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The River of Kings Paperback – March 20, 2018

4.1 out of 5 stars 391 ratings

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Named one of the Top 25 Best Novels of 2017 by Paste Magazine!

“The most exciting literary adventure fiction I've read since
Deliverance.” –Howard Frank Mosher, author of God's Kingdom

In
The River of Kings, bestselling author of Fallen Land Taylor Brown artfully weaves three narrative strands―two brothers’ journey down an ancient river, their father’s tangled past, and the buried history of the river’s earliest people―to evoke a legendary place and its powerful hold on the human imagination.

The Altamaha River, Georgia’s “Little Amazon,” is one of the last truly wild places in America. Crossed by roads only five times in its 137 miles, the black-water river is home to thousand-year-old virgin cypress, direct descendants of eighteenth-century Highland warriors, and a staggering array of rare and endangered species. The Altamaha is even rumored to harbor its own river monster, as well as traces of the oldest European fort in North America.

Brothers Hunter and Lawton Loggins set off to kayak the river, bearing their father’s ashes toward the sea. Hunter is a college student, Lawton a Navy SEAL on leave; they were raised by an angry, enigmatic shrimper who loved the river, and whose death remains a mystery that his sons are determined to solve. As the brothers proceed downriver, their story alternates with that of Jacques le Moyne, the first European artist in North America, who accompanied a 1564 French expedition that began as a search for riches and ended in a bloody confrontation with Spanish conquistadors and native tribes.

Twining past and present in one compelling narrative, and illustrated with drawings that survived the 1564 expedition,
The River of Kings is Taylor Brown’s second novel: a dramatic and rewarding adventure through history, myth, and the shadows of family secrets.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"I read Taylor Brown's new novel in a state of astonishment--at the bold undertaking, the exhilarating narrative, and the vivid language. I was mesmerized by the way he weaves three separate stories together over time to create a startling portrait of America's soul." --Bobbie Ann Mason, author of In Country and The Girl in the Blue Beret

“With language as rich as floodplain soil,
The River of Kings is a stunning Southern epic of tremendous heart and scope. Taylor Brown takes risks few other writers would chance and somehow manages to traverse those waters with an astounding grace and beauty.” –David Joy, author of The Weight Of This World

“In
The River of Kings Taylor Brown offers a brilliant braided history, water-tight and blood-bound. Each strand of time is laid atop the one before it to make an intricate fable: two brothers, paddling back against the past, and whatever monsters lurk beneath its surface. This book haunts itself. And Mr. Brown keeps getting better and better.” –Ashley Warlick, author of The Arrangement

“The most exciting literary adventure fiction I've read since
Deliverance. Taylor Brown's The River of Kings has it all: crackling drama, unforgettable characters, myth, the unspoiled natural world, love, laughter, and tragedy – all rendered in Brown's gorgeous, precise prose. The River of Kings is truly a great American novel.” –Howard Frank Mosher, author of God's Kingdom

“Like a great body of water itself,
The River of Kings is one moment grace and serenity, and the next moment hazard and threat, shifting in wonderfully unexpected ways, yet always in possession of a natural beauty you cannot help but admire.” –Michael Farris Smith, author of Desperation Road and Rivers

“Taylor Brown spins fantastic and riveting historical fiction like no one else.
The River of Kings is engrossing, exciting, poetic, with surprising moments of tenderness, and crafted with a master hand. The writing exhibits shades of Philipp Meyer, Richard Ford, Annie Proulx, and Anthony Doerr, but every book by Brown is all his own. If your curiosity is piqued by an exciting river adventure with rich character study and language that fairly leaps off the page, look no further―you've found your book.” –Andria Williams, author of The Longest Night

"Captures the essence of an enchanting place with a story combining adventure, family drama, and local history." --
Publishers Weekly

"The River of Kings is almost impossibly visual―cinematic in the best sense. Like Cormac McCarthy and Annie Proulx, Brown possesses rare and wild gifts, writing with the arresting precision and unremitting intensity that can keep a reader’s jaw clenched for books at a time." --Paste Magazine

