Ramses: The Lady of Abu Simbel - Volume IV [Paperback]

Christian Jacq (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998 | Series: Ramses (Book 4)

Saga about ancient Egypt & the powerful struggle between Ramses & his enemies.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

From AudioFile

Jacq continues his saga of Ramses and his wife, Queen Nefertari, and their battles against the conflicts and political intrigue of palace life. Moses has returned to Egypt to "take his people from this land," and Homer works on his next chapter of THE ILIAD. Jacq continues to mix time periods, and he adds tension to his story with fictionalization. Stephen Thorne again narrates but seems to have forgotten the accents he assigned in the previous book. All the Royal Egyptians sound British; other Egyptians have cockney accents; while the foreigners sound as though they're from Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, Thorne's performance is flawless as he twists his tongue around the Egyptian names and dialogue. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446673595
• ISBN-13: 978-0446673594
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #565,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars From War to Peace, June 13, 2004

By 

Frank T. Klus (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ramses: The Lady of Abu Simbel - Volume IV (Paperback)

In the fourth volume of the five-volume Ramses series, Asha, the king's Secretary of State and childhood friend travels to Hatti with a peace proposal only to be caught up in a vicious power struggle to which Asha and Egypt could be the big losers. It would take much cunning to pull this off. Meanwhile, the king's brother, Shanaar, is still plotting against the king in Nubia where he lures the king into a trap that threatens the life of the Pharaoh. Only a miracle can save him. As if all this wasn't enough, Moses, Ramses boyhood friend, is threatening to take all the Hebrews out of Egypt as commanded by Yahweh. When Ramses refuses Egypt is hit with ten plagues until Ramses relents and expels Moses from Egypt.

Throughout the struggles of the now middle aged king brews an ever deepening love affair between Ramses and Nefertari, