The topics and information in this book are interesting and thought-provoking, but it's all utterly ruined for me by the author's repeated ableist, ageist, sexist, condescending, and otherwise problematic writing. "Voluptuous" doesn't equal "matron." We don't use the word "crippled" any more. The whole project reeks of white privilege that is occasionally acknowledged, but always with a laugh, as if it's not meaningful. And experimental or experiential archaeology is nothing new, as Kean claims it to be; several of his claims are examples of misinformation--the book really needs a SME to go through it with a fine-tooth comb. Fortunately, there are other writers engaging with science in a narrative style that don't engage in any of these things. Let me recommend them to my readers instead: Sarah Parcak, Christina Souyoudzoglou-Haywood, Aidan O'Sullivan, Katherine Crighton, Heather Pringle, and dozens of others.

Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Recreating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations by Sam Kean is a great book that blends fiction and nonfiction into a compelling read.

I dare anyone to read at least a chapter or two of this book and not be fascinated with history.

The author does a wonderful job of giving the reader a nonfiction introduction at the beginning of each chapter (time period and location of focus) and then creates a fictional story to give the reader insight and understanding to the time, place, and culture during the designated time. This really gives the reader a peak into the world as we know it at this time.

I really liked this, and I think other readers with a passion of history, historical fiction, and archeology will enjoy this too.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Little, Brown and Company for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 7/8/25.

Sam Kean does an excellent job introducing his audience to the world of experimental archaeology in his latest work, “Dinner with King Tut.” Throughout the chapters we get to meet a variety of colorful figures ranging from university scholars to amateur enthusiasts who are all trying to bring the past alive through hands-on trial-and-error experience. These various encounters the author has with these women and men, plus his descriptions of his own solo attempts to recreate bits and pieces of historical daily life, are naturally interesting on their own. However, Kean takes things a step further through a particular narrative choice on his part. Every single chapter is structured around a slice-of-life bit of historical fiction written by himself, where his fictional characters go about a single day engaged in the same activities and using the same tools that the author’s real-life interviewed subjects are busy trying to recreate. It’s a writing choice that I did not expect, but very much learned to appreciate before I even got out of the first chapter due to the significant amount of historical contextualization that it was able to add to the entire experience (not to mention some extra tension with the various little plots he cooked up to drive the action).


There was so much to learn here, all of it genuinely fascinating. Between his subject material, his particular writing structure, and not to mention his own very amiable style, Kean has crafted a work that I would definitely and confidently is scientific writing at some of its most fun, accessible, and entertainingly informative.

Dinner with King Tut is such a cool and unique book! I found the content of this book to be fascinating and once I picked it up, it was hard for me to put it back down. This book explores a newly developed style of archaeology in which archaeologists recreate the customs, food, and/or practices of past civilizations by recreating the sights, smells, and sounds of them. The author embarks on a journey that leads him through many different civilizations of the past, as well as how the people who were once a part of these ancient civilizations went about their daily lives. I liked how personal the author's writing style felt and how it flowed easily. I found the author, Sam Kean, to be very relatable and enjoyed the way he told us readers about his attempts to recreate the sights, smells, and sounds of the ancient civilizations. The content of this book was fascinating and it really brought these ancient peoples to life and made you feel like you were right there alongside them as they were going about their daily lives. I learned a lot about ancient civilizations from this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the subject matter of the book and who is looking to learn more about the field of experimental archaeology.

Since 6th Grade Social Studies is one of the two topics I teach, this book was a very welcomed read. It read like a bunch of short stories, some which will be very useful to my teacher next year.

And who doesn’t like history and feeling more about the senses (how did things taste and smell and feel)?

Thank you NetGalley, Sam Kean and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC. Opinions stated here are my own.