"For all its twists, this is a novel worth every turn of the page." - The Providence Journal

About the Author

TAYLOR BROWN grew up on the Georgia coast. He has lived in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, and the mountains of western North Carolina. He is the recipient of the Montana Prize in Fiction and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. His novels include Fallen Land, The River of Kings, Gods of Howl Mountain, Pride of Eden, and Wingwalkers. He lives in Savannah, Georgia.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1250165512
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (March 20, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 335 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781250165510
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250165510
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.38 x 0.84 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 391 ratings

About the author

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Taylor Brown
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Taylor Brown grew up on the Georgia coast. He is the author of a short story collection, IN THE SEASON OF BLOOD AND GOLD, as well as four novels: FALLEN LAND, THE RIVER OF KINGS, GODS OF HOWL MOUNTAIN, PRIDE OF EDEN, and REDNECKS (St. Martin's Press). He is the recipient of a Montana Prize in Fiction and a three-time finalist for the Southern Book Prize. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Rumpus, Garden & Gun, The Bitter Southerner, Chautuaqua, Southwest Review, and many others. He lives in Savannah, Georgia, where he's the founder and editor-in-chief of BikeBound.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
391 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's narrative compelling throughout, with one review highlighting its three different perspectives. The writing quality receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as a beautifully rendered history.

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16 customers mention "Story quality"16 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's compelling narratives throughout, with one customer highlighting its refreshing storyline and another noting its three-perspective narrative structure.

"...Three stories unfold. One follows the journey of brothers- Hunter and Lawton Loggins- as they kayak Georgia’s great Altamaha River...." Read more

"...Although I enjoyed the writing and history of the Altamaha River, I felt let down at the end of the book...." Read more

"...for the right reader (probably an outdoorsy man), reading about a river is probably of interest...." Read more

"The River of Kings is beautifully written as well as a captivating story. I especially liked it because I am familiar with the area...." Read more

15 customers mention "Writing quality"13 positive2 negative

Customers enjoy the writing quality of the book, with one customer describing it as a richly creative novel.

"Born on the Georgia coast, Taylor Brown offers us a richly creative novel in A River of Kings. Three stories unfold...." Read more

"...Although I enjoyed the writing and history of the Altamaha River, I felt let down at the end of the book...." Read more

"...It is well-written and well-researched, and for the right reader (probably an outdoorsy man), reading about a river is probably of interest...." Read more

"The River of Kings is beautifully written as well as a captivating story. I especially liked it because I am familiar with the area...." Read more

