Customer Reviews

The Eye of Horus

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Uneven writing occasionally threatens to derail Carol Thurston's masterfully researched story of forensics and Egyptology.

Thurston develops two stories in tandem, 33 centuries apart. In 1359 BC Egypt, a young, dedicated physician helps former Queen Nefertiti birth a girl, daughter of Ramose, a high priest.

At a Denver museum, medical illustrator Kate McKinnon feels an odd affinity with a young Egyptian woman, whose mummified corpse presents a baffling host of questions. X-rays show broken ribs, a shattered hand and, most amazing of all, a man's severed head lying between her legs.

As radiologist Max Cavanaugh helps Kate with the latest imaging techniques and Kate combines her forensic skills with her knowledge of Egyptology, the parallel story explores Aset's life growing up in an atmosphere of palace intrigue and excess, the physician her friend, teacher and protector. Thurston weaves the machinations of history against a background filled with ancient medical technique and details of daily living.

The modern sections are equally substantial. Technology and academic knowledge combine to penetrate the mystery - the painstaking interpretation of hieroglyphs and scenes painted on the sarcophagus, cat-scan readings of the bones, computer imaging to rebuild the face, even flashes of inspired intuition.

An intriguing premise, filled with fascinating detail. Where the story runs into problems is in the relationships, ancient and modern, between the heroes and heroines. Stilted dialogue and over-labored internalizations threaten to mire the characters in fretful introspection rather than passion. But fans of Egyptology and forensic medicine will find much to applaud.

This story is an excellent introduction into the realm of ancient Egyptian historical novels by author Carol Thurston. Spanning thirty-three centuries, she captures the lives of one ancient and one modern couple... now linked together in mystery, suspense, respect and love. The contemporary pair of medical illustrator Kate McKinnon and radiologist Max Cavanaugh use the technology and wizardry of new age medicine to unravel the hidden secrets of the mummy of the Lady Tashat (historically accurate), who was tortured and inexplicably wrapped with a man's head between her legs. These are the remains of the young woman Aset and her mentor and lover Tenre. The balance between modernity and antiquity is a difficult one, but one that this story handles with seamless ease. Besides all being attached to the field of medicine, these two couples also share a common bond on another plane... both men are considerably older than their female counterparts. To this end, with respect and ingenuity, Ms. Thurston shows us that the magical bonds of love are much greater than the ravages of any physical span of time. I recommend this book to everyone, and hope to see many more from this author.

I just have to say I LOVE this book!! Aset and Tenre really grew on me as their relationship developed. Especially hearing all of things that happened at/after her death through Max and Kate. The present event were equally entralling. Then add in the accurate geneology and relationships through the 18th Dynasty...I was hooked! Thurston brought in all of the theories and "facts" that I prescribe to. She didn't leave anything out in her investigation and painting the most accurate picture possible.

If you love the 18th, love ancient Egypt...pick this one up! I can't wait for her next novel!

I can't understand the other reviewers who said that this book was slow or that they were bogged down with information. Once I started this book I didn't want to put it down.

I have read some awful books before where the plot switches between two different time periods. This author did a great job of telling the story in two different settings without the story being confusing.

My only complaint was some awkward dialogue from time to time. I wouldn't rate this as high as an Elizabeth Peters or Lynda Robinson, but this was defintely an interesting read.

The entwined modern and ancient stories Thurston tells in The Eye of Horus transcend the mystery genre, as does her writing. Not that there isn't plenty of mystery, or suspense. It's just that her characters come so alive, especially the ancient Egyptians--Aset and Tenre and Pagosh--that you don't want the book to end. Even then they stay with you. You'll also end up wondering what's true, because much of it is, and what's pure fiction, since the author does a fantastic job of blending history (including real people)and imagination--what might have been, or could have happened. She also mixes current forensic technology with archaeological controversies, in the process exposing some of the unfounded and irrational conclusions historians and Egyptologists have jumped to in the past. From beginning to end, this is a thought-provoking and entertaining book. I suggest reading the author note at the end first, though....

This book truly has something for everyone's tastes. Whether you like romance stories, mysteries, or whatever else. Carol Thurston does a wonderful job at tying in all the forensics needed to make the story work, without laying them down too heavily. This book also paints a wonderful piture as to what life in ancient Egypt was like. IF you are just looking for a smooth, exciting, read, or you like ancient Egypt like I do, then this I definitely recommend this book to you!

You may want to buy a copy for a close friend as well as yourself, because you'll definitely want to have someone to talk with about this one. You'll also need to keep reminding yourself that it's fiction--who Aset is, what happened to her, and why--even though, as it turns out, this mummy actually exists! A mesmerizing tale filled with political intrigue both ancient and modern, deeply affecting characters, and fascinating minutia about ancient Egypt in the period following the pharaoh who may have been the first monotheist. Thurston is supposed to be working on a sequel, but like the reviewer for the Washington Post said, if so she has a tough act to follow.

I found this book in a supermarket and thought, "Well, this looks vaugely interesting" and at 4 am I finally put it down! I really liked the way the book was written, a back and forth type that didn't leave me confused! I love Greek mythology and was suprised at how hooked I was in egyptian! I also love the way it went indepth with all the ways it explained things... the herbs, the mumification, the science to discover it...!! I know when the sequel comes out I'll be the first on the waiting list!

Ms. Thurston's prose lacks a vigorous narrative drive, but the content is definitely there. Alternating between the 14th century BC and the present, she plays with a number of plausible (if unprovable) scholarly theories about the fate of various principals in the famed Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. At the end she even throws in a fleeting endorsement of the "Akhenaten was Moses" theory that has achieved some popularity in obscure USENET groups on the Internet. The contemporary story line moves slowly, with intriguing forensic analysis putting meat on the bones of a love story that is only moderately compelling.

Being a great Amelia Peabody fan, including anything to do with ancient Egypt I naturally gravitated towards this book.Once I got started I was hard pressed to put it down. This book is not for dummies. There are two time periods to keep track of, plus all the characters, present and past. It is full of marvelous ancient Egyptian information, and the lastest hi tech methods of discovering more about that mysterious time and it's people. You are there seeing, tasting, laughing and crying experiencing it all. I found it a great read and am waiting for the next book on the wonders of ancient Egypt.