Pharaoh

Jack Howard, Book 7

By: David Gibbins

Narrated by: James Langton

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

1351 BC: Akhenaten the Sun-Pharaoh rules supreme in Egypt... until the day he casts off his crown and mysteriously disappears into the desert, his legacy seemingly swallowed up by the remote sands beneath the Great Pyramids of Giza.

AD 1884: A British soldier serving in the Sudan stumbles upon an incredible discovery - a submerged temple containing evidence of a terrifying religion whose god was fed by human sacrifice. The soldier is on a mission to reach General Gordon before Khartoum falls. But he hides a secret of his own.

Present day: Jack Howard and his team are excavating one of the most amazing underwater sites they have ever encountered, but dark forces are watching to see what they will find. Diving into the Nile, they enter a world three thousand years back in history, inhabited by a people who have sworn to guard the greatest secret of all time.

©2013 David Gibbins (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Utterly absorbing... When the adventure is as exciting as it is here, it is too good not to be allowed to speak for itself... Put aside your assumptions of what a thriller should be and instead immerse yourself in one of the best historical adventures you'll read this year." (For Winter Nights)

The worst book out of the Jack Howard Series

I have pretty much enjoyed the Jack Howard Series so far until I got to this book. I really wanted to like it because of the Egyptian subject and the adventure you would imagine that would come along with it. BUT I was disappointed! As I listened more and more to the book, the narrative began droning on and on and on about military campaigns and different Officers in the army in Egypt and it just got away from the exciting adventure that the other books in the series had. I did get through it but I found myself daydreaming and not paying attention because I felt like I was back in school with a boring professor just droning on about dates and times. I really was disappointed with the ending. The climax just ends just where you should start the adventure!

I do like David Gibbins as an author because of the cool archeology and historical tales he incorporates in his books but this one unfortunately fails in my opinion. Hope the next one is better!

Tried To Finish, But Gave Up

Would you try another book from David Gibbins and/or James Langton?

I've heard David Gibbins writes great stories, but this isn't one of them. The narrator was fine, it's the book that's boring.

What was most disappointing about David Gibbins’s story?

I'm at the halfway point, and from the synopsis and cover, I expected to be reading about Akhenaten, but he's barely even been mentioned up to this point. However, if you're interested in the minutia of British rifle cartridges from the 1880's, this book is for you. Nearly the entire book thus far has been about Britain's participation in the Sudan during the Mahdist War. Which is not what I was looking for. I'm a huge Egyptology buff, and was expecting something about... oh, maybe a Pharaoh. It's barely keeping my attention, and I have to keep going back because I find I have zoned out from boredom. At this point, I'm not even sure what's going on with the 1880's storyline, I've completely lost interest over the last hour.

Have you listened to any of James Langton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First book of Langton's. As I said, he did a good job, story is the problem.

What character would you cut from Pharaoh?

The British officers all seemed to blend in to each other, I can't even recall any of their names.

Any additional comments?

I will try a different Gibbins novel, I have heard that others are much better than this one.