Technical Details
See more technical details
"Waste of Time and Money" 2008-07-15
By Dennis B. H. Ang (Singapore)
Spent your money elsewhere if you are looking for a book to improve your game. You will not find it here.
"A journey to..." 2005-07-19
By T. Enst
I read the Kingdom of Shivas Irons just after finishing Golf in the Kingdom. Perhaps it was because I still had so much in my head from the older work that the impression Shivas Irons left on me was mediocre at best. So much of what was built up in the original was either expanded along a side-path or seemingly dumped for one reason or another. Much of this is completely new information, with very little connected with the original.
I don't want to give many explicit examples for those still trying to decide whether to read the two books, but virtually everything regarding Seamus Macduff seems to have been turned upside-down. Pythagoris and other philosophers seem to take a holiday as well.
On the good side, however, we get the involvement of a whole new host of characters, including Ziparelli, the anti-Shivas. Mechanics (which he can't keep in his head) and technology (that breaks down on him) are his tools, and he serves as a farsicle figure, something absent from the original tale. There is a more intense mixing of mysticism as well, which will appeal to some.
If you truly enjoyed Golf in the Kingdom, it might be best to pass this by. Your image of the whole thing may be turned on its head. If you thought it mediocre, this may be more appealing to you. If you hated the original, I doubt there is anything here for you.
"As sequals go---- A pretty damned good one!" 2003-01-01
By M.B. (Tampa, FL)
While it's always difficult to follow-up a blockbuster novel, movie etc Michael Murphy has done so with remarkable style and panache. Although written almost 30 years after 'Golf in the Kingdom' first debuted, 'The Kingdom of Shivas Irons' is definitely worth the read. Murphy goes back to Scotland to try to track down the elusive and enlightened Shivas with mixed results. Several adventures along the way make the reader think about the true meanings of golf and life as metaphysical happenings deeper than what's on the surface. If you liked G.I.T.K, you will not be disappointed with this sequal. This book, like the first one is similar to an onion--- peeling off several layers of meaning only reveals to you several more. Digging into this book and it's liquid smooth plot make you feel like you're out on the course 170 yards from the hole with a five-iron in hand ready to go for broke over a pond. It draws you in slowly and very subtley, but the effect is still the same--- you come away shaking your head in amazement!
"The Emperor Has No Clothes" 2002-12-13
By
Michael Murphy's 1972 novel "Golf In The Kingdom" deservedly became a cult classic in spite of some fairly dodgy attempts at portraying Scots dialect and culture. This was because he got it right with the golf while the mystical, metaphysical elements of the story added an extra angle of interest despite being a wee bit hokey in places.This time out, with the sequel "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons", the golf seems to take a back seat to the metaphysical, New Age stuff, while his portrayal of the Scots comes across as patronising and ridiculous. Indeed, by halfway through the novel one begins to wonder whether Murphy has ever even been to Scotland and experienced anything of the people and culture besides spending time on the country's spectacular golf links.
Buy "Golf In The Kingdom" and enjoy. But beware of the sequel, "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons", which is unfortunately second-rate and adds nothing worthwhile to Murphy's original vision.
"A mixed bag" 2002-06-09
By
This follow-up to 1972's "Golf In the Kingdom" is, to say the least, a mixed bag.On the positive side, Murphy's use of language to describe and evoke physical landscapes and the natural environment is, as in its predecessor, breathtaking. The novel's structure and pace are also sound.
On the negative side, some of the characters in "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons" ring false from the outset, to the point of being laughable. For example, the Scots physicist Buck Hannigan, one of the major characters: I would be surprised if there was a single person in Scotland named "Buck". Sure, this kind of Americanism is a minor detail, but it calls into question how much Murphy really knows about the land where golf was born and the nation of people who established it. Because of this, the storyteller's credibility is somewhat devalued.
Murphy's novel explores golf not as a mere game but as a sort of grand metaphysical experiment, dipping into a hodge-podge of New Age beliefs towards which the sceptical reader may sometimes wince. This aspect of the book reminded me that while open-mindedness is generally a virtue, there's also a saying that "An open mind may let in falsehoods as well as truths". "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons" contains some interesting ideas but a lot of utter nonsense and psychobabble as well.
Worthwhile reading, but only when taken with a pinch of salt beforehand.
Buy The Kingdom of Shivas Irons Now
