 
House of the Tiger King
Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 2
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 On: 2007-08-18
I have to agree with the previous reviewer - this is a darker book than Shahs other books and it seems to have an angry tone to it where the others were more light-hearted and had funny spots. Shah seems to dislike almost everyone he comes into contact with on this trip and is obsessed (and not in a very nice way) about his goal. I would recommend the Caliphers House or the Sorcerers Apprentice or the Search for King Solomons Mines instead - this book was a letdown compared to those.
On: 2007-08-17
I have to agree with the previous reviewer - this is a darker book than Shahs other books and it seems to have an angry tone to it where the others were more light-hearted and had funny spots. Shah seems to dislike almost everyone he comes into contact with on this trip and is obsessed (and not in a very nice way) about his goal. I would recommend the Caliphers House or the Sorcerers Apprentice or the Search for King Solomons Mines instead - this book was a letdown compared to those.
 On: 2006-11-03
If youve read others of Shahs book, The House of the Tiger King will feel both familiar and a little different. Familiar in so far as he writes well, puts himself in unusual predicaments and circles around arcane knowledge without drowning you in the stuff. However, the House of the Tiger King finds him transformed into a more obsessive, more punishing individual. Much of this, of course, drives the story. Despite the things that lighten the story of harsh adventure in the Peruvian jungles (some of which we could do without, such as the tiring references to Pot Noodles), this is a darker tale than usual. The worry is that Shah having written his way around the world, pushing himself further and further for his stories, is not going to run out of stories to write about, but a way in which to write them. He seems to have backed himself into a corner in this one, the intrepid, manic voyager, forgetful of wife and child, driven by obsession. So when the next book comes out, do we find that the obsession was just manufactured for the sake of the book, or can he perform a magicians trick and reinvent himself again?
On: 2006-11-02
If youve read others of Shahs book, The House of the Tiger King will feel both familiar and a little different. Familiar in so far as he writes well, puts himself in unusual predicaments and circles around arcane knowledge without drowning you in the stuff. However, the House of the Tiger King finds him transformed into a more obsessive, more punishing individual. Much of this, of course, drives the story. Despite the things that lighten the story of harsh adventure in the Peruvian jungles (some of which we could do without, such as the tiring references to Pot Noodles), this is a darker tale than usual. The worry is that Shah having written his way around the world, pushing himself further and further for his stories, is not going to run out of stories to write about, but a way in which to write them. He seems to have backed himself into a corner in this one, the intrepid, manic voyager, forgetful of wife and child, driven by obsession. So when the next book comes out, do we find that the obsession was just manufactured for the sake of the book, or can he perform a magicians trick and reinvent himself again?
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