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Publisher's Summary

We're used to hearing about the latest tell-all memoir from one of today's sports figures, political insiders, or celebrity wannabes. But what if we discovered that one of history's greatest heroes had written his life story? That's the premise behind Robert Silverberg's amazing novel Gilgamesh the King.
The journey begins when six-year-old Gilgamesh's father dies. As he grows to manhood and eventually ascends to the throne, he faces many challenges along the way: political intrigue, war, the burden of leadership. But none are as difficult as his intense internal struggles against loneliness and his own mortality. Weaving together historical data, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and his own fertile imagination, Silverberg creates a rich and compassionate portrait of a man who lived about 2500 B.C.
©1984 Robert Silverberg (P)2010 Eloquent Voice, LLC
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Critic Reviews

"Fantasy, myth and ancient history interweave seamlessly in this powerful retelling of the epic of Gilgamesh…. Silverberg extends his mastery of the fantasy genre to the re-creation of the magic and mystery of ancient Sumer, uncovering the deep human truths that lie beneath the legend. ( Library Journal)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
3 out of 5 stars
By Jim "The Impatient" on 12-10-11

Mary Renault is better

This reads like something Mary Renault would write and she would do a better job.

The story is based on probably the oldest known story ever written. That alone makes it interesting. It is the story of a King from his childhood to late adulthood. Like all Silverberg books the prose is good. RS is one of the more talented writers around. It is written in first person by the King. As a youth he is confused over all the religious rituals and little is done to explain them to him. He learns as he goes. He grows up in the story and he becomes what he thinks is nearly a God. He is big and strong and he sleeps with several women a night (It's good to be the King).

Though there are lots of demons and such mentioned in the story, we see through his adventures how these are just how they explain anything they do not understand. We also see how Kings do not have all the power as they must deal with the priests and the priestess and what the people expect. Though the main character thinks he is a God, he is very human in his thoughts and even though I did not like the main character, I have no doubt this was what he was like in real life and how I would probably be under the same circumstances.

I gave this 3 stars, some four and five star RS books would be: AT Winter's End, The Word Inside and Downward To Earth.

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15 of 20 people found this review helpful

4 out of 5 stars
By Amazon Customer on 02-20-18

You need to now what will you be listening to

This book is talking about gilgamesh as a deceived human not as a god, i loved it but I felt betrayed by the story ,yes it takes the milestones in his life but the book gives it as it really (possibly) went,so when you buy the book you have to now that you’re not going to hear about gilgamesh the god but you will hear about gilgamesh the king

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

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