The Quest is set in ancient Egypt. The waters of the River Nile are running dry, and plague is besetting the land. The story's main protagonist, Taita, and a group of soldiers are sent upriver to see what is causing these problems.

Having read the other three books in this series, River God, The Seventh Scroll and Warlock, I looked forward to reading this one. However, I don't think it stands up well in comparison with the other books. Whilst, River God and to a lesser extant Warlock, where good adventure stories, I found this one relied too much on magic (webs of concealment!!!), and battles between mystical forces.

It started reading like a fantasy, Lord Of The Rings-esque type novel, rather than an historical adventure one. As a result I found my attention wandering at times. Something that has never happened before, when reading novels by this author.

This book is only worth reading to complete the series. Disappointed.

I was first introduced to Wilbur Smith when I read his (then new-in-paperback) book, The Seventh Scroll. Technically, it was a sequel to his first Egyptian novel, River God, though it took place thousands of years later. Eventually, I read and enjoyed a third in this sequence, Warlock, which took place shortly after River God (which I still have not read), and was looking forward to the fourth and probably last book, The Quest. Sadly, this is not one of Smith's better works; in fact, it's one of his rare disappointments.

The Quest takes place a few years after Warlock and opens with Taita - a major character in the earlier novels - off on a spiritual journey with the young Meren, a loyal apprentice who's not great at wizardry, but is adept as a warrior. The two come to a Shangri-La like land where Taita will learn some important things about the cosmic conflict between the Truth and the Lie. Taita serves the Truth and learns of an evil witch named Eos who is a chief servant of the Lie.

Eventually, the two will return to Karnak where they will visit the Pharaoh Nefer Seti (hero of Warlock) and learn of the troubles afflicting Egypt. The land is being struck with plagues right out of Exodus, but the source of the woes is Eos. Taita and Meren must go on a quest to find Eos and destroy her. This will be a difficult task, as Eos has lived for centuries and acquired great powers, including the ability to enchant almost anyone with her appearance. And although Taita is a eunuch, even he may not be immune, as an opportunity presents itself to regrow what he has lost, an opportunity that makes him vulnerable but is also necessary if he is to be with the reincarnation of his long lost love.

While even Warlock had fantasy elements, these elements were rather subdued compared to the all-out fantasy of The Quest, and fantasy is not Smith's forte. In addition, Taita is not the best choice as a main character; he is too powerful and magical to really identify with. A better choice would have been Meren, but he is clearly second fiddle in this book. More notable, however, is that this is just not up to Smith's usual standards, with writing that is often slow (especially at the beginning) or just not very good. The story does pick up eventually, but it is too little and too late to earn anything more than a low three stars. This one is for Smith fans only.

The Quest, being the fourth in Smith's Egypt series, shows evidence of deterioration in style and flow. This addition continues to be an entertaining read at surface value. The disparity begins with an untidy tie-up of incidents developed during the plot; items become increasingly less plausible in his factious world. It was almost as if there was a rush to hurry and close the episode.
One outstanding negative is that the gratuitous sex scenes once again play at the edge of pedaphilia - a troublesome addition to our society that is beginning to wear at such points.
One feature that became outstanding to me was Mr. Smith's swipe at stem cell research. He addresses and condemns the potential threat it poses to the neonatal congregation. Has a political agenda been formulized using his publications as a platform?
I feel that had one read The Quest first, there would not have been an adequate interest to pursue the previous three volumes.

I, too, was sadly disappointed by this book. I fell in love with the characters in River God, and accepted their inevitable development in Warlock. Yet the way they are distorted in the Quest- it is like a badly writen fan fiction. Taita is no longer Taita; his transformation is more then physical. His longing for Lostris in life, and even more so in death made him a remarkable man fantastic. Tanus is mentioned only in passing in the novel, which made me sad. Taita's love for Lostris was only matched for the affection he held for him as well. Dropping him drops a beautiful, tragic, and relatable trial for Taita to overcome. Even minor characters like Mintaka are distorted beyond reconintion.

Worse still, the living death of these beloved characters is not the novel's greatest shortcoming. The story itself leaves much to be desired. River God and even Warlock had a steady flow, pulling one along as the plot is revealed. The Quest is more like marching orders, a forced trek through the wasteland.

