Warlock

A Novel of Ancient Egypt

By: Wilbur Smith

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the world's most acclaimed adventure writers returns to the world of ancient Egypt with the stunning sequel to the New York Times best-selling River God.

After the death of his beloved Queen Lostris, Taita retreats into the forbidding deserts of North Africa to become a hermit. He devotes himself to the study of the occult and, armed with extraordinary powers, he gradually transforms himself into a warlock. After years of study, he discovers the divine purpose of his bereavement when he is called upon to save the dynasty of Lostris from the clouds of evil that loom over Egypt.

Exploding with all the drama, mystery, and passion of a bygone time, Warlock is a masterpiece from a storyteller at the height of his powers.

©2008 Wilbur Smith (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Action is Wilbur Smith's game, and he is a master." ( The Washington Post Book World)
"Fascinating...[a] magical sequel to River God." ( Tulsa World)

its good

if i read this book before reading River God, i might have loved it But as a sequel of River God this book is kinda not good. The main reason for me for not loving this book is how much Taita has changed. if he wasn't named the same name and not keeping on reminding and referring to actions of him in River God, i wouldn't have believed it was the same person.
In addition, i hated how they killed the king and old characters from River god in the beginning of the book... Didn't like that much, actually i really hated it.

This book is nice, and i did enjoy it, but still I loved River God and liked this one.

Entertaining but some gore & very adult material

If were made into a movie they would be hard put to not edit out some scenes or have a R or even X rating. I didn't appreciate the explicit gore much but did like the history being brought to life. Very life-like, including the sex, if that is what you are looking for in your library (I'm not) ; its all part of life.

A gripping tale... maybe a bit too wordy

Wilbur Smith is a master story teller but, as is the case with some of his books, he could benefit from an editor. At times it becomes a challenge to stick with it when the writing becomes a little self indulgent.

That said I enjoyed the story and it was narrated extremely well.

Exciting Adventures

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed The River God a lot. So much so that I wanted to hear the next book. It has a few connecting threads but Tita is about the only solid connection, besides Egypt, of course. This book is and interesting read and includes much more sorcery as the name would lead us to believe. Not all believable but still ok. The action is riveting and the characters believable. The narration is very good and makes both books entertaining. I have recommended this to friends.

Dark, so very dark.

I was very disappointed with this second book in The Egyptian series. It seems the author made every effort to make the story disgusting and gory. From graphic rape to vivid child sacrifice, from animal torture to inhuman treatment and murder, the author seemingly felt a need to detail it all in the most gruesome way. Add to this magic both benign and most foul. All this adds up to a story, not of ancient Egypt, but of a fantasy world dark and foreboding.

On the bright side, Dick Hill's as always brilliant narration.

I am through with this series. I shall not continue it.

Good adventurous story

Very well written and gripping. it is also amazingly read. with the reader voicing the characters beautifully. Highly recommended.

Warlock

The biggest disappointment from Wilbur Smith. I'm a big fan but this one was a turkey- bad narration didn't make it any better.

Poor sequel

I tend to cut sequels a lot of slack. Sequels are hard... particularly when the author clearly did not intend to write one from the start and did not leave much room for one.

That said, this sequel was just awful. The character who we know and love from River God is a self referencing caricature. The plot is more or less more of the same and the narrative style is weak. The plot does not really hold together and whole chapters could have been dispensed with as they did not advance the plot.

While I thought the first book was an interesting listen, this was an unworthy successor.

That said. I seem to be in the firm minority. Most other people who left ratings for this book rated it very highly. It is possible that I am missing something or just did not enjoy the original book enough. This gives me pause and suggests that you seek out other reviews to see if there is another side that I did not appreciate.

The narration and sound-quality were completely unexceptionable.

Disappointed

If I wanted a trashy sex novel I would buy one that made its contents clear. I was interested in something that had a little historical content. Disappointed in that. Mr hill has a pleasant voice and enunciates well. He drips with so much emoting he ruins everything he reads for me. I like Cussler, but content myself with reading only because of the narrator. I like WEB Griffin but am content with reading only for the same reason I tolerated the River God, quite liked the Seventh Scroll, but am very unlikely to read anything else by Mr. Smith.

Terrible.

What would have made Warlock better?

Beyond help!

What was most disappointing about Wilbur Smith’s story?

This series started fantastic and jumped off a cliff with this one. Got through about 6 hours before I couldn't take it anymore and considered driving into the guardrail.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was the worst I have ever heard. If you listened to River God and Warlock, this guys Irish/English Hobbit voice will make your skin crawl. At least pronounce the names of the primary characters the same as the other books in the series. How could anyone produce this recording and not understand that?The fluctuation in accent and tones were like nails on a chalkboard.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Yes....I was able to return it for a credit!!!