Known as the Veiled One, the ugly and deformed Akenhaten is a shadowy figure. As a child he was overlooked and despised by his own father, but as an adult he is thrust into the political limelight when his elder brother dies. Mahu, ambitious and ruthless, watches the young prince carve his path to power. He becomes Akenhaten’s protector and confidant and stands by as Akenhaten proclaims that there is only one God and that he is that God’s only son. Revolution and chaos ensure in a dramatic reign filled with fraud, abduction, assassination, betrayal, and treachery. When Mahu becomes suspicious of Akenhaten’s majestic and glorious wife Nefertiti and the political skill of her brother Ay, he suspects that a hidden and malign influence may have placed Akenhaten’s life in grave peril.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Doherty has typically woven a delightfully dark tale around what must have been the most remarkable period of Egyptian history...So stoke up the fire, draw the curtains and put your feet up in order to enjoy this delightfully spooky and robust tale of demons, death and disease in old Egypt. Great stuff!' Historical Novels Review Nov 2003 -- Historical Novels Review 20031101
About the Author
Paul Doherty is the author of several mystery series, including the Ancient Egypt Trilogy, the Ancient Roman Mysteries series, and The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan series.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A promising start to a new series,
This review is from: An Evil Spirit Out of the West (Ancient Egypt Trilogy) (Paperback)
The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten has been the subject of many, many novels, most of which I have read. P.C. Doherty is the author of many books, most of which I have read as well. I must say, however, that as novels about Akhenaten goes, this one is better than a lot I have read. And, as a book by P.C. Doherty, this book is also somewhat better than many of his medieval mysteries and a hundred times better than his other ancient Egyptian mysteries (The Slayers of Seth, etc.) which are marred by abysmal research and ridiculous plots. It reminds me a little bit of Naguib Mafouz's novel of Akhenaten, "Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth", but the plot is far more convoluted. I look forward to seeing how the series progresses.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
When Gods were irreplaceable,
By Yaran "Yarecki" (Secaucus, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Evil Spirit Out of the West (Ancient Egypt Trilogy) (Paperback)
This is one of the more exciting books about ancient Egypt I have ever read. It is part one to trilogy about exhilarating events surrounding end of 18th dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs including famous Akhenaten, the ancient ruler who was trying to introduce the belief in one and omnipotent God - Aten, his most beautiful but quizzical wife Nefertiti, and Akhenaten's son, Tutankhamen. The story is told through memoirs of former Chief of Police and Head of Security, Mahu, who apparently left behind him the entire story written and later translated into Greek and Latin. I highly recommend the book and would rate it 5 stars except I would prefer Mahu not be a narrator and to read this book from the 3rd person point of view. Mahu is too me a bit too indulgent, self-made and irritating. But if Paul Doherty is accurate about truthfulness of Mahu's memoirs, this is one engrossing and vibrant tale about fabled Akhenaten (called the Veiled one or Grotesque one due to his body deformity), his rise to power, and sudden disappearance. The book is extremely rich in description of ancient Egyptian religious customs, everyday life and traditional lore. Paul Doherty, known from his medieval and other ancient Egyptian mysteries, comes up with intriguing tale of love, deception, revenge, greed and faith. He paints a breath-taking picture of ancient Egypt and its rulers, describes social issues and depicts religious struggles enfolding during introduction of Sun-disc God and desertion of traditional Egyptian deities, who happened to be irreplaceable and led to Akhenaten's demise. Paul Doherty uses extremely affluent but easy language to follow, and the book is well researched from the historical point of view, but doesn't confound people with lack of ancient history knowledge.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Worst Amarna novel ever!,
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This review is from: An Evil Spirit Out of the West (Ancient Egypt Trilogy) (Paperback)
As an Egyptologist, but most especially as an Amarna Period scholar, this book was hideously painful to read. To begin with, it is generally accepted among Egyptologists that Akhenaten was NOT deformed: the extreme art style of the early Amarna era is due to symbolic and ideological reasons. It is highly significant that Akhenaten is shown as completely normal in his statues from later in the reign. Doherty's portrayal of every single major historical character from Akhenaten and Nefertiti onwards grated on my nerves. The book is full of historical inaccuracies, from fountains (needs Roman plumbing, folks!) to wooden chests all over the place (Egypt has always been a wood-poor country; they used baskets for storage), to Tiye and Aye as the driving force behind the Aten heresy (the Aten is first attested in the reign of Thutmose IV, Akhenaten's great-grandfather). And that's just for starters!
Do not waste your time on this book; and if the rest of Paul Doherty's "historical" novels are comparable to this one, I certainly won't!
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