The Murder of Tutankhamen

A True Story

By: Bob Brier PhD

Narrated by: Christopher Douyard

Today, Tutankhamen is the most famous of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. After his death at the age of nineteen, "King Tut" was forgotten from history, until the discovery of his tomb in 1922 propelled him to worldwide fame. But the circumstances of his death remain shrouded in mystery . . .

X-rays of Tutankhamen's skull suggest a violent death. Was it accident or murder? Several members of his family died around the same time—was is coincidence? Why did Tutankhamen's widow send desperate messages to the Hittite king, requesting marriage to one of his sons? And who murdered the Hittite price on his journey to Egypt? Who ordered the removal of Tutankhamen's name from all monuments and temples, and thus from Egyptian history?

This fascinating, painstakingly researched book is the first to explore in depth the questionable circumstances of Tutankhamen's demise—and to present a shocking scenario of betrayal, ambition, and murder. In The Murder of Tutankhamen, renowned Egyptologist Bob Brier reveals an exciting journey into ancient history—and a 3,000 year-old mystery that still compels us today.

©1998, 2005 Bob Brier (P)2023 Tantor

Fascinating history without a lot of new information.

I listened to Bob’s Egypt course and this is essentially a very watered down version of that. In this book, Bob presents the murder theory pretty much in its entirety during the introduction. There’s little if any “new” information or insight into his theory.

Over half of this book doesn’t even talk about the murder of King Tut, it goes over about 2000 years of Egyptian history including the unification of Egypt under Narmer and the building of the pyramids by Sneferu.

The last probably 40% of the book focuses entirely on the 18th dynasty but even then it discusses more at length the actions of Tut’s parents and grandparents which lead to his name ultimately being erased from Egyptian record by Tut’s successors.

Overall my biggest problem with the book is it covers too much ground without addressing anything new. Maybe 10-15% of it directly discusses the murder of King Tut and the motives behind it. The rest is essentially historical filler.

I loved Bob’s course on ancient Egypt but I have to say this book was a let down. I would recommend listening to the Great Courses instead.

Gasping narrator is a problem

Dr. Brier's books are always entertaining and informative; I prefer his narration. I'm struggling with this narrator who makes dramatic gasps every other sentence. There is a massive issue with the sound production on this one. The gasps are distracting and more than a little alarming. I looked at the narrator's other reviews on a different book and saw that others have had the same reaction.

Terrible!

The content is probably good but you can't help being distracted by the narrator's gasping after every few sentences. I diligently tried to ignore the poor production but finally gave up. Bob Brier needs to scrap this garbage and narrate himself!