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ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
The River of Kings was an interesting book to dive into. Mostly because I'm not familiar with Georgia due to never being there. I'm pretty sure I have driven through the actual state to go somewhere else but that's about it.
So this book is all about The Altamaha River, which is located in Georgia and is rumored to have a monster living within it's waters. While diving into this book, you will notice that you get 3 timelines within the same family - A father, his two son's, and a European Artist name Jacques le Moyne.
Each POV brought a new piece to this adventurous and wild puzzle to me. I really enjoyed diving into the two brothers trying to figure out what happened to their dad. Then to jump into their dad's timeline and you see all the obstacles he faces throughout his own lifetime. It was insane. After that, Jacques is all about his own expedition that doesn't end on a happy note.
So, yeah, a lot happened throughout this book. My mind was kind of blown with what went down in certain timelines. It's probably why I enjoyed this book so much. A lot more than I thought I would. Definitely happy that I knocked off a book from my TBR and it was enjoyable.
So this book is all about The Altamaha River, which is located in Georgia and is rumored to have a monster living within it's waters. While diving into this book, you will notice that you get 3 timelines within the same family - A father, his two son's, and a European Artist name Jacques le Moyne.
Each POV brought a new piece to this adventurous and wild puzzle to me. I really enjoyed diving into the two brothers trying to figure out what happened to their dad. Then to jump into their dad's timeline and you see all the obstacles he faces throughout his own lifetime. It was insane. After that, Jacques is all about his own expedition that doesn't end on a happy note.
So, yeah, a lot happened throughout this book. My mind was kind of blown with what went down in certain timelines. It's probably why I enjoyed this book so much. A lot more than I thought I would. Definitely happy that I knocked off a book from my TBR and it was enjoyable.
robynryle's review against another edition
5.0
Love the way the three different stories here as seamlessly interwoven. The very intimate story of the two brothers becomes something beautiful and mythic.
sjj169's review against another edition
2.0
I'm totally at fault on this one. I didn't realize that this book was written by the same guy that wrote [b:Fallen Land|25632620|Fallen Land|Taylor Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1433011971s/25632620.jpg|45447074] (another book that everyone else loved and I read wrong). I'm going to admit that maybe this author just is not for me now.
I will admit to liking this one the most of the two books.
Two brothers Hunter and Lawton are on a river trip to take their father's ashes to the place that he spent most of his time, the Altamaha River. Dad wasn't the best father to these boys, he smacked them around, cheated on their mother with a woman he was obsessed with, and was just an all around butt hole.
The story splits off in three branches: one with the boy's trip (best), another telling about their father's life on the river and then one that followed an artist in 1564 that completely bored me out of my mind and I totally admit to skimming those sections.
I'm just not rating a book high when I skimmed parts of it even though some parts were really good. It is not who I am. (not judging anyone either..I'm a hateful heifer remember?)
I also will say that the author does an amazing job of descriptions and bringing the story to life in your head. His writing is done in a way that you smell and see what he is talking about in that moment in a way that few authors have the gift to accomplish.
A couple of lines that I highlighted for some reason that escapes my old lady brain are:
The are cans of peaches and sausages and Spam. Along one wall a deep freezer freckled with rust, perfect for the storage of bodies, and along the other a fog-windowed cooler housing a range of Coca-Cola products, some of them with labels not seen in years. Next to this a screened trough for live bait.
And
"You're a real bad mother, ain't you? What you got under that counter, baggies of crystal and a sawed-down twelve?"
"Try me and find out."
"What happened to our daddy?"
"He was a son of a bitch, and he had him some son-of-a-bitch sons."
*These totally may get changed because I had an advance copy of this book but I hope not*
I'm done. I have no clue on this book. I didn't really have a great time with it but it has tons of four and five stars and I HAVE so been wrong before.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review
I will admit to liking this one the most of the two books.
