DAY OF THE FALSE KING: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Iraq [Paperback]

Brad Geagley (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Unknown (2006)
• ASIN: B0028QCQ92
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Throwing Semerket into another culture is a brilliant move, April 1, 2006

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L. S. Jaszczak "servant of the secret fire" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Day of the False King: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Babylon (Hardcover)

The second installment in this series, which follows the adventures of Semerket, Egyptian Clerk of Investigations and Secrets, in 20th Dynasty Egypt, does not disappoint. Semerket's ex-wife Naia and Rami, a young boy whom he befriended in Year of the Hyenas, have been sent as slaves to Babylon, and Semerket receives a fragment of a note indicating that they are in danger. Upon appealing to Rameses IV, the new Pharaoh, who owes Semerket his life and his throne, he is given permission to seek them and bring them back to Egypt, as well as a sensitive diplomatic mission to the ruler of Babylon. (Oops - I originally put "king" but when reading this over remembered that one very strong point made in the book was that Babylon, unlike Egypt, didn't have a king.)

In Babylon, which is seething under foreign occupation (shades of modern day Iraq?) Sermerket quickly learns that he can trust no one, not even his own country's ambassador. The raid on the plantation where Naia was a maid is rumored to have been undertaken by resistance fighters, but evidence points to Egyptian involvement. A remarkably clever and sophisticated slave, a seductive transvestite, and a pair of spies who stick to Sermerket like glue even after they're called off are only a few of the many colorful characters who help him solve the several mysteries he faces and find out what happened to Naia and Rami.

One of the risks of writing about a hard-bitten and embittered character such as Semerket is that he will either become totally unsympathetic or, if his life improves sufficiently, lose the "edge" that makes him so interesting in the first place. Moving him to a different culture was a brilliant move for Geagley, since Semerket is thrown slightly off balance by the strangeness and is forced to show some of his vulnerabilities. It remains to be seen whether he will continue to maintain the balancing act.

The book also provides some fascinating insights into the Babylonian politics of the time, some quotations from The Lament for Ur (which appears to have similarities to the biblical book of Lamentations, if only because the emotions felt by the survivors of a devastated city probably don't differ much), and ancient medical practice. I only wish that, on his website if not in the book, Geagley would provide some information about his sources and recommended reading for those who would like to learn more.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting book, February 21, 2007

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Day of the False King: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Babylon (Hardcover)

In this sequel to Year of the Hyenas, Semerket, the Clerk of Investigations and Secrets, is sent by Pharaoh to Babylon to arrange for the visit of a statue with miraculous healing powers to Egypt. And, as an added inducement, Pharaoh gives Semerket letters of manumission for his wife and son, who are lost somewhere around Babylon. However, in the land between the rivers, nothing is what it seems, and there are schemes within schemes in this strange land. Can Semerket get to the bottom of what is going on? And, is there any chance of finding his loved ones alive?

Overall, I found this to be a very interesting book. The characters and the situation are quite interesting - colorful and yet thoroughly believable. Also, I found the mysteries to be quite interesting. My one complaint against the book is that the author did little to capture the fascinating culture that Mesopotamia enjoyed at the time. (Indeed, Nidaba's view of Ishtar as containing dualisms of male/female-war/love is very Greek (and subsequently Western), but would have made no sense to the ancient Mesopotamians. Inanna/Ishtar exemplified and ruled the passions - love and hate, lust and disdain, haughty pride and craven cowardice.)

But, that said, this was a fascinating book, one that I am very glad that I read.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Day of the False King, January 29, 2006

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Fiona Spenser "mystery maven" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Day of the False King: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Babylon (Hardcover)

Once again, Brad Geagley takes us on a fantastic journey to Ancient Egypt and then to ancient Babylon. At the center of this world we set out with our hero Semerket to search for his beloved wife Naia and Rami, the tomb makers's son from Mr. Geagley's previous mystery adventure the Year of the Hyenas. Rami and Naia have been banished to Babylon and used as slaves and thought to have been murdered. Believing that he has heard Rami calling to him to be rescued, Semerket does not believe that his wife and Rami are indeed dead and undertakes to search for them in the turmoil of Babylon's politics and underworld. In adition to his own difficulties, Semerket has been commissioned by his ailing Pharaoh to return to him an ancient Egyptian idol believed to posses the power to cure the Pharaoh's illness.
We are given over to the politics,sights, sounds, the smells of this ancient world as we folow Semerket's tortuous journey to fulfill the wishes of his Pharaoh and find his wife. Semerket is an ordinary man called upon to perfom an extraordinary task. Though given to drinking when in despair, swearing when angered, lying when necessary, sceaming in profound fear, weeping for a beautiful song, this man knows no limits to his determination. We meet along the way wondeful and terrifying people and see a great deal of ancient Babylon. The atmosphere and the vivid detail make this book an experience.
From the Year of the Hyenas and now through the Day of the False King, Brad Geagley has opened an ancient world to all of us. His meticulous research and ability to tell a good story make this a learning as well as a literary pleasure.