Posts
GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE MURDER OF KING TUT
Audio Book Unabridged
BY JAMES PATTERSON
and MARTIN DUGARD
READ BY JOE BARRETT
Did you know that James Patterson also writes non-fiction? For many people who never knew that fact, this was an awakening! THE MURDER OF KING TUT is touted as a "non-fiction thriller" and it is every bit of that. With the hugely successful and amazing non-fiction book, AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE: ONE FAMILY'S STRUGGLE WITH AN AGONIZING MEDICAL MYSTERY in 2008, Patterson showed another side to his mystery writing. In that, he researched and told the story of a medical mystery finally solved when the parents of a child eventually receive the correct diagnosis that their son has Tourette's Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive disorder. With this child's mystery told, Patterson now has moved on to another child's mystery, the death of young King Tutankhamen. Patterson co-authors with Martin Dugard and they present their theory of how Tut, so often known as "the boy king", died and why.
James Patterson writes in the prologue how important research is in ANY kind of book that is written. Martin Dugard makes the trips to London, to Egypt, and to Tut's tomb, while Patterson concentrates more on the books and online references and data in order to get the historical background correct. As he says even in fiction, if the research is correct, the story will be believable and move quickly to a satisfying ending. This book does just that as it moves along quickly and reads like a novel.
The book is cleverly and yet cohesively divided into three time periods and goes back and forth between the three, and even includes maps to help visualize locations. It sounds like it might be hard to follow but it wasn't because the characters and settings are so well drawn out that you get these visuals in your mind and can be right where they are as you go from one time period to another.
Present day is one of the time periods and is where Patterson explains how he got the idea to do this book. He tells how it became almost all consuming as he learned more and more with the research he and Dugard came up with. The facts they present were interesting to me and not confusing but rather explained so much of what little I already knew about this subject as well as fit in with the other two parts. Their details enabled me to get a mental image of the pyramids, the time periods, and most of all, brought about in me a sympathy for young King Tut. In the end, Patterson does give his idea of what actually happened to the young king but of course you don't think I am going to tell you that, now do you?
The second time period is from 1891 to 1939 and takes place initially in London and moves on to Egypt. This part is the amazing story of Howard Carter and how he started out as a sketch artist in London getting paid to sketch people's pets and was then hired to be a sketch artist on an expedition to Egypt. He was needed to sketch the writings and drawings on the walls as once the pyramids were discovered and opened, the air caused them to start to fade and so he was needed to preserve what was there in his drawings. This is what started Carter's lifelong quest to find the tomb of King Tut. Howard Carter is one of the most famous Egyptologists of the 20th century and the way he started out, with a fascination for Egypt and his drawing skills to become who he was, is so interesting and reads like a really good novel. He spent years excavating tombs in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt until he "struck gold" in November of 1922. It was then that Carter found King Tutankhamen's burial site, with everything inside preserved and the mummy of King Tut inside. This part alone was a fascinating read but then there is the third part of this book.
The third and oldest time period of the book is 1492 BC to 1319 BC (and I had to stop and remember the smaller the number became, the further along we were in BC) where we meet young Tutankhamen. The description of how the tombs were built was interesting to the point that they were so secretive, the slaves who built them were killed upon completion. From that you can see how this part told what it was like living at that time. This part amazed me as it described how the city of Armana had been built by Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti. Their relationship was detailed down to how the Pharaoh was dying from sand that was eating away the enamel in his teeth allowing disease and decay to poison his body. I had never heard of such a thing but it certainly makes sense.
This oldest part also told how and why Tut married his half sister as well as told how and why the tomb was so hard to find. There seemed to be some reason for people to want to totally erase everything there was about King Tut. He was just beginning to acquire the skill he needed to lead when he died, very mysteriously during the night. After Nefertiti (who was Tut's stepmother) and Tut died, Armana was destroyed by one of the people involved in Tut's murder, if you are to believe the conspiracy, and that seemed such a waste.
The way that Patterson weaves these three parts together was very well done and I found myself thinking I really was just reading a really good mystery. The research that Dugard did is a huge part of what makes this a successful story. Even if you aren't an expert about this subject, and I am not, you have to have that research to make it feasible. AND, if you don't have a master storyteller like Patterson to add his research and then his writing skills to put the pieces together fluently and fabulously, then you wouldn't have THE MURDER OF KING TUT....and a really, very good book.
