Movies •Books •Music •Food •Tv Shows •Technology •Politics •Video Games •Parenting •Fashion •Green Living •more >

Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King - A Nonfiction Thriller » User review

The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Ch...

A book by James Patterson and Martin Dugard

Edit Topic

< read all 6 reviews

His-schlock-story in the making

Dec 7, 2009

by TStocksl

Exclusive to the Lunch Network

Rating:

-3

Uber-popular adventure/mystery author Patterson teams up with popular nonfiction author Dugard for this no-reason-for-existence "thriller" about how Egyptian Pharaoh Tut died. While billed as "nonfiction" there are no footnotes or bibliography to source any of the facts, and any facts used in the making of this story are buried in invented dialog and first-person description and thought.

The book moves forward along three parallel tracks - the Egyptian history of Tut, the early 20th-century discovery of his unplundered tomb,, and most annoyingly, Patterson's 21st-century inspiration for writing and "solving" the mystery of King Tut. The first two threads are already well-documented by real historians and archeologists elsewhere, and the third might be meaningful if Patterson or Dugard had done any comparative study of the possible theories for his death by these experts, and then explained how their theory provided the best answer to the historical mystery. You won't find that here, only the oversized ego of an overindulged author.

What you will also find is schlock mystery cliches, ample bosoms (on Egyptian queens? Really? In a "nonfiction" book?), and melodramatic confrontations, probably on par for the genre and level of writing that Patterson aspires to reach. And you will also find plenty of white space, with 100 chapters, an author's note, epilogue, childish maps and drawings illustrating some of the key places and events, all spread thinly across 340 pages of this small format book. I suppose I shouldn't complain about the paucity of text here, given the poor quality and limited usefulness of what does appear, leaving this book teetering on the edge of a one-star "waste of paper" rating.

What did you think of this review?

Helpful

Thought-Provoking

Fun to Read

Well-Organized

Post a Comment

More The Murder of King Tut: The Pl... reviews

review by IsraelDrazin. June 28, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

This is historical fiction lite

James Patterson tells us with some enthusiasm, because this book is important to him, that the volume contains three stories: his own tale of how he wrote his history, the adventure of the eccentric Howard Carter who discovered King Tut’s grave, and the life of King Tut and his death. Patterson states that he is certain that Tut was murdered and promises to reveal the murderer. He writes that he will tell us the truth. … more

Comment Compliments (12)

Quick Tip by sassy2. June 28, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by sassy2

history at is best --a good way to be walked thru the pages

Comment Compliment

review by IsraelDrazin. June 28, 2010

Interesting historical fiction

James Patterson tells us with some enthusiasm, because this book is important to him, that the volume contains three stories: his own tale of how he wrote his history, the adventure of the eccentric Howard Carter who discovered King Tut's grave, and the life of King Tut and his death. Patterson states that he is certain that Tut was murdered and promises to reveal the murderer. He writes that he will tell us the truth. "It's nothing new for histories to be speculative, but … more

Comment Compliment

review by GEldred. March 29, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Fun Read But Leaves You Wanting More

I am not a fan of James Patterson, which probably comes as a bit of a shock. While I have read several of his books, I am not what you would call a "fan." However, as I was perusing the new books at the library, I came across The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King by James Patterson and Martin Dugard, a "nonfiction thriller." I decided that, as nonfiction, it may provide more substance than I was accustomed from the author. While there seems to be more research … more

Comment Compliment

review by rubiconreader. October 02, 2009

What really happened?...

I am not a nofiction reader. Matter of fact I make a conscience effort NOT to read non-fiction because it's so darn BORING! I concede that most non-fiction books are written to educate and NOT to entertain. I read for entertainment only, so when I do pick a non-fiction book I've done my homework and have tried to pick the "right" one. There were also two other factors in me picking this book. I read my first James Patterson book, Alex Cross's Trial, a few weeks back and LOVED it, and I love historical-fiction … more

Comment Compliment

see all The Murder of King Tut: The Pl... reviews (6)

About the reviewer

Todd Stockslager (TStocksl)
Ranked #52

I love reading and writing about what I have read, making the connections and marking the comparisons and contrasts. God has given man the amazing power to invent language and the means to record it which … more