Intro/Reading order

Discussion about Wilbur Smith's Egyptian series.

Postby Ems » Mon Mar 26, 2007 7:51 am

I started out with the Seventh Scroll as well in the Egypt series, It was a good book but I loved River God and Warlock the most.
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reading warlock

Postby vallabh » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:56 am

Hi folks I am reading Warlock currently. I was thinking until now the greatest of the egyptian series is definitely seventh schroll. But this warlock seems to be more promising than all the others. I want to complete my work as soon as possible go back to home and catch that book.
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Postby Bee » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:01 pm

Let us know what you think! Interested in hearing your thoughts!
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Postby Egyptian Eyes » Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:40 am

This is quite an interesting topic. It is interesting to see the different order that others have read the books, for I try to imagine how it might have been. But I never had to think about this because when i read river god, warlock had not been written yet. I encountered 7th scroll , but i did not get past the first few pages, for i was rather disappointed to see that it was not set in ancient Egypt following the lives of Taita, Memnon, etc.

So when i discovered Warlock, i was thrilled to the bone. it was a bit strange to read it in third person, but i enjoyed it nonetheless.

Now, i look forward to see what the quest has in store.


I owe a debt to the person who introduced river god to me. I am in love with ancient history (i even went as far as studying it for my degree), and someone recommended river god to me. I was entranced with it right away, and now I can't believe how far this has taken me. Pity I am no longer in touch with this person.
Sometimes, we get through adversity only by imagining what the world might be like if our dreams should ever come true.
~Arthur Golden, 'Memoirs of a Geisha'
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Postby Nefer » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:44 pm

We should prolly add "The Quest" to the reading order :)
"If I ever ask anything of you it would be to please consider life with an open mind and respect the opinions and wishes of others as long as they bring no harm to you and as long as you bring no harm or corruption to others."
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Re: Intro/Reading order

Postby Penina Spinka » Sun Sep 30, 2007 12:11 pm

My order of reading was in the order they came out. After River God, I couldn't skip any of them. Scroll was a diverting story, but not part of the flow of the other three. It stands alone, but uses RG for background.
I have questions and maybe this is the best place to ask them. Why did WB use the name Ishtar for his Babylonian male wizard, and Demeter for his new foreign friend 'out of the desert'? It does not say which country he hails from. Demeter is the Greek Goddess of Agriculture, and Ishtar, of course, is the Babylonian Goddess of Fertility. Nefer, as a name, was usually used to describe a female as the name means 'beautiful'. Why was it used for prince Nefer who was later Pharoah?
I love mythology and WB's use of it, but I have to wonder. Is there anyone on this list who knows or who can ask WB about his strange choices for using these names for men?
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Re: Intro/Reading order

Postby Nefer » Sun Sep 30, 2007 12:37 pm

I always thought the name choice was simply convenience... I don't kn ow if there were particular choices going into it.

Then again, after a brief reading of "Orientalism" by Edward Said, where East = bad; and West = good... WS may be following the mindset of a few hundred years, where the east was unknown and villified. It's the only explanation I can think of.
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Re: Intro/Reading order

Postby Galahad » Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:26 am

Penina Spinka wrote:Nefer, as a name, was usually used to describe a female as the name means 'beautiful'. Why was it used for prince Nefer who was later Pharoah?
Penina


My guess is thus - his full name was Nefer-Seti, so that was a fusion of Nefer - beautiful, and Seti - similar to Set (who we all know from RG was the god that castrated Osiris, who was later avenged by his son, Horus) a god similar in many ways to the greek Ares, and so the name should be read together, from this i think that perhaps Wilbur was trying to portray Nefers two sides, his beauty and his beast as it were.


And as for the order, i read them as they came out, when i was about 15 I read River God, the book that got me onto books as it were, and from then i didnt have a choice, read them in order of release, so 7th Scroll, Warlock and now The Quest. I agree that 7th Scroll can by and large be forgotten, but if it is to be included it must come after River God, whilst the events of that book are still fresh in your mind, and not clouded by the later novels in the series, hope i've been of some help.
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Re: Intro/Reading order

Postby Galahad » Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:36 am

[quote="Galahad]Seti - similar to Set [/quote]

Infact, i just looked it up, Seti means 'man of Seth', which i find abit strange, because wasn't Nefer another Horus man? Perhaps Wilbur was just plucking names from former Pharaohs, after all, King Seti I was the son of King Rammesses I... any ideas?
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Re: Intro/Reading order

Postby Penina Spinka » Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:51 am

Thank you for your research, Galahad. Yes, Nefer and most of the heroes of the stories were Horus men, as he was the god of soldiers like Ares. I read several WB novels before River God, but after it, I read them in order as well. I recently reread She and the Return of She by H. Rider Haggard. She inspired WB to continue She's story, or to actually go before the time Haggard's Leo met Ayesha, back into Ancient Egypt. According to some sources Seti was father to Ramseses II (The Great). According to more of my research Putu (I think) was the pharoah of the Exodus. I'm marketing a novel now (my fifth) that brings up the subject. It's the life story of Hecate before she became a goddess. I must say WB is an inspiration to me. I pray for 1/5 of his success and I'd be happy.
Thank you for replying to my question.
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Re: Intro/Reading order

Postby Nefer » Sat Jul 12, 2008 7:43 pm

What's the name of the book? Sounds interesting to me!!

I can give you a good plug here :mrgreen:
"If I ever ask anything of you it would be to please consider life with an open mind and respect the opinions and wishes of others as long as they bring no harm to you and as long as you bring no harm or corruption to others."
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Re: Intro/Reading order

Postby Spock » Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:48 pm

I read 7th Scroll before River God and I am glad I did. 7th Scroll (set in the Modern day) tells you what Taita was actually doing in the Ethiopian mountains. River God (A far superior book in my opinion)-brushed over those parts.

I am very happy I read them in that order and that is the order I would advise others.

Basically, I appreciated River God far more for having read 7th Scroll first.
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Re: Intro/Reading order

Postby E-Hoog » Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:25 am

Spock wrote:I read 7th Scroll before River God and I am glad I did. 7th Scroll (set in the Modern day) tells you what Taita was actually doing in the Ethiopian mountains. River God (A far superior book in my opinion)-brushed over those parts.

I am very happy I read them in that order and that is the order I would advise others.

Basically, I appreciated River God far more for having read 7th Scroll first.


I read them in that order as well and agree with you.
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