GIVEAWAY
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
3 COPIES OF THIS DELIGHTFUL AUDIO
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. HERE IS WHAT
YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN A COPY!
RULES:
--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
GIVEAWAY ENDS AT 6 PM, EST,
JANUARY 15 FOR THIS BOOK!
HOWEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WHO
ENTERED DURING THE BLOGIVERSARY
WEEKEND ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE
GRAND PRIZE TO COME ON JANUARY 16...
THAT IS THEY WIN ALL 12 BOOKS!
NOTE: BLOGIVERSARY WEEKEND
GRAND PRIZE ELIGIBILITY IS OVER!
BUT YOU CAN STILL WIN THIS BOOK!
THE MURDER OF KING TUT
Audio Book Unabridged
BY JAMES PATTERSON
and MARTIN DUGARD
READ BY JOE BARRETT
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A secret buried for centuries
Thrust onto Egypt's most powerful throne at the age of nine, King Tut's reign was fiercely debated from the outset. Behind the palace's veil of prosperity, bitter rivalries and jealousy flourished among the Boy King's most trusted advisors, and after only nine years, King Tut suddenly perished, his name purged from Egyptian history. To this day, his death remains shrouded in controversy.
The keys to an unsolved mystery
Enchanted by the ruler's tragic story and hoping to unlock the answers to the 3,000 year-old mystery, Howard Carter made it his life's mission to uncover the Pharaoh's hidden tomb. He began his search in 1907, but encountered countless setbacks and dead-ends before he finally, uncovered the long-lost crypt.
The clues point to murder
Now, in The Murder of King Tut, James Patterson and Martin Dugard dig through stacks of evidence--X-rays, Carter's files, forensic clues, and stories told through the ages--to arrive at their own account of King Tut's life and death. The result is an exhilarating true crime tale of intrigue, passion, and betrayal that casts fresh light on the oldest mystery of all.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
James Patterson published his first thriller in 1976 and since then has become one of the best-known and bestselling writers of all time, with more than 140 million copies of his books sold worldwide. He is the author of the two most popular detective series of the past decade, featuring Alex Cross and the Women's Murder Club, and he has written numerous other #1 bestsellers. He lives in Florida.
Martin Dugard is the New York Times bestselling author of such nonfiction titles as Chasing Lance, The Last Voyage of Columbus, Farther Than Any Man, Knockdown, and Into Africa. He has written for Esquire, Outside, Sports Illustrated, and GQ. Dugard lives in Orange County, CA, with his wife and three sons.
REVIEW:
A secret buried for centuries
Thrust onto Egypt's most powerful throne at the age of nine, King Tut's reign was fiercely debated from the outset. Behind the palace's veil of prosperity, bitter rivalries and jealousy flourished among the Boy King's most trusted advisors, and after only nine years, King Tut suddenly perished, his name purged from Egyptian history. To this day, his death remains shrouded in controversy.
The keys to an unsolved mystery
Enchanted by the ruler's tragic story and hoping to unlock the answers to the 3,000 year-old mystery, Howard Carter made it his life's mission to uncover the Pharaoh's hidden tomb. He began his search in 1907, but encountered countless setbacks and dead-ends before he finally, uncovered the long-lost crypt.
The clues point to murder
Now, in The Murder of King Tut, James Patterson and Martin Dugard dig through stacks of evidence--X-rays, Carter's files, forensic clues, and stories told through the ages--to arrive at their own account of King Tut's life and death. The result is an exhilarating true crime tale of intrigue, passion, and betrayal that casts fresh light on the oldest mystery of all.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
James Patterson published his first thriller in 1976 and since then has become one of the best-known and bestselling writers of all time, with more than 140 million copies of his books sold worldwide. He is the author of the two most popular detective series of the past decade, featuring Alex Cross and the Women's Murder Club, and he has written numerous other #1 bestsellers. He lives in Florida. 
Martin Dugard is the New York Times bestselling author of such nonfiction titles as Chasing Lance, The Last Voyage of Columbus, Farther Than Any Man, Knockdown, and Into Africa. He has written for Esquire, Outside, Sports Illustrated, and GQ. Dugard lives in Orange County, CA, with his wife and three sons.
