The Murder of King Tut (edition 2010)

The Murder of King Tut has chapters covering the lives of the mysterious boy-king and those around him, the life of Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered his body, and a couple of chapters on James Patterson's own writing of the book. It's simple writing, easy to read, and I finished the whole book in an hour. It's a little sensational, of course, and caters to the lowest common denominator -- I don't think Nefertiti would have called Tutankhamen 'Tut', somehow. There were inconsistencies with things I know from my childhood interest in Egyptology, and I found the whole style just far too flippant.

What's more, I already read this theory, back in 1999. Bob Brier's book, The Murder of Tutankhamen, is more professional and convincing, though I believe his theories were discredited by modern scans on the mummy of Tutankhamen. Still, though Patterson tries to have a more personal touch, depicting real love affairs between Nefertiti and Akhenaten, and between Tutankhamen and Ankhesenamen, I found it less interesting and less absorbing than Bob Brier's more historical, detailed account of Tutankhamen's life and death. ( )

James Patterson is an arrogant prick and this book is terrible. Terrible, awful, horrible. ( )

This was a very interesting book and it was a very good read. I liked all the details about Carter and his excavation work over the decades. Also, the intrigues at the Egyptian palaces was intriguing. The one thing that bothered me, and I've said this in other reviews, is the book jumped back and forth in time. I find that frustrating as it tends to pull me out of the story. ( )

History of King Tutankhamen, boy king of Egypt in about 1324 and how Howard Carter found his tomb in the valley of the Kings under rubble and pyramid builder houses. King Tut was king only for a short time until he was murdered. I enjoyed the history did did not like the 2 chapters that gave too much information between him and his wife and a maiden. It also contained some history of how author as he writes the story. ( )

Nothing of much interest here. ( )