Two brothers Hunter and Lawton are on a river trip to take their father's ashes to the place that he spent most of his time, the Altamaha River. Dad wasn't the best father to these boys, he smacked them around, cheated on their mother with a woman he was obsessed with, and was just an all around butt hole.
The story splits off in three branches: one with the boy's trip (best), another telling about their father's life on the river and then one that followed an artist in 1564 that completely bored me out of my mind and I totally admit to skimming those sections.
Spoiler
I have no clue how they ever tied into the story because I never saw it happen..just borrrring.I'm just not rating a book high when I skimmed parts of it even though some parts were really good. It is not who I am. (not judging anyone either..I'm a hateful heifer remember?)
I also will say that the author does an amazing job of descriptions and bringing the story to life in your head. His writing is done in a way that you smell and see what he is talking about in that moment in a way that few authors have the gift to accomplish.
A couple of lines that I highlighted for some reason that escapes my old lady brain are:
The are cans of peaches and sausages and Spam. Along one wall a deep freezer freckled with rust, perfect for the storage of bodies, and along the other a fog-windowed cooler housing a range of Coca-Cola products, some of them with labels not seen in years. Next to this a screened trough for live bait.
And
"You're a real bad mother, ain't you? What you got under that counter, baggies of crystal and a sawed-down twelve?"
"Try me and find out."
"What happened to our daddy?"
"He was a son of a bitch, and he had him some son-of-a-bitch sons."
*These totally may get changed because I had an advance copy of this book but I hope not*
I'm done. I have no clue on this book. I didn't really have a great time with it but it has tons of four and five stars and I HAVE so been wrong before.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
Recommended by Jo. Read her review on the Cook Memorial Public Library's blog, Shelf Life: https://shelflife.cooklib.org/2017/09/01/weekend-read-the-river-of-kings-by-taylor-brown/
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sriver%20of%20kings%20taylor__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sriver%20of%20kings%20taylor__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
itsgg's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. I mostly enjoyed this book for its cinematic prose, with descriptions like "The coast a dark animal, crouched on the tin roof of the sea." The plots that move the three parallel stories, all taking place on Georgia's Altamaha River but separated by time, are well-paced and entertaining, even if some of the characters (mostly the pair of modern-day brothers) are a bit flat.
hyacinth_girl's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book and I really tried, but it just did not meet my expectations. The chapters were too short to really get any development in plot and characters and there was too much bouncing around between years and perspectives. If you're looking for a Southern historical fiction, there are better books to choose from.
leah_onderdonk's review against another edition
3.0
I was hopeful for this novel. I was expecting a tale of adventure/grit lit, but it was mostly subdued. It teased that there would be dark revelations and excitement, but I felt like it missed the mark. The "dark secret" the boys discovered about the father and his death was not really that shocking as I had expected. There was also a rape scene, reminiscent of Deliverance (but not as graphic), that I felt like was added in for shock value. It did not seem to serve much of a purpose in the novel (perhaps it would have if the novel was developed further?), and it left me wondering why that scene was there. I was also not a fan of Le Moyne's chapters, as I also kind of felt like they didn't fit in that well. The prose was thoughtful, and I enjoyed the style of writing. I was interested in the son's and father's chapters, I just wish there had been a more dramatic and meaningful ending.
alana_loves_books's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book because I liked the cover. Unfortunately, I liked the cover more than I liked the book! It’s really 3 stories. One is the story of two brothers who have returned to the mysterious Georgia river of their youth to make peace with their father’s death and determine the conditions under which he died. The second story is the father’s story of trying to eke out a life on the unforgiving river. The final story is about the French explorers who tried to build a fort, settle the area and claim dominion long before the Mayflower arrived. The three stories are woven together in alternating chapters. By the second half of the book, I was skipping the French colonists chapters altogether. I was much more interested in the brothers and their hunt to discover and understand their father and each other. The writing was good but I did get bogged down in the endless descriptions of the river and its geography. Whew. Glad this one’s done.
wordsofclover's review against another edition
3.0
I received a digital arc of this book from NetGalley/publishers in exchange for an honest review.