I give it two stars for the memory of a great story that perhaps ought to have ended.

I saw someone else's review mention the crux of what you need to know here, that is unlike River God this book is far more fantasy (magic, etc...) than historical fiction. If you can handle that fact then you are in for a great ride. I couldn't put the book down and read the 720 + pages in a few days. The only reason I can't give it 5 stars is because it could be viewed a bit as a "bait and switch" for those expecting strong historical fiction but getting mostly fantasy. However, the book was such good reading to me I didn't mind, though if you had told me the fantasy and magic story lines I might not have read it. This is great summer reading if you aren't looking to gain deeper knowledge but are looking for great fun and harrowing escapism from normal life, if you're up for that, this is a great book to read.

I am a Wilbur Smith fan and have read all his novels. This story tries to continue a fanciful tale from three prior books. The first, "The River God," was terrific. The third, "The Seventh Scroll," was excellent. "Warlock" was good and this one is Egyptian sci-fie with an improbable plot line.

I was very disturbed after reading this novel. Wilbur Smith robbed Taita of his dignity!!!! He could have died with grace and been a great character in literature. Making Taita young again and running off with Fenn, i.e. Lostris may be the author's way of avoiding death. This was not the ending that the series deserved.

I've been catching Wilbur Smith's ancient Egypt series at my local library, where they only have the first three books. Saw this paperback at the grocery store and snapped it up, thinking, "Great! What's that rascal Taita up to now?"

Well, seems that even Smith doesn't know. What WAS this drivel? What were the editors thinking? This is New Age salad, with holey plot and graphic sex without any reason for it... this was the first book I have ever -- EVER -- thrown in the trash without finishing it. (Before you think I'm a prude, it wasn't the sex that did me in, it was that Taita is unrecognizable to me as the old clever vainglorious mischief-maker I was missing.)

Don't bother.

Wilbur Smith is without a doubt one of the best story tellers I've read. His characters are so real and personal that yo are right there with them sharing their thoughts and feelings. Also his descriptions of the time, place, and surroundings are exceptional......(my wife thinks that his explainations of the mating habits of the African elephant in one of his novels was a bit over the top!) I liked it myself!

Keep it up Mr. Smith

Gary Cox

A love affair that spans generations.....and yet, how poorly described, how little feeling the description evoked. The book should have been about the love affair, not the Nile (IMHO).

I really loved The "River God" but I can't say I liked the "Quest" as much. The book is still a four star to me because it is a good story well told, but it contained a bit too much magic for me. I like real solutions with a few magical situations that may or may not have transpired. In "River God" most magic was drug induced and had to be interpreted and could be interpreted wrongly. In "Quest" the magic is real and often, and perhaps the scientific ability of Taita's enemies is too great a stretch for me. Lastly, Taita has changed so much from "River God." He once was a loyal, funny guy with lots of little quirks. I loved his vanity. But now he has a much more serious aspect. They don't seem to be the same person.

I picked this up at the airport on my way home from Vegas because I wound up finishing my book that was supposed to last me for the trip.

I'm maybe 200 pages in now, Taita & Meren have accumulated their troops & have started their southward trek. Taita has also befriended an imported 'savage' (a small girl not born to the tribe she was found with) and he has started her education.

I'm not sure this will become an instant classic, but it's readable. I'm enjoying being transported to a place I haven't reat much about. Most of the historical novels I tend to read take place in Europe or the UK. I think I'd like to read some more by this author, though it doesn't have to be in his Ancient Egypt series.

Updates to follow when I have finished the book

Love Wilbur Smith, have read almost all of his books and while I love his writing, this one just didn't get there....River god was a 5 star novel, this, hopefully the last in the series was probably a 3.....

I am an avid Wilbur Smith fan. I have read not all, but most of the books he has written and have really enjoyed them all. In fact, I usually have trouble setting one of his books down once I start reading.
Not so The Quest. It is not up to his usual standard, and it reads like it was written by a college student. This work is not historical fiction, but a fantasy story more in line with The Hobbit. This Wilbur Smith book is not a good read.

