59 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A tedious flat mystery that fails to deliver., April 17, 2007
Ever since I was young, I've been a nut about ancient Egypt. I've read everything that I possibly can on the subject, been to special exhibitions on the art, and regularly haunt the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian galleries. So, naturally, when there is some new fiction about Egypt in the bookstores or listed on Amazon, I take a look.
Nick Drake's novel is set in the late Eighteen dynasty, in the time of Akhenaten, when the land was in religious turmoil and the dynasty itself was dwindling to a close. Now that the Pharaoh Akhenaten has moved the capital northwards to a place called Akhetaten, the Horizon of the Aten, the former capital of Thebes has dwindled a bit, especially now that the great temples of Amun have been closed. For an investigator of the Medjay, the police force of Egypt, it's a mixed blessing.
Rai Rahotep has been spending these quieter days with his adored wife and three young daughters. If there isn't quite so much work to be done in Thebes as before, he's perfectly happy about it. But a message arrives from the new capital, and he is summoned into the very presence of Pharaoh himself.
Things are going to turn pretty desparate for Rahotep, for Pharaoh is giving him only ten days to find his missing queen, Nefertiti. Or Rahotep will pay with his life, and worst still, those of his family as well. At the end of those ten days, Pharaoh is going to summon the mighty of both Egypt and the world to pay homage to him in a great Festival, and if he does so without the Queen at his side, it will be a terrible blow to his stature.
And Rahotep is working with very little, only with the knowledge that there isn't a body, and that the decadent world of Pharaoh's capital is filled with treacherous officals that are seeking their own advancement. All he has is a pair of assistants, Khety, and Tjenry. And most of all, there is the engimatic riddle of Nefertiti herself.
We follow Rahotep as he finds several gruesomely dead bodies, a sinister Medjay cheif named Mahu who's determined to see him dead, the Queen Mother Tiye, and other historical figures in the game. As time runs out on him, Rahotep grows increasingly worried, for it appears that there is something else much more going on in Egypt than the greed and malice of the powerful, could it be that the gods themselves are turning against Pharaoh?
I do have to say that it was interesting to read this one. Drake is able to create some vivid images here, from a hunt in the marshland, a reception for foreign ambassadors, a paper trail in the royal archives and the great Festival itself. There's a lot of creativity and even some research in this one, which I always enjoy, but there is a severe problem here -- while Drake can create vivid scenarios, he has a problem with the characters themselves.
Everyone, and I do mean everyone, in this novel except for Rahotep and his family, are people that you would not want to invite for dinner or within a hundred miles of yourself. They are all equally nasty, detestable, and without hardly any scruples of their own. Now, I do understand that power corrupts, and very much so, but the various suspects in the story are so maliciously happy about the trouble they're making that the end result is that by the end, I was just happy to have the story be over. And the characters do odd things as well -- in the middle of their gloating or lording it over lowly Rahotep, they suddenly start spouting religious phrasing or quotes from the various hymns that Akhenaten wrote.
Huh?
Worst still, everyone including Rahotep, use modern idioms and speech in their conversations and thoughts. For heaven's sake, even the term VIP is used when General Horemheb rolls into town. Drake, honestly, left me feeling as though I was reading a screenplay for Law and Order that was set in ancient Egypt, not a historical mystery. Too, suspects suddenly die or vanish, clues appear and disappear, and there are a lot of dangling ends. Too, Drake has grasped the idea of Egypt, but doesn't really get the essence of that ancient time. The writing style is choppy, the plot leaps and lurches about, dead bodies are lingered over with bloodthirsty detail, and by the end -- I was more than happy to set this one aside. The biggest sin of the story is the deus ex machina at the end, where the real villain of the piece appears and then it is all explained to the reader -- I hate that in a novel, it's a sign of bad storytelling and treating the reader like an idiot.
Which most mystery readers certainly are not. Most of us read these to figure out what's really going on, and to see if we can guess the twists out for ourselves.
Naturally, it will not surprise me in the least if this is the opening novel of a series. Sadly, this particular part of Egyptian history is the one that writers turn to most often, especially as it is one of the best preserved and document periods -- a real quandary, as Akhenaten's succussors tried very hard to erase all knowledge of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Smenkhare (who does not appear at all in this one), and Tutankhamen from the offical record. Authors Lauren Haney and PC Doherty have written far, far better mysteries set in this period, and one of the best historical novels for this time is still Pauline Gedge's Twelfth Transforming which pretty much tells the same story, but without the silly posturing. There is, as well, innumerable artifacts and nonfiction works that tell the story as well, and are much more satisfying.
Not recommended.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Sadly lacking in any historical perspective, July 21, 2007
While Mr. Drake has passable writing skills, his research (if he did any at all) leaves a lot to be desired. This novel could as well be taking place in current day London for all the "history" it supposedly contains. I found the characters to be relatively lifeless as well.
Mr. Drake also has a sad habit of using modern day terminology and concepts which jerk the reader back into the present while confusing him/her as to time and place. A glaring example was when the main character referred to the "gunwales" on a "ship of state." I'm pretty sure the ancient Egyptians didn't have guns let alone gunwales on their boats.
HIs dialog skills could use a little polishing as well. The initial converstation between our erstwhile narrator and Nefertiti was wooden, silly, and wholly unbelievable.
If you're looking for quality fiction set in the age of the Pharoahs, then you need to check out Pauline Gedge. The woman is a true artist and her books left me feeling as if I had actually been wandering along the Nile 2000 years ago.
Don't bother with this. I'm sure glad I resisted the impulse to buy it at the book store and instead checked it out of the library. At least this way I"m only out my time.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