The River of Kings is a story telling three different perspectives. In modern day, two brother - Hunter and Lawton - are going on an adventure down the Altamaha river to say a final goodbye to their father and spread his ashes. In 1564, French artist Le Moyne is sharing his life at Fort Caroline - an early French settlement in what would become the United States. And through it all, we also see chapters told from Hunter and Lawton's fathers point of view. Through it all, the reader is told of a strange monster believed to inhabit the river - the Altamaha-ha.
This is one of those kind of books where I did enjoy it but I don't have a whole load to say about it. I thought Taylor Brown's writing was very beautiful and descriptive and the way he wrote really brought the sights, sounds and smells of the river alive.
I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this book. I don't know a whole lot about the early days of the United States and thought it all rather fascinated. I was interested to see the intense rivalry between the French and Spanish, as well as the explorers need for the natives and the terrible way they often treated them even though they needed them to survive.
Lawton and Hunter were both interesting character and quite different to one another. I liked the bond they clearly had and the easy camaraderie they shared. I also loved the conversation they had at one point where Hunter expresses his concerns over his weight and tells Lawton about the guys in college who are extremely bulked up. It was brief but honest and refreshing and it was nice to see two 'manly' men talk about weight and looks like this.
There was a brief moment in this book that contained a scene of child sexual abuse. It was a bit graphic for me and really repulsed me - I hadn't really seen it coming and felt it very random. While I understood it was there to reinforce a bond two characters had, I just feel it could have been something differentand not a strange man forcing a kid at gunpoint to give him a blowjob.
The River of Kings is a story telling three different perspectives. In modern day, two brother - Hunter and Lawton - are going on an adventure down the Altamaha river to say a final goodbye to their father and spread his ashes. In 1564, French artist Le Moyne is sharing his life at Fort Caroline - an early French settlement in what would become the United States. And through it all, we also see chapters told from Hunter and Lawton's fathers point of view. Through it all, the reader is told of a strange monster believed to inhabit the river - the Altamaha-ha.
This is one of those kind of books where I did enjoy it but I don't have a whole load to say about it. I thought Taylor Brown's writing was very beautiful and descriptive and the way he wrote really brought the sights, sounds and smells of the river alive.
I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this book. I don't know a whole lot about the early days of the United States and thought it all rather fascinated. I was interested to see the intense rivalry between the French and Spanish, as well as the explorers need for the natives and the terrible way they often treated them even though they needed them to survive.
Lawton and Hunter were both interesting character and quite different to one another. I liked the bond they clearly had and the easy camaraderie they shared. I also loved the conversation they had at one point where Hunter expresses his concerns over his weight and tells Lawton about the guys in college who are extremely bulked up. It was brief but honest and refreshing and it was nice to see two 'manly' men talk about weight and looks like this.
There was a brief moment in this book that contained a scene of child sexual abuse. It was a bit graphic for me and really repulsed me - I hadn't really seen it coming and felt it very random. While I understood it was there to reinforce a bond two characters had, I just feel it could have been something different
jamiereadthis's review against another edition
2.0
I think I’m maxed out on the writing that’s just compound adjectives in every sentence, sounding like writing instead of telling a story. I want a meal, something besides one of those fancy plates with all the curlicue garnishes, y’know.
Which is a shame, because south Georgia. The Altamaha. The Altamaha-ha, too. I really wanted to love this story of the river. I would’ve eaten it up ten years ago, but now, I could barely get through the densest passages. A time and a place, I suppose.
Which is a shame, because south Georgia. The Altamaha. The Altamaha-ha, too. I really wanted to love this story of the river. I would’ve eaten it up ten years ago, but now, I could barely get through the densest passages. A time and a place, I suppose.