REVIEW:
Did you know that James Patterson also writes non-fiction? For many people who never knew that fact, this was an awakening! THE MURDER OF KING TUT is touted as a "non-fiction thriller" and it is every bit of that. With the hugely successful and amazing non-fiction book, AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE: ONE FAMILY'S STRUGGLE WITH AN AGONIZING MEDICAL MYSTERY in 2008, Patterson showed another side to his mystery writing. In that, he researched and told the story of a medical mystery finally solved when the parents of a child eventually receive the correct diagnosis that their son has Tourette's Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive disorder. With this child's mystery told, Patterson now has moved on to another child's mystery, the death of young King Tutankhamen. Patterson co-authors with Martin Dugard and they present their theory of how Tut, so often known as "the boy king", died and why.
James Patterson writes in the prologue how important research is in ANY kind of book that is written. Martin Dugard makes the trips to London, to Egypt, and to Tut's tomb, while Patterson concentrates more on the books and online references and data in order to get the historical background correct. As he says even in fiction, if the research is correct, the story will be believable and move quickly to a satisfying ending. This book does just that as it moves along quickly and reads like a novel.
The book is cleverly and yet cohesively divided into three time periods and goes back and forth between the three, and even includes maps to help visualize locations. It sounds like it might be hard to follow but it wasn't because the characters and settings are so well drawn out that you get these visuals in your mind and can be right where they are as you go from one time period to another.
Present day is one of the time periods and is where Patterson explains how he got the idea to do this book. He tells how it became almost all consuming as he learned more and more with the research he and Dugard came up with. The facts they present were interesting to me and not confusing but rather explained so much of what little I already knew about this subject as well as fit in with the other two parts. Their details enabled me to get a mental image of the pyramids, the time periods, and most of all, brought about in me a sympathy for young King Tut. In the end, Patterson does give his idea of what actually happened to the young king but of course you don't think I am going to tell you that, now do you?
The second time period is from 1891 to 1939 and takes place initially in London and moves on to Egypt. This part is the amazing story of Howard Carter and how he started out as a sketch artist in London getting paid to sketch people's pets and was then hired to be a sketch artist on an expedition to Egypt. He was needed to sketch the writings and drawings on the walls as once the pyramids were discovered and opened, the air caused them to start to fade and so he was needed to preserve what was there in his drawings. This is what started Carter's lifelong quest to find the tomb of King Tut. Howard Carter is one of the most famous Egyptologists of the 20th century and the way he started out, with a fascination for Egypt and his drawing skills to become who he was, is so interesting and reads like a really good novel. He spent years excavating tombs in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt until he "struck gold" in November of 1922. It was then that Carter found King Tutankhamen's burial site, with everything inside preserved and the mummy of King Tut inside. This part alone was a fascinating read but then there is the third part of this book.
The third and oldest time period of the book is 1492 BC to 1319 BC (and I had to stop and remember the smaller the number became, the further along we were in BC) where we meet young Tutankhamen. The description of how the tombs were built was interesting to the point that they were so secretive, the slaves who built them were killed upon completion. From that you can see how this part told what it was like living at that time. This part amazed me as it described how the city of Armana had been built by Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti. Their relationship was detailed down to how the Pharaoh was dying from sand that was eating away the enamel in his teeth allowing disease and decay to poison his body. I had never heard of such a thing but it certainly makes sense.
This oldest part also told how and why Tut married his half sister as well as told how and why the tomb was so hard to find. There seemed to be some reason for people to want to totally erase everything there was about King Tut. He was just beginning to acquire the skill he needed to lead when he died, very mysteriously during the night. After Nefertiti (who was Tut's stepmother) and Tut died, Armana was destroyed by one of the people involved in Tut's murder, if you are to believe the conspiracy, and that seemed such a waste.
The way that Patterson weaves these three parts together was very well done and I found myself thinking I really was just reading a really good mystery. The research that Dugard did is a huge part of what makes this a successful story. Even if you aren't an expert about this subject, and I am not, you have to have that research to make it feasible. AND, if you don't have a master storyteller like Patterson to add his research and then his writing skills to put the pieces together fluently and fabulously, then you wouldn't have THE MURDER OF KING TUT....and a really, very good book.
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
3 COPIES OF THIS DELIGHTFUL AUDIO
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. HERE IS WHAT
YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN A COPY!
