a fan of historical drama, and owning all the previous books of this series I had to have this book. Having read many of Smiths books I am used to his stereotypical hero - handsome, strong white teeth, clever etc. This book is the same of course with Smith losing none of the quite gruesome villains that he is good at creating. My only dissapointment with this book is that Taita, the character running through all the River God books seems to have gone a bit Harry Potter. He can do some unbelievable magic tricks, and you do wonder if he had a hat and a rabbit where it would all end. That said it is a good book, not the best but okay.

Quite disappointed (5/17 people found this helpful)

This is the first time I have read Wilbur Smith. And even though his reputation will keep me from dumping him for good, I must confess I was quite disappointed. Basically, this book is written as if you make a movie about, I dunno, ancient babylonians and they all have american english accents. Point being, the descriptives don't fit in with the environment set in the book. You don't want to hear words like "fluke" and "coup de grace" in a book about ancient egyptians. Moreover, Smith has delibrately let go of the possible passion tides he could have built by using things like "they started singing a song...", "he spoke to the men and they cheered..." and thus avoiding the harder tests of his skills in creation of powerful dialogues and other arts.
Overall, plot is hard to relate to by inception (being in ancient egypt), and Smith has alienated it further by introducing pure magical fantasy. Smith should read "Warlord Chronicles" to see how one can make ordinary readers relate to the world of magic.
Must say, it took me more than a month to finish this book, and they too because I didn't have anything better to do. Not worth your time though!!!

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