15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ideal companion, September 19, 2007
The Lost Army of Cambyses by Paul Sussman is exactly the kind of book to have on a vacation, or on a long haul flight.
Cambyses was a Persian King who conquered Egypt in 525 B.C. thereby becoming the first Pharaoh of the 27th Dynasty. According to the great Greek historian Herodotus, he sent an army of 50,000 men into the desert to subdue an oracle, but the army vanished, apparently buried by a sandstorm.
Around this piece of history the story is masterfully built. It is located in Egypt, and involves the subterranean antiquity trade - the price men are willing to pay for possession of artefacts, but also the distinction of being the discoverer of new sites.
Tara's father is a world-renowned British archaeologist, living in Egypt, and who unexpectedly, and uncharacteristically, invites her to visit. Upon her arrival she finds him dead. She is almost killed the next day, while her attackers shout: "Where is the piece?".
Inspector Khalifa of the Egyptian police force has other gruesome murders that he investigates, and Westerners are killed in several terrorist incidents.
Without giving the plot away - the story leads to the lost army of Cambyses, but with a few delicious twists in the tail. The line of suspense is kept taut throughout the book, and the characters of Tara, Inspector Khalifa and supreme terrorist Sayf al-Tha'r are well-developed. Daniel, the lover, is a but vague, but his role has an unexpected outcome in the tale.
Besides a good whodunit, the book's pleasure lies in two things: the brief but very informative facts given about Egyptology, and the arguments and discussions about the justification for terrorism, in this case, Islamic fundamentalism. It is hard to remain politically non-committal, but Sussman manages to argue both sides with empathy.
This is what is called a "page-turner" and the ideal companion when you want the time to fly by. Enjoy.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Egypt's Unsolved Mysteries, November 14, 2004
This review is from: The Lost Army of Cambyses (Hardcover)
It is always an exciting time for me when I find a new author who writes about the subjects I am interested in. This is Paul Sussman's first novel and he certainly seems to have the magical gift of storytelling. The book is based around a well documented event in early history. In 523 BC the Persian Emperor Cambyses sent an army across Egypt's desert to destroy an oracle at Amun. Somewhere in the deserts the army of 50,000 men were destroyed by a sandstorm. The book is set in modern times and there is much murder and mystery involved. Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor police is brought in to solve the crimes, but even he is amazed by the sting in the tail that this book has in store for the reader. This really is a gripping book, one of the best I have read this year, and I commend it to you.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable novel of ancient and modern, April 30, 2005
This review is from: The Lost Army of Cambyses (Hardcover)
This is Paul Sussman's debut novel and it takes as its basis a tale the accuracy of which is still the subject of debate between experts .In his book " Histories " the Greek historian Herodatus tells of an army sent from Thebes in Egypt ,by Cambyses the Peersian King whose empire at that time encompassed Egypt.They were despatched across the desert westerly towards what is now Libya and tasked with eliminating a group of tribes rebelling against Persian rule .He recounts the tale of how a massive sandstorm arose and buried the army alive .
There is a short prologue in the days of Cambyses and then the action switches to contemporart Egypt where fragments and relics are emerging that point not merely to the accuracy of Herodatus but to the exact location of the army and the priceless artefacts buried with them .If unearthed these would constitute a discovery to dwarf those of Carter in the Valley of the Kings .
Antique dealers who might know of these clues are being killed mostly by Dravic an utterly ruthless German archaelogist who is a front man for a charisnatic Islamic fundamentalist leader whose interset in the treasure is so its can be sold to finance his anti Western terror campaign .Other parties after the loot are corrupt officials of the British embassy and Lacarge an young Anglo-French archaelogist
Ranged against them are the Egyptian police in the form of dogged chain smoking family man Inspector Yusuf Khalifa who has personal reasons to stop the terror group from gettibng their hands on the treasure ,and the daughter of a murdered British archaelogist who holds ,innocently ,the key to the location of the treasure
The opening is a tad over leisurely but it soon picks up pace and by the half way mark has become a lively and potent thriller ,well characterised and blessed by some fine descriptive writing about the desert and the treacherous nature of its weather
This is a good read and I recommend it to lovers of the adventure yarn
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