Lacking in intimacy and more like street photography.
3 out of 5 stars
Lacking in intimacy and more like street photography.
This work is average at best relative to the photographers’ past books - lacking in intimacy and more like street photography. Some images are average and boring. The images have little to do with the Chao Phraya river. The book can easily be named photos from Bangkok. Heavy paper stock. Excellent printing. Buy one of the artists’ previous books. Or wait for his next book.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2017
    Born on the Georgia coast, Taylor Brown offers us a richly creative novel in A River of Kings. Three stories unfold. One follows the journey of brothers- Hunter and Lawton Loggins- as they kayak Georgia’s great Altamaha River. They are carrying the ashes of their father to scatter at river’s end.
    Another, seen through cracks in time, chronicles the ill-fated effort of the French to establish Fort Caroline at the mouth of the Altamaha in the 16th century near modern-day Darien. We learn of the horrors the French suffered from the record kept by artist Jacques Le Moyne de Morgue. His drawings also preserve the often grotesque world around him, filled with water monsters and merciless enemies. Many of these drawings are included in Brown’s novel, and they inspire fear.
    A third tale chronicles the decline and fall of a strong and passionate man, Hunter and Lawson’s father, Hiram Loggins. A river-born shrimper, he never recovers emotionally or financially after a hurricane destroys his boat. A Viet Nam vet, he is hell on his growing boys. “Badged” with tattoos. Drinks too much. Despises those who defile the river. Couples with a beautiful but unattainable swamp denizen. Dies under mysterious circumstances.
    In the struggles and affections that hang between the two brothers, there is emotional power. Lawton is a Navy seal, physically hardened and hair-triggered for danger. Hunter is less adventurous and more introspective, anxious to understand how their father’s hard nature shaped their coming of age. The river is the testing ground for manhood and they are in it up to their chins. Miscreants and saints abide in the wilderness, keeping us off balance as we try to keep up.
    Georgia’s Altamaha River carries more water into the Atlantic than any single US river, so the arena through which these three plots careen is enormous. Primeval stands of giant cypress trees, grimy backwater fish camps, week-enders hell bent on fast boats and big fish, and the ever raging battle between law enforcement officials and marijuana traffickers give us a riveting ride. Things turn deadly when the kayakers find clues to their father’s death and must battle with Russian bad-guys. Intermittently, we are voyeurs watching the father’s couplings with swamp lady, witnesses to endless bickering and taunting between the brothers and helpless bystanders as the starving French huddle in their fort to await the arrival of their savage Catholic enemies from St. Augustine.
    Sound confusing? Not so. Carefully compartmentalized, the yarns all move toward a satisfying conclusion. It is for others to say this is literature, but be prepared to be challenged. This is a psychological thriller as well as beautifully rendered history. Saccharine words are in short supply as the river roils the stories together. Tired of beach reads and formula thrillers? A River of Kings is the cure.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2019
    After reading Taylor Brown’s Howl Mountain I couldn’t wait to try The River of Kings. Although I enjoyed the writing and history of the Altamaha River, I felt let down at the end of the book.

    As interesting as Le Moyne’s story line was, I don’t know it related to the main narrative of Hunter and Lawton’s trip down the river. It could have been a story of its own

    All in all I enjoyed the novel, it just wasn’t Howl Mountain.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2017
    I hope I'm invited to a cocktail party in the near future, and while I am standing around sipping my drink, I will turn to the person next to me and say, "Did you know there is this river in Georgia where the sturgeon jump out of the water and kill you?" Because then I'll feel like I got something of value from reading this book.

    It is well-written and well-researched, and for the right reader (probably an outdoorsy man), reading about a river is probably of interest. I didn't care about the flora and fauna, life on the river, the killer fish, etc. The only reason I finished it was because it was our book club book.

    When the book was described to us, I heard "history" and "mystery" but it was not the sort I found interesting. I suspect the fact there were essentially no women in the book at all didn't help. If you love good writing, and reading about men in a natural setting, this is the book for you. Otherwise, look elsewhere for your history and mystery.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2020
    The River of Kings is beautifully written as well as a captivating story. I especially liked it because I am familiar with the area. It is a beautiful part of South Georgia. The back and forth in time was easy to follow with chapters leading with the date in time.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2019
    Very good.read
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2022
    Taylor Brown’s book is well conceived and superbly written, the characters and events just outsized enough so you know it’s a story. And the plot twists like the river it’s set on.
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2021
    I read Gods of Howl Mountain and really like that book. This one not so much. I am halfway through and struggling to keep reading. The three stories in one doesn’t work for me at all. In the story of the 1500’s it is simply how many ways can you describe starving to death. The other two stories are going nowhere. I love rivers but describing the landscape only gets you so far. We need a plot here. I will probably finish because I almost always give the writer the benefit of reading until the end. But the struggle is real. I recommend you take a pass on this book. I am even going so far as to use that dread word—boring.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2022
    The author places you in each of the characters senses, allowing you to feel each movement, smell and sound heard.
    Looking forward to all books written by him.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Andrew
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not really for me
    Reviewed in Australia on December 5, 2024
    I could see how others will like it, some will love it, but it didn’t really do it for me.
  • Zeroidking
    4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of action, mystery and suspense
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2018
    A ripping yarn, boys story. Lots of action, mystery and suspense. Vivid and atmospheric scene settings
  • andrew alan walton
    4.0 out of 5 stars daddy book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2019
    searching the unexpected