Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Murder of King Tut

by James Patterson & Martin Dugard
p 332

Every 8 years I read a James Patterson offering, whether I need to or not. The last time was 2003 and the book was The Court Jester, a pleasant change of pace from the prolific and predictable thrillers I have come to expect. When The Murder of King Tut came my way I was hoping for another break from the norm. "The Plot to Kill the Child King - A Non-Fiction Thriller" was jointly written and extensively researched by the authors to put to rest the ancient mystery of King Tut.
The book is written in 3 areas - the life and death of Tut, the discovery of his tomb almost 600 years later and the present day attempt by Patterson to solve the mystery shrouding Tut's life and death. The historical evidence presented was interesting and engaging. The story behind Howard Carter's discovery in 1922 is equally intriguing, a well-documented curse that surrounded the expedition that was fraught with problems and mishaps. The present-day tale of writing this book was somewhat self-absorbed and I could not help but feel that Patterson's view of his work is much more important that what I have given him credit for.
I did not feel that his effort really shed that much new light on the subject, though he uses a variety of sources to draw his own conclusions, thus "solving the mystery of Tut". All-in-all this book is a quick and easy read, which Patterson excels at. But ultimately it was not the page-turning thriller I would have expected.
Giving it a Rock and a Chalk!

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