While Haggard’s stories may have been original, his storylines had more place in comic book fiction. It would be impossible not to draw a comparison here with the writing of Henry Rider Haggard, and Smith’s hero (Nicholas Quenton-Harper) does have more than a passing resemblance to Allan Quartermain, but I’m not complaining.
Instead of giving us another adventure with Taita, Smith presents us with a modern day treasure hunt, but with the River God story acting as the map! Immediately I found myself returning to the question: was Wilbur Smith’s remarkable first venture into Egyptian history simply a work of fiction? The pursuit of the truth (and the treasure) is immaculately portrayed, tantalising the reader like a set of hieroglyphs that are both beautiful in presentation, and mysterious in their translation. (I’ll leave you to make your own enquiries!)Īnd then along came a sort of sequel that I was not expecting: The Seventh Scroll. So much so, that I nearly found myself checking through history books to see if Smith’s story and characters had any basis in fact. I was captivated by the character of the eunuch Taita. Well! I was stunned by an epic tale revealing the sweeping grandeur of Ancient Egypt, and narrated with the same authority and attention to detail that I had already encountered in at least a dozen other of Smith’s novels. I followed the Courtneys and the Ballantynes, and then came River God. I was immediately immersed in historical fiction the like of which I have never experienced throughout the thirty or more years since that holiday. When The Lion Feeds was my introduction to this most diligent of writers. I needed something to read, and there were several paperbacks left behind in our rented villa. I was first introduced to Wilbur Smith’s writing several years ago while laid up with my leg in plaster halfway through a holiday in Lanzarote.
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