RULES:
--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU LEARNED ABOUT KING TUT BY READING ABOUT THE BOOK AND MY REVIEW ABOVE
+1 MORE ENTRIES: IF YOU BECOME A GOOGLE FRIEND FOLLOWER TODAY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS I AM WORKING TO GET TO 600.
+1 MORE ENTRY: IF YOU ARE ALREADY A FOLLOWER, PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW OR WHERE YOU FOLLOW.
GIVEAWAY ENDS AT 6 PM, EST,
JANUARY 15 FOR THIS BOOK!
HOWEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WHO
ENTERED DURING THE BLOGIVERSARY
WEEKEND ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE
GRAND PRIZE TO COME ON JANUARY 16...
THAT IS THEY WIN ALL 12 BOOKS!
NOTE: BLOGIVERSARY WEEKEND
GRAND PRIZE ELIGIBILITY IS OVER!
BUT YOU CAN STILL WIN THIS BOOK!
78 comments:
I learned that "Howard Carter is one of the most famous Egyptologists of the 20th century and the way he started out, with a fascination for Egypt and his drawing skills to become who he was, is so interesting and reads like a really good novel."
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
I follow via google friend connect.
I also subscribe via email.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
I learned that Howard Carter started out as a sketch artist in London sketching people's pets and later was hired to be a sketch artist on an Egyptian expedition.
Sheila
skkorman@bellsouth.net
I never heard that Tut had married his half sister.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
GFC follower
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
I learned that King Tut married his half-sister, which may be why people sometimes say "tut-tut" when they want to express a mild criticism—LOL!
Donna
dlhaley@hotmail.com
I didn't know about King Tut marrying someone so close to him...jeesh, keepin' it in the family huh?? Would love a chance to hear it :)
rachie2004 @ yahoo (dot) com
I am a subscriber!! :D
rachie2004 @ yahoo (d0t) com
I didn't know Howard Carter had started out sketching peoples' pets before going to find Tut's tomb.
lyoness2009 AT hot mail **dot** com
I did not know that Tut married his half sister. Thanks for the giveaway.
lizzi0915 at aol dot com
+1 I follow on Google friend connect.
lizzi0915 at aol dot com
I had no idea King Tut had married his half sister.
seriousreader at live dot com
I am an old follower through Google friend connect.
seriousreader at live dot com
I had no idea they killed the slaves after the tombs were finished. Amazing!
fourkidsrgreat(at)gmail.com
Learned that King Tut's burial cite was found by Howard Carter in November 1922....I learned that from your review, as well as it is one of the few things that I remember learning about King Tut from 6th grade social studies!!! Thanks for the chance. bekki1820cb at gmail
Already a follower via gfc
bekki1820cb at gmail
i learned that tuts death is suspicious bc he died just when he was gaining the skills to lead
wheresmyrain at yahoo dot com
i follow you as well +1
wheresmyrain at yahoo dot com
Howard Carter found King Tut's tomb in November 1922.
msboatgal at aol.com
I learned that Howard Carter started out sketching pictures and then started sketching the hieroglyphics.
amandarwest at gmaildotcom
I follow with google friend connect and google reader.
amandarwest at gmaildotcom
Sheesh, I don't think I would have wanted to be a slave building one of the tombs is all you got at the end was death!
florida982002[at]yahoo.com
He married his half sister.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
I follow on google friend.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
I didn't know that the slaves who built the tombs were killed upon completion.
Lacey914@sbcglobal.net
I'm a google friend follower.
Lacey914@sbcglobal.net
I didn't know he married his half sister.
Wendy
ebeandebe at gmail dot com
I subscribe with google reader.
Wendy
ebeandebe at gmail dot com
I learned that Tut married his half sister.
dlodden at frontiernet dot net
I follow with Google Friend Connect.
dlodden at frontiernet dot net
I learned that King Tut married his half sister.
jessica(at)fan(dot)com
+ 1 I'm already a google follower
jessica(at)fan(dot)com
Howard Carter is one of the most famous Egyptologists of the 20th century.
simplystacieblog at gmail dot com
GFC follower
simplystacieblog at gmail dot com
Sand was eating away the enamel of his teeth!
thank you
kaiminani at gmail dot com
I follow by google friend and by email
thank you
kaiminani at gmail dot com
justpeachy36@yahoo.com
I'm a follower.
