During the course of the story, myth and the supernatural play a prominent role as Taita allies with the Lacedaemons (mythical) and consults the divine goddess Inana (supernatural) to defeat Utteric Turo and secure the throne for Rameses.Įpic battles, dangerous sea voyages, superhuman feats of daring, political maneuvering, cunning, and intrigue create a story of high stakes drama. While each stands alone, collectively they immerse the reader in the great sweep of time when Egyptian rulers-and there were many of them-reigned over vast swaths of land, frequently under threat of invasion and equally frequently, conquering new territories.īlending fictional characters with real and fictional events, Smith immerses readers in time and place. Pharaoh is the sixth novel in Smith’s Ancient Egypt series, preceded by River God, The Seventh Scroll, Warlock, The Quest, and Desert God. Like Jack Bauer in the TV series 24, the fate of the world rests in Taita’s hands while evil lurks at every turn. Taita, a complex character and former slave who, with the help of the fountain of youth, has lived more than one hundred and fifty years, is the hero of Desert God and River God and now the hero of Pharaoh. Life for Taita, the hero of Pharaoh, Wilbur Smith’s latest novel, is also a violent thing.

And some of my work may be very raunchy and very bloodthirsty – but life, for me, is a violent thing.” In a 2013 interview with Laura Barnett of The Guardian, Smith reflected on his body of work: “I never set out to write literature I set out to tell stories. Many are family sagas with heroic characters and storylines that continue from book to book. Some are set in South Africa, others in the former British colony of Rhodesia, still others in ancient Egypt during the time of the great Pharaohs.

Collectively he has thirty-eight books to his credit including The Courtney series, Ancient Egypt series, Ballantyne series and numerous action thrillers. Wilbur Smith is a prolific writer, an octogenarian first published in 1964, whose stories have thrilled and entertained millions around the globe.

Wilbur smith egypt series order