Initial thoughts and Questions about the Quest... [Merged]

[Matbow]

Just curious - how much was the paperback? i certainly won't get it now that i have a copy, but just curious.

From what I've heard the paperback won't be coming out until November...I think Lotus must have seen a WS book that looked similar to The Quest (??)

[Allira]

Ok with work n all im 220 pages in and for the most part, I found the book hard to pick up, "sad look" but I have to admit im now getting into it more. the beggining has been way too far fetched for me (unrealistic) and I too have picked up on many inconsitencies. I kinda feel a little let down, but shall soldier on and keep reading. Mainly because its a WS and it has to get better. One of my main love of WS Egyptian books was that you could get lost in the realism of it all This one feels like Im reading a Lord of the rings style story. But its a WS so all will be forgivin and at the end im sure ill say it was great..at least I better be saying that I feel like im betraying WS. *looks down and twiddles her fingers and shuffles her feet all embarassed"

[Chaos]

when taita said he was a virgin I think he was lieing just to get that other woman (forgotten her name now) into bed and do the u know what...


maybe I'm wrong

[Soe]

Big W - $27 hardcover
like page 301, its a good way to spend my easter break, but heaps different to the others, its more of an epic, years pass within a few sentences, its great :p
Not really a spolier, jsut a comment
[spoiler]but if u take ur time the chapters within the volcano r really beautiful, and r giving my imagination a work out! [/spoiler]

[Ada]

I finished it 2 days ago & I'm still thinking about it. In the meantime I had to put these in:

[spoiler]Page 437 "....rushed out on to the bridge. The planking trembled..." and I'm saying No! Don't do it Wilbur, don't do it - and guess what? He bloody well did! Another homage - this time it's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Oh well, I like that movie too & George Lucas possibly pinched it from some one else.
Page 488 "So they came to Karnak, that city of a hundred gates and countless splendours..." I thought Thebes was the city of a hundred gates & it is - River God's map shows Thebes as also being called Karnak & Luxor.
Page 502. "She will make you the best possible wife. Her frugality is proof of that. An extravagant wife is a scorpion in her husband's bed." If you've read all the interviews in the Forum's Library this should ring a bell!
Re Fenn vs Lanata Page 106 of The Quest (hardback) "Fenn was your baby name" and Page 7 of River God (paperback) "Tanus named this mighty weapon Lanata which was, quite coincidentally, the discarded baby-name of my mistress." I can't remember & I'm not going to reread the whole of River God for a while but did WS ever say what "Lanata" means? Fenn means Moon Fish. Maybe Lanata did too but WS forgot to tell us. I mention this because Lostris means Daughter of the Waters and Fenn said her name was Khona Manzi which means 'the one from the waters'. Yes, I'm trying to find excuses/explanations as like other members, I can't believe WS made this mistake - it's a doozey![/spoiler]

[Chaos]

"the discarded baby-name "

maybe he means that it was the one that they didnt use but kind of had put forward as a suggestion when they were choosing the name?

[Ada]

According to River God, the 'baby names' are discarded by the priests and they are renamed when they reach puberty.

[lanata]

Hi, I've got a question about The Quest - I'm about 1/2 way through, and it refers to [spoiler]Lostris' baby name being 'Fenn' (I'm trying not to give the plot away here!), but in River God her baby name was Lanata (Tanus names his bow after her). Does this get explained later in The Quest, or is it a mistake???[/spoiler]

[Matbow]

Hi Lanata,

I've merged your question (and the whole thread in fact) into this one...as you can see your question was asked a couple of days ago.

My take on it is that [spoiler] Fenn = Baby Name, Lanata = teenage name, Lostris = adult name[/spoiler]

Matt

[Egyptian Eyes]

hey, this is interesting! a disc on taita's virginity!

[spoiler]No, he most certainly was not a virgin, because, as had been mentioned, he had had an affair with Alyda (if i recall correctly), his fellow slave in Intef's house. In RG, he and Alyda were making love when they were found out by Rasfer. they were both dragged naked to Intef. Alyda was then killed, and Taita emasculated. [/spoiler]

[Nefer]

Hi everyone! Glad that I finally made it to this forum, and a big hello to Lotus, Soe and Lanata!

As for Taita's virginity, I thought he still referred to himself as a virgin because it's been like a 100 years since he last had sex... So his memory of the event faded...? I noticed that being a bit strange but I shrugged it off. I guess doing it once and then getting your tackle (love that!) chopped of can get your perspective screwed up! Also in RG, it's never mentioned whether or not Taita got up to the act (:lol:), it just says "they found solace in each other's embrace". That could mean a lot of different things.

And as for Fenn... ah well. WS was asked if he read his own books when I was at the book signing, and he saud he did. I've been thinking, and based on what you've all said, I think he called her Fenn to differentiate between the Lostris/Lanata we know to this new girl, who has Lostris' spirit, but is in essence a new person to us.

Was very glad to see Meren still spry as ever Every book needs a hunky hero ready to save the day

[Penitent]

I would like to report that “The Quest” is at number 14 on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list this week. This is a good showing for Wilbur in the States. I don’t have info on “Triumph of the Sun”, but “Blue Horizon” debuted well below number 100 a few years back. There has been a strong campaign and promotion over the past couple of years with the reprinting of many of his novels in paperback and it appears that it’s finally paying off.