I didn't know King Tut married his half sister... Yikes... LoL
I knew the King Tut trivia, but I didn't know about the sand eating away the other Pharoah's teeth and causing disease. Icky.
ashleymaymott(at)aol(dot)com
I am a google friend follower.
ashleymaymott(at)aol(dot)com
Can you believe I didn't know this was a non-fiction book? I've seen it everywhere, but hadn't really looked closely at it.
akreese (at) hotmail (dot) com
I follow via google friend connect.
akreese (at) hotmail (dot) com
Tut married his half sister.
miller4plusmore(at)bellsouth(dot)net
I am a loyal follower via Google Friend Connect.
miller4plusmore(at)bellsouth(dot)net
He died when he was only 9 years old and it might have been murder.
mitzihinkey at sbcglobal dot net
I'm a follower
mitzihinkey at sbcglobal dot net
That he married his half-sister. Also that he was thrown into the throne at the age of 9.
sharon54220@gmail.com
I follow via Google Friend Connect.
sharon54220@gmail.com
I learned that King Tut was dying from disease brought on my the erosion of his teeth by sand. I'd never heard that before!
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
I already follow via Google Friend Connect.
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
I learned that his co author Martin is the one that takes the research trips to Egypt. I think Patterson is getting the short end of the deal!
aksimmo at brainerd dot net
I subscribe by email
aksimmo at brainerd dot net
I learned that in November of 1922 the great discovery of Tut's tomb was made by Howard Carter.
wolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com
I follow with Google Friend Connect.
wolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com
I always heard Tut called "the boy King" but didn't know he was acquiring skills to lead when he died.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 At gmail dot com
I thought it interesting that Carter drew portraits of rich people's dogs first
wickdogg AT gmail dot com
I just became a GFC follower today
wickdogg AT gmail dot com
I'm interested to know what a 'non-fiction thriller' really sounds like
http://reneesuz.blogspot.com/2009/07/lizzi-fredl.html
I'm a google follower
reneesuz82@msn(d0t)com
Howard Carter is one of the most famous Egyptologists of the 20th century who's lifelong quest was to find the tomb of King Tut.
Thanks ~ megalon22 at yahoo dot com
I already follow in GFC
megalon22 at yahoo dot com
As a young girl I was always fascinated by the history of Egypt, but I had no idea that King Tut was only 9 when he took the throne!
Thanks for the entry!
Wendy
wendysfictionaddiction(at)gmail(dot)com
I'm already a follower and follow via google connect.
Thanks for the entry!
Wendy
wendysfictionaddiction(at)gmail(dot)com
The book is written in three different sections/time periods ranging from present day all the way back to 1492 BC.
mparke[at]mts[dot]net
Your blog is in my Google Reader.
mparke[at]mts[dot]net
I am a huge ancient egyptian fan and I never knew that King Tut married his half-sister. I also learned that in the beguining of Howards Carters hunt it was a mystery because King Tut was just parished. This looks like another good novel for me to read!
Fourevermandm@aol.com
I am already a follower and have been for several months I believe I followed in mid July of this year. Followed through Google friend connect and twitter.
Fourevermandm@aol.com
Please enter me into the drawing for this audio book please
Mamat2730(at)charter(dot)net
I did not know that sand could eat away at the enamel of one's teeth! Wow! Thanks for hosting this giveaway.
denny(dot)gill(at)gmail(dot)com
I never knew King Tut married his half sister. Interesting!
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
I'm sure that I've read it somewhere else, but had forgotten that many of the slaves were killed after working on King Tuts pyramid:-(
libneas[at]aol[dot]com
+1 I'm a follower :-)
libneas[at]aol[dot]com
I learned that Howard Carter found King Tut's Tomb in November 1922. Thank you for this nice giveaway.
chinook92 at gmail dot com
I follow Bookin' With Bingo via Google Friends.
chinook92 at gmail dot com
I learned that he married his half sister.
sweetmissa at gmail dot com
That King Tut married his half sister... amazing...
I follow with google reader.
I learned that there are still alot of questions to be answered in the mystery of King Tut life
copperllama at yahoo dot com
already a subscriber
copperllama at yahoo dot com
Post a Comment