The Murder of King Tut

I am a fan of James Patterson. But lately, even Alex Cross has lost his appeal to me. And with so many ideas, it seems Patterson is like Julio Igleseas was a decade ago - he sang duets with EVERYONE - Patterson seems to do his writing with everyone now.While there are some Patterson's books I will always read, I am so excited I purchased The Murder of King Tut.You see, I love history - ancient history of Greece and Egypt, and studied to be a docent at a popular Atlanta museum.Particularly, King Tut, the Boy King, has caught everyone's attention.The mystery of Tut's death, the strange way he was buried, has always tweaked the imagination of those of us who dream of a time thousands of years ago, where the Sphynx and the Pyramids were new, and rulers were absolute and intruige was rampant.Patterson interweaves current day thoughts/investigations with ancient theories how Tut's life went down. Patterson adds his theory of the death of Tut, and the happenings of post Tut life in Egypt.Remember, Amun was THE god then - a like of folks of the time wanted to return to the gods of old - Ra, Osiris, Isis - with Tut's death, the old gods were restored and Amarna was literally destroyed.It is the best work Patterson has done in a while. Using his humor, he shows us how he writes his works, then transports us thousands of years in the past to a love story, a mystery, and a murder whodunit.Definitely worth the wait - this is a non-fiction book that out thrillers a lot of so called thrillers.

Very little fact-based information presented. If you're looking for drama and fiction, this is the book for you. If you prefer a story entwined around actual facts and medical findings, like I was hoping for, then don't waste your money. I hesitate to say the author did much research regarding what has actually been found on Tut's body and within his tomb. He makes no mention of the club foot (hard for a child king to be a warrior and head into battle with one of these). Likewise, hieroglyphics portrayed him doing archery from a seated position, which is not the standard. There were also numerous walking sticks found within Tut's tomb which provide evidence of his crippling clubfoot. Medical experts also found evidence of a crushed sternum and broken ribs. Take those into account with a broken femur and a cranial subdural hematoma, these findings likely point to trauma of some sort. Additionally, further analyses on his remains indicate he suffered from malaria as well. There's no evidence anywhere suggesting he was murdered. The author has based his theory, and subsequently his entire book, on a minor piece of evidence such as a subdural hematoma on his skull. There's obviously a bigger picture.There's also no evidence that his and his sister's love was a love to survive all time. They made 2 stillborn babies. That's it. Let's not romanticize it.I'm halfway through the book and I don't think I can finish it. I guess when I saw "nonfiction" on the cover, I expected more of a story based on facts and actual hard evidence. I just find it hard to disregard evidence presented by medical experts, trained in medicine, for a flimsy theory thrown out by an author, untrained in medicine.This book makes interesting fiction. The author uses his words well to paint a picture. If they removed the word "nonfiction" from the cover, I'd rate the book higher.

I really enjoyed reading this book, which is actually two histories. We get the history of King Tut and the history of Howard Carter and both are fascinating and told in an interesting, readable way. I loved the alternating time periods - it seemed to make Tut more relavent to today. I also enjoyed the sporadic chapters where you find out just what James Patterson is thinking as he writes - what a wonderful addition to the book. I'm not sure I would have quite labeled this as non-fiction since no one really knows what happened to Tut. It's more like one perspective on what could have happened to Tut, based on research. I'm very much okay with that. If you want to say you know everything there is to know about Tut, then you will need to read additional sources. But if you just enjoy learning some light history, then this book is a terrific read.

Fantastic Stories. Fantastic research job. Great detective work by Mr Patterson. Loved the detail of Carter and Tut and predecessors. A real live look into Egypt in the old days (well before electricity). The trails of two time streams were well meshed. Once I realized when the cuts switched between oldest and old time, it was very understandable and very easy to follow without skipping a beat. Tragic story in the end as expected but exciting and interesting.I live in Scottsdale, AZ now. I came here in 1970s from San Francisco for a professional organization's Board of Directors' meeting. The home office got us in to a special show of the traveling King Tut exhibit which was here then. I saw many of the items identified in this book. I wish I had read this book before the exhibit, I would have enjoyed and appreciated all of the exhibit photos and all the fabulous artifacts even more!

The research that went into this book must have been gigantic! I was puzzled as to how he could write this as both mystery and history. He did an excellent job of both. This is better than any history book I have read has done wthway more intrigue and interest.

Had a slight disagreement with my husband over the contents of this book -- he felt that the 'truth' had been 'distorted' by the author of this book -- but I enjoyed it -- and it certainly made me think ---Now, I wonder what really happened to 'The Boy King' !

I bought this on the recommendation of a friend but good grief was it dull. I expected some real insight into the life and death of King Tut but the book totally failed to uncover anything of any interest whatsoever.

great book, up to Pattersons usual standard with a different twist, well worth the read and good value love the ease of downloading kindle travels everywhere with me

Exactly what I ordered.Enjoyed it very much.History told as a story.. fab..

This book was sent direct to m kindle. I have been reading books by the same author and I have read the other in this set