Unfortunately the reviews are not being very kind; especially those coming from die-hard fans that loved “River God” We do not have anybody like that in this forum; right

[Nefer]

Woot, go Wilbur!

I liked The Quest... And I'm a die-hard RG fan

Are there any reviews on the internet? I haven't seen any.

[Penitent]

For some reason is very difficult to find any reviews on the web. I’m referring to reviews from fans and readers on the on-line websites like Amazon and others.

[Mandy]

I'm new to this forum, but after starting "The Quest" I felt like I needed to talk to some other WS fans about this new novel.

First off, I am glad I am not the only one who seems to notice the decline in quality and the continuity inconsistencies that drag an otherwise notable sequel down.

I loved RG and though it took me a while, I warmed up to Warlock. I started with the Courtney series which really made me think that Wilbur Smith was just an absolutely brilliant story teller, but it's a little disapointing to realize that sometimes, even he can publish a bad story.

A few more mistakes that I've noticed so far in reading-

[spoiler]1. The whole deal with Fenn vs Lanata has already been considered, so I will not go into further details on that one. Still, it bugs me like all hell.

2. I really dislike the fact that Mintaka, who was such a strong character in warlock has been reduced to such a simpering weakling. I understand that she is upset she lost her children, but at the same time.. in that time period it was very common to have many children, and eventually lose some of them to disease or misfortunate accidents. That's why Pharoh kept a harem full of wives an concubines, the more children he sires, the greater the chance the bloodline will remain on the throne. She didn't even lose all of her children, just two, I think. The Mintaka I know from Warlock would be distraught, but defiantly rise above the loss, just as she did when her father and brothers were killed by Trok in WL. Also, it seems to me as if she doesn't really even care for Nefer anymore. Plus the fact that she was a very devout worshipper of Hathor makes it seem out of character for her to fall for the preachings of Soe.

3. I may be wrong, but I feel as if there are alot of chronological innaccuracies.

4. In the quest it says that Pharoh Mamose granted Taita the title of Master of a Thousand Horses, or something along those lines.. but that is wrong. Pharoh Mamose died during the first battle with the Hyksos, the same day that the egyptians saw horses for the first time. It was Lostris that gave Taita the title Master of Chariots (or something along those lines..) after he pleaded with her to spare the horses and convinced her to allow him to build chariots, she had already been declared reagent by the dead Pharoh and was leading her people into exile.

5. Taita says that he had bought a horse for Lostris when she was a child, but once again, that is incorrect.

6. At one point while leading the group of soliders down river, Taita sees some old ruins and says that it is the left overs of a palace or settlement that the egyptians had built while in exile and they were waiting for the Nile to flood so they could cross the cataracts.. but it specifically says in River God that Lostris demanded that no permanent structures be built because they were only visiting. I remember a scene in RG where priests came to the Queen and asked to stay where they were and build a temple, and she refused for this same reason.

There are some more, but these are some of the major mistakes I've found that are really spoiling the book for me. So far, I am disapointed.[/spoiler]

[Nefer]

Hi Mandy! I'm glad th book got you to join us - have you read any of the stand-alone novels? Trust me, there are bad novels a-plenty!

Despite all the mistakes and annoyances in this book, I generally enjoyed it Don't let the mistakes bug you, this is not the 1st book that I've read with mistakes. If you're a fan of Jean Auel, read the 5th book (after the 1st four, ) and you'll see that book has a heck of a lot more issues than The Quest does! But it's still a good book.

Keep us posted on your thoughts!

[Matbow]

Yeah, i agree with Nefer - if you can somehow get past the mistakes then you do enjoy the book a lot more. Come to think of it - who is to blame for these mistakes? We can't expect WS to remember every line of his own work and mistakes will no doubt be made; for me it should be the editors who pick these things out.

[Kate4Tanus]

Come to think of it - who is to blame for these mistakes? We can't expect WS to remember every line of his own work and mistakes will no doubt be made; for me it should be the editors who pick these things out.

That is a very valid point. Just because we could possibly recite much of his past work does not mean that he will remember all of it! He isn't perfect- good point that the editors should pick those things out!

I think that by keeping these things in mind it would make it a greater read for anyone who has a problem with this mistakes (*raises hand* guilty!)

[RedRoad]

I just had to say:
[spoiler]that i found it hard to adjust to Taita and his attraction to a child. I know he's a revamped guy, yet I still found it slightly disturbing. And what would Tanus think of all of this?? I suppose it didn't help that I saw Fenn as Lostris, and in my head Lostris can never be with her slave. She belongs to another. Did she leave poor Tanus in the afterlife to come to earth, be blonde, young and have old sex??[/spoiler]

[Ada]

I just had to say:
[spoiler] Did she leave poor Tanus in the afterlife to come to earth, be blonde, young and have old sex??[/spoiler]

In reply:

[spoiler]Yep she did. WS's only explanation was that Lostris loved Taita just as much as she loved Tanus and since WS is who he is and living the life he does at present, it makes sense. (Or should I say, explains it.) [/spoiler]

And despite all that, I still think the book although definitely not his best, was still better than what a lot of other writers have produced.

I think we'll see at least one more book from WS before he retires/stops and judging by the content of The Quest, the mind boggles as to what it will be like.

P.S. Welcome to the Forum RedRoad. Hope you enjoy your stay.