The Quest Wonderful! This book pulls you into the adventure. The detailed discription of places and events almost makes you believe you are there. Hard to put down once you have started .

I doubt he'll ever reach back and do better than the earlier books in this series but this was a good shot. I love to read Wilbur Smith, its like reading a 500 page Disney ride.

Forget the reviews by all the whiney hard to please a55ho1es, i really enjoyed this book it was great from start to finish, i dont know what they are complaining about the book had good action and an interesting storyline what else do you want? anyway pick this book up if you can i highly recommend it.

Taita is one of my favorite characters! I so looked forward to receiving and reading....but, I was very disappointed in the storyline and the book as a whole. The only Wilbur Smith I wasn't thrilled with and I have them all!

"OK," I said, "another long tedious historical novel by Wilbur Smith."

Now that doesn't make it bad. In fact, just about everything Wilbur Smith has written has been outstanding. But, I just wasn't sure I wanted to take on another looonnnnng novel and a lonnngggg walk through Africa. Then again, it is Wilbur Smith. So IN I PLUNGED!

From the moment I started this book, I was absorbed. I simply could not put the thing down. I found myself anxiously waiting for the end of the work day so I could run home and read some more about the Egyptian mage Taita and his sidekick Meren.

The Nile River had dried up. Egypt was in peril. The population was starving and the Pharoah was at wit's end. Taita and Meren are Egypt's last hope to seek the origin of the Nile and remove any obstacle (mystical or not) which might be blocking the flow of life-giving water.

Their journey takes them across different tribes and civilizations. The end of the line takes them to an evil entity who is nameless but whose name was Eos. I know that didn't make sense, but there were a number of things that didn't make sense in this novel. Nevertheless, it was spellbinding.

The end is predictable, yet satisfying. A few surprises crop up along the trek and lead us to some interesting sub-plots.

This is genuinely an epic novel. Even if you don't like Wilbur Smith. You need to read this ..... in my view his best ...... extraordinary book.

Densel Myers
Yukon, Oklahoma

The Quest

As a long-time fan of author Wilbur Smith and his series on ancient Egypt in particular, this book doesn't disappoint. You are immediately transported back into the world of palace intrigues, supernatural conflicts, and ancient Egyptian culture, and the journey is as exhilarating as ever.

I was facing a 7-hour flight from Sydney to Singapore and needed a book to occupy my mind. Everything in the airport bookstore was unreadable until I saw the name Wilbur Smith on this fat paperback, The Quest. Since I recalled vaguely he used to write credible adventure stories I bought the book.

Well, it did help me passed the long hours confined in the cattle class of the Qantas plane. I am a quick reader but I was only three-fourth into the seemingly unending adventures of this Egyptian hero when my plane landed.

The narrative is detailed but the plot is totally unsatisfying. The underlying idea is sex is the ultimate spiritual fulfilment. The hero was castrated but got a transplanted penis, courtesy of the evil witch that he wanted to kill. And he did kill her, not by magic but by literally screwing her to death!

The other disturbing idea is the superiority of the white race over the black race. The Egyptians were depicted as "white", and superior in religious beliefs, culture and fighting tactics vs the black Africans.

The opening chapter reads like a tale from Henry Rider Haggard's Alan Quartermain series, but it soon degenerates into sex with nubile young girls in order to gain spiritual enlightenment. From there, the rest of the tale sounds very improvised and amateurish, like a schoolboy composition, except that it runs to over 500 pages.

The next time I am planning a long-haul flight, I will get a HR Haggard's book -- it's far more engrossing, and there is no thinly disguised white man ideology to spoil the telling.

I am a big fan of Wilbur Smith and was very excited to get his newest book. I wish that I had read the amazon reviews before I bought the book. It is a huge disappointment. Terrible! Not anything like his other works. Don't waste your time.

I am a 30+ year fan of Mr. Smith's books...

