River of Darkness

Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon

By: Buddy Levy

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

From the acclaimed author of Conquistador comes this thrilling account of one of history's greatest adventures of discovery. With cinematic immediacy and meticulous attention to historical detail, here is the true story of a legendary 16th-century explorer and his death-defying navigation of the Amazon - river of darkness, pathway to gold.

In 1541, the brutal conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro and his well-born lieutenant Francisco Orellana set off from Quito in search of La Canela, South America's rumored Land of Cinnamon, and the fabled El Dorado, "the golden man". Driving an enormous retinue of mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, hunting dogs, and other animals across the Andes, they watched their proud expedition begin to disintegrate even before they descended into the nightmarish jungle, following the course of a powerful river.

Soon hopelessly lost in the swampy labyrinth, their numbers diminishing daily through disease, starvation, and Indian attacks, Pizarro and Orellana made a fateful decision to separate. While Pizarro eventually returned home barefoot and in rags, Orellana and 57 men, in a few fragile craft, continued downriver into the unknown reaches of the mighty Amazon, serenaded by native war drums and the eerie cries of exotic predators. Theirs would be the greater glory.

©2011 Buddy Levy (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A richly textured account of the rogue, rebel and visionary whose discovery still resonates today." ( Kirkus)

Amazing!!

Another fantastic book by buddy levy. Highly recommend for anyone interested in Spanish exploration and conquest.

Untold story of the first would-be conquerors of the Amazon

A riveting story of conquest and exploration, Buddy Levy's River of Darkness tells the little known story of the earliest explorers of the Amazon river. With evidence based on the journals and reports of the earliest explorers, Levy provides an excellent accounting of the world encountered by Gonzalo Pissarro and his lieutenant Francisco Orellana, who led hundreds of Spanish troops from Quito to the mouth of the Amazon inflicting murder and mayhem on vulnerable tribes, and the eventual ruin of most of the conquistadors.
Jonathan Davis' narration adds depth and drama to the story. I will look for other works narrated by Mr. Davis.

solid but unspectacular

solid telling of a story that I love. nothing spectacular, pretty similar to others.

Great read

having just finished 1491 and 1493 by Charles Mann I really enjoyed River of darkness by Buddy Levy. The author weaves a compelling and captivating story while holding true to historical understanding of the voyage. I highly recommend this book.

Great Narrator

Intriguing story of the Amazon River and the conquistadors that discovered it, that was brought to life by a excellent narrator.

A tale to inspire tales

A tale to rival Teddy Roosevelt's River of Doubt! The first Amazonian expedition simply did it best by having the worst. What sets this apart from other books (especially about the amazon) is the exploration of the people as much as the land. Later expeditions only saw the survivors of smallpox not the thriving civilizations. I had no idea there was what is essentially antiquity Europe entirely contained in this fog shrouded land with millions of people, trade, road systems, art, kingdom's the list goes on. It was also a spectacle to see as they desended the river that it only grew in scope and wonder. I think this is a rare instance of the old world meeting the new world before it was completely ravaged by conquest and disease and thus so much more interesting to listen to.

Epic Adventure

This is without a doubt one of the greatest adventure stories of all time! This 15 word minimum is silly.

Loved it! Conquistadors survive the Amazon.

Great narration. Amazing journey! Poison darts! Incredible will and tough men struggled to survive the starvation and attacks.

Entertaining

Very well done. Entertaining while covering two storylines. Provides reasonable historical context for a period steep in myth and lore

Amazing story of human greed and perseverance

Excellent historical narrative on the indefatigable human spirit capable of extreme hardships and survival saavy,and obsessed with riches and fame even when it has already been attained. A story of the heights and depths of human endeavor.