City of gold vs The Silence of Ghosts: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: World War II, World War, Fiction
City of gold
"The pace of the story is compulsive . . . it is a real pleasure to be swallowed up in Deighton's description of wartime Cairo."—Daily TelegraphJanuary 1942. Rommel, the fabled "Desert Fox," has pushed back the British…
vs
The Silence of Ghosts
"Dominic Lancaster hoped to prove himself to his family by excelling in the Navy during World War II. Instead he is wounded while serving as a gunner and loses his leg. Still recovering from his wounds and the trauma of…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Silence of Ghosts is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 10 for City of gold.
- City of gold has the widest readership — 1221 ratings behind its score.
- The Silence of Ghosts runs the darker storyline; City of gold stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| City of gold | The Silence of Ghosts | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.6 (1221) | 3.5 (993) |
| Hardcover | 3.0 (1) | 3.5 (4) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (12) |
Reception
| City of gold | The Silence of Ghosts | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1221 | 993 |
| Editions | 10 | 2 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 575 | 1871 |
| Reading it now | 149 | 60 |
| Written reviews | 96 | 174 |
| Wikipedia attention | 335 | — |
| Pages | 576 | 202 |