That being said, IMO it appears Mr. Smith has abandoned good writing for what reads like a kinky novel with a mediocre plot. In addition, he seems to be underscoring some of his own personal beliefs (issues) in respect to dislike and/or loathing of strong, powerful older women as portrayed in many sections of this book. He also uses, as a critical element in the story the issue of young fertile impregnated women who are sacrificed for the needs of older and consequently more evil women (as it appears most of the physicians in the "Cloud Gardens" are female...and older). Does this example correlate with something that is happening today in modern society? Perhaps he is expressing a concern about the uses of aborted fetal tissue in cosmetic research and medicine? This type of use of fetus tissue can be seen as is evil, to be sure. And, most of the civilized world is in agreement with that belief.
Mr. Smith uses this as a device to substantiate Taita's rage which leads to his annihilation of Eos and all of her realm. What about the starving families and other horrors he left in his "very Egypt"? In addition, never once does he allow Taita to use his sharp inquisitive mind to question the need for restoration of his "manly parts" other than a brief moment of personal debate. This "restoration" becomes a necessity in order to have sex with Eos which the story indicates is the only method of her destruction. Surely there could have been other ways. Let's face it...though...sex sells...right?
How convenient. The method of her destruction also becomes the source of his greatest pleasure. Now, he has the means to fulfill his own ultimate wish, sex with Fenn. He is soon to be rewarded for destroying such a terrible foe.
In the last chapters of the book, he can now celebrate his victory by having sex with his child companion/reincarnated queen. Almost as an afterthought, prior to the destruction of Eos, the story allows Taita to restore his youth through a mystical means. Maybe Mr. Smith realized that, essentially (as an afterthought) having the visibly aged 150 year old Taita have sex with this barely mature teenaged female was going to take it simply too far for most of his readers. Good for him. However, the truth of it, this part of the book still comes across tale of child lust/molestation (this at least legally from a modern standpoint) from most points of view since Fenn is still not of age to be having sex (according to today's standards) whether Taita looks more youthful or not. It is true in ancient culture prepubescent females were often married off to old men, and perhaps this sort of thing would not have been an issue. However, you would think the ancient sage and magus would be more sophisticated, educated, worldly, and have more character than to allow himself to lust for such a young female, reincarnated queen or not (or at least question the age difference).
However, the entire book, especially toward the end, comes across as one huge ode to the Lolita complex (a condition that appears to be reaching worldwide epidemic proportions.)

And now it appears (according to what I read in previous reviews) Mr. Smith has succumbed to this trend. That of course explains this book.
How the mighty have fallen. It is a sad inclination for men of such caliber to be so easily swayed.
(Be careful Mr. Smith, although one hand may have a firm grasp on the "Man-root"...the other hand is dipping into a bank account).

Let's hope his next book will find Mr. Smith in the mood to tell a real story instead of porn novel.
Read his other books, they are truly masterful and real examples of his skill in telling a tale.

I am a 30+ year fan of Mr. Smith's books...

That being said, IMO it appears Mr. Smith has abandoned good writing for what reads like a kinky novel with a mediocre plot. In addition, he seems to be underscoring some of his own personal beliefs (issues) in respect to dislike and/or loathing of strong, powerful older women as portrayed in many sections of this book. He also uses, as a critical element in the story the issue of young fertile impregnated women who are sacrificed for the needs of older and consequently more evil women (as it appears most of the physicians in the "Cloud Gardens" are female...and older). Does this example correlate with something that is happening today in modern society? Perhaps he is expressing a concern about the uses of aborted fetal tissue in research and medicine? This type of research is evil, to be sure. And, most of the civilized world is in agreement with that belief.
Mr. Smith uses this as a device to substantiate Taita's rage which leads to his annihilation of Eos and all of her realm. What about the starving families and other horrors he left in his "very Egypt"? In addition, never once does he allow Taita to use his sharp inquisitive mind to question the need for restoration of his "manly parts" other than a brief moment of personal debate. This "restoration" becomes a necessity in order to have sex with Eos which the story indicates is the only method of her destruction. Surely there could have been other ways. Let's face it...though...sex sells...right?
How convenient. The method of her destruction also becomes the source of his greatest pleasure. Now, he has the means to fulfill his own ultimate wish, sex with Fenn. He is soon to be rewarded for destroying such a terrible foe.
In the last chapters of the book, he can now celebrate his victory by having sex with his child companion/reincarnated queen. Almost as an afterthought, prior to the destruction of Eos, the story allows Taita to restore his youth through a mystical means. Maybe Mr. Smith realized that, essentially (as an afterthought) having the visibly aged 150 year old Taita have sex with this barely mature teenaged female was going to take it simply too far for most of his readers. Good for him. However, the truth of it, this part of the book still comes across tale of child lust/molestation (this at least legally from a modern standpoint) from most points of view since Fenn is still not of age to be having sex (according to today's standards) whether Taita looks more youthful or not. It is true in ancient culture prepubescent females were often married off to old men, and perhaps this sort of thing would not be an issue. However, you would think the ancient sage and magus would be more sophisticated, educated, worldly, and have more character than to allow himself to lust for such a young female, reincarnated queen or not (or at least question the age difference).
However, the entire book, especially toward the end, comes across as one huge ode to the Lolita complex (a condition that appears to be reaching worldwide epidemic proportions.)

