Average Travelogue. - Rated 
I'm afraid I don't agree with the five-star reviewer above. I find Tahir's word sandwiched somewhat uncomfortably between serious travel writing and humourous travel writing. If he applied himself one way or the other, he might be ok, but in this offering, I found the serious bit bland and laboured and the humourous bits simply unfunny.
The best bit about it is the title - The House of the Tiger King - wow! sounds like an Indiana Jones film title, and I'm expecting some great adventure. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver. It's a bit to introspective most of the time - I want to read an entertaining romp set against a magnificent historical backdrop, not simply read about what Shah is learning about himself.
I have to say he puts me offside as ealy as Page 4, when he's talking about the Tiger in the jungle - "Of course, tigers are not native to the Americas; Julio is talking about the ghost of the tiger, the spectre that guards the temple', or words to that effect...
Now, call me a pedant, but when a Peruvian tells you he's seen "el Tigre" in the jungle, he's not talking about the big stripey Shere Khan type, he's talking about what we in English call a Jaguar, which most certainly ARE native to the Americas (he does make ths point at about page 90, so why he didn't feel the need to tell us before Page 4, instead of making up the rubbish about the non-nativity of Tigers is beyond me). So, maybe Shah was trying to generate a bit of mystery but all he achieved was me thinking he was insulting my intelligence.
Of course, after that, I was looking for deficiences...and I found quite a lot. Anyway, at best, we're expected to believe that Shah wanders off into the jungle armed only with a bunch of pot noodles, a alcholic ex-Vietnam vet, two Swedish filmmakers and an enigmatic Bulgarian. Ho hum - it reeks of BS to me. If it was funny, I could forgive it, but it's not.
So, it's not all bad, but it's by no means a classic. I can, however recommend, as a serious exploration of 'lost' Peruvian cities, 'The White Rock' by Hugh Thompson, or "Inca Cola" by Matthew Parris (on the humourous side).
Three stars for Shah. It's a relatively quick read and easy to get through, but there's no real meat in it, serious or humourous. If you want a travelogue that's a bit different but is vastly better in quality, try reading Robery Twigger (Big Snake, Voyager etc), or just about any other humourous travel writer.
Lost Cities, Noodles, Rain, Bugs...and not in that order..!! - Rated 
In his latest book, Tahir Shah explores both the Peruvian jungle and his own obsession to make it big!, and earn fame as the finder of the lost city of Patiti.
Tahir observes his own behaviour and decision making as he reacts to each obstacle and opportunity that presents themselves.
While it is clearly a tough, dark and dangerous journey, the author's self awareness leads to some very funny moments indeed.
This is probably a more mature book than earlier works, but for anyone who has followed each installment of Tahir's work, this current book complements and adds to the existing canon.
If the reader is new to this Author, I strongly recommend you take the time to read his travel\exploration books in sequence, starting with BEYOND THE DEVIL'S TEETH.
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