Customer Reviews

Hippopotamus Marsh: Lord of the Two Lands: Volume I (Lords of the Two Lands)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although rather slow and ponderous during its initial 40%, this book paints a full and realistic picture of the world of ancient Egypt and its noble houses. One gets a real feel for the time and place in which these people passed their lives and of the cultural attitudes and values which might have driven them. This is the tale of the gradual awakening of the ancient royal house of Egypt to a "need" to confront the ruling Hyksos who have held power over the land, as the story opens, for the preceding 200 years.

Sequenenra Tao, the scion of his ancient family, rules as governor in the provincial backwater territory of Weset in Upper Egypt. Although he is descended of a long line of ancient Egyptian kings, he is nevertheless subjected to numerous petty humiliations by his Hyksos overlord, the Pharaoh Apepa. When these grow to be too much for the proud Tao family, Sequenenra feels compelled to act. And yet there is treachery everywhere, and even within his own household, a treachery which will alter the course of events that the governor of Weset reluctantly sets in motion.

This is a fine tale, indeed, and the last 60% of the book is, if not entirely compelling, certainly a very interesting read and will hold the intelligent reader through to the end. The tale promises more in subsequent volumes, too (it's billed as a trilogy and I will be reading the next volume, given the quality of the first). The characters are also vividly drawn and an integral part of this tale which is more than one of mere battles and adventure. A good read and one I have no qualms in recommending . . . or in reading further myself!

SWMThe King of Vinland's Saga

In the Hippopotamus Marsh, Pauline Gedge develops an interesting perspective for the once-rulers of Egypt, the Taos. In this book, they are passing life away as a minor ruling family of the Weset province in mid-Egypt. Their forefathers succumbed to the Hyksos, invaders from the east that have become Egypt's present pharaohs. The Hippopotamus Marsh tells the story of how the Taos come out of their physically comfortable, but psychologically stressed servitude to the Hyksos.

The story is told exclusively from the point of the view of the Tao family members, and the family dynamics are interesting and complex. The Weset area and its surroundings are described in beautiful detail. Unfortunately, Gedge says nothing about how anyone else in Egypt at that time lived or thought. She never lets us enter the minds of the many servants that wait on the Taos, and we almost never meet any of the peasants that support their moderate wealth.

The presentation of the Tao family is surrealistically loving and kind, being completely at odds with common modern views of rulers of this time period in Egypt. Gedge is clearly trying to fix this new point of view, and there is real interest in her reorienting our perceptions and assumptions. Gedge's presentation is not supported by anything factual, however, and the lack of viewpoint from those supporting the family--the servants and peasants--makes her postulate tenuous. Even so, Gedge makes the Taos and middle Egypt into interesting historical fiction.

The main problem with this book is that it goes nowhere except as a setup for the next book. Still, it's a good read, and hopefully the next book will continue on a good start.

River God is certainly one of my all-time favorites. Action, exciting characters - everything you look for in an adventure book. I wanted to look into other authors who write fictional accounts of my favorite period in history - ancient Egypt. I have not been disappointed. I loved the Hippo Marsh! In my opinion it is a book that focuses more on family rather than the testosterone-fueled River God. One thing I noticed is that Gedge throws in some terms that the casual reader might not be familiar with. Even I didn't know what Ma'at, ka, or ba were. I might suggest getting an inexpensive bargain book on ancient Egyptian culture or taking a tour through www.EternalEgypt.org for some definitions.
Usually when these books are part of a series, I take a break after each one and read something else. I was left so enamored by the Tao family that I began reading the second one immediately! I highly recommend this book.

Its a great book... but its the middle of a definant trilogy. Hard to read the third if you've never read the middle and hard to not read the third after reading the middle. So if your going to invest in this one, invest in all 3.

I had read "The Lady of the Reeds" prior to starting on this trilogy. I couldn't wait to get into it and wasn't disappointed! Gedge provides a brilliant and georgeous setting for each of her books. They have obviously been well researched by her assistant and Ms. Gedge. If you are looking for an easy read that you can put down whenever you have something else to do, DON'T GET INTO THIS SERIES! The books are impossible to put down as Gedge introduces and builds up each character. I've become an ardent fan of this author, having read six books so far and have four more on order!

This was my first time reading Gedge and I found her writing style very engaging. Her research is very thorough especially since there are quite a few unknowns during this period but she melded them into a story that was cohesive and interesting. Some of the information you can tell is not historically accurate but she used them to supply information in a unique way. There were a few things she seemed to throw in that I just could not accept and thus the 4 star rating but I can forgive her this since the other 98% of the book kept me glued to each word. Everytime I said I needed to put it down I just kept on reading and once I did put it down I could not wait to get back to it.

This novel would be five stars if not for the lengthy descriptions and a few long, drawn-out scenes that served only to lengthen the book and didn't need to be included. But other than that, the novel is a good portrayal about the time before the 18th Dynasty when the ancient Egyptians had to confront the invading Hyksos. For readers with an interest in the ancient world, I can see this bring on of their favorite books. For me, the only draw-back were the too-long scenes. Other than that, this felt realistic and was interesting enough to occupy me on a long flight.

Pauline Gedge, who seems able to make distant eras come alive, writes movingly about the true story of the last descendents of the pharaohs, 200 years after the Hyksos conquered and ruled Egypt. The Hyksos who defeated the Egyptians with horses and chariots, neither of which they had seen before. Seqenenra Tao and his family live quietly, almost like country squires, but eventually pressures and insults from the Hyksos lords lead them to rebel against great odds. Seqenenra Tao, a peaceful family man, reluctantly goes to war: the build up of his decision to lead them against the continued humiliation of the Hyksos is described with great skill.

A thrilling and fresh re-telling of the heroic struggle of Egypt against the hated Hyksos, by the Royal Tao family of Thebes.

I absolutely love this book and the other two parts of the trilogy. It is full of details and the historical characters are described in a way that we feel as if we knew them in real life. Gedge is one of the few authors who actually do some research on the topic they're writing a novel about, and she needs credit for this, it's a pity that other authors don't follow her example. She is true to the real historical events and alters only minor things to add a twist to the story (like the historical Tani was the sister of Apophis and I'm not sure if Siamun really existed) but these things do no harm to history and just make the story better.