And now it appears (according to what I read in previous reviews) Mr. Smith has succumbed to this trend. That of course explains this book.
How the mighty have fallen. It is a sad inclination for men of such caliber to be so easily swayed.
(Be careful Mr. Smith, although one hand may have a firm grasp on the "Man-root"...the other hand is dipping into a bank account).

Let's hope his next book will find Mr. Smith in the mood to tell a real story instead of porn novel.
Read his other books, they are truly masterful and real examples of his skill in telling a tale.

Wilbur Smith continues to examine every facet of life in ancient Egypt with this stirring Saga of Taita the Magus of Gallala. It seeks to answer many of the questions surrounding the man of mystery who plays such a prominent part in Smith's other sagas of Egypt.
It is obvious that a great deal of research has gone into this meticulously crafted story and that alone is worth the read. With the possible exception of the ending, I believe that this book has found it's place with Smith's Egypt collection and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Let me qualify my opinion by stating I read "The lion Feeds" in 1974, have read every Wilbur Smith since then -many several times- and introduced literally hundreds of folks to " my favorite author". That being said , I would not recommend "The Quest " to anyone who was not already very familiar with Wilbur Smith . I was very disappointed as it lacked the realism, historical component and believeability of any of his former works. Is Smith going to become another Stephen King,cranking out mystical, formula written works that get further and further from the style that endeared him to millions of loyal fans ???? Will I look forward to his next work with same the passion and excitment I have for the past 30 years???? NO!. JIm Hart -New Orleans

Well, Wilbur Smith needs to hang up the word processor. What started as a fascinating and relatively historically based series of novels has degenerated into absurdity. What a shame - but don't bother with it.

Wilbur Smith was born in Central Africa in 1933. He was educated at Michaelhouse and Rhodes University. He became a full-time writer in 1964 after the successful publication of When the Lion Feeds and has since written nearly thirty novels.

Wilbur Smith lives in London and his novels are eagerly awaited by his large number of fans. Warlock, the last book in the Egyptian series was published in 2002, only five years ago, but for those readers waiting for this latest offering it seems an awful lot longer.

This book continues the story of the Warlock, Taita, wise in the lore of the ancient Gods and a master of magic and the supernatural.

The land of Egypt is struck by a series of terrible events, plagues that continue to cripple the Kingdom and worse is yet to come. The life blood of the land, the magnificent Nile fails. The waters that feed the crops and deposit the nourishing black silt to fertilise them dry up. Something is happening deep in the heartlands of Africa. Desperate to find a solution the Pharaoh seeks the help of Taita, probably the only man in Egypt who could seek out the source of the great river and find out what, or who is bringing Egypt to its knees . . .

While this book is not as good as River God (as many other reviewers seem to have focused on, and not gotten over), this book is still a great read and should be enjoyed for what it is.

After giving up on the Seventh Scroll about a third of the way through and not even reading Warlock I was not expecting much from this book so was pleasantly surprised. One of the things that I really liked about River God was the relationship between Taita and Lostris and in this book they get back together which was wonderful.

There is a usual long journeys, fierce battles, adventure, good and evil, interesting characters, and Taita's cleverness, all vividly written.

So yeah, as long as don't expect this book to be as amazing as River God I think that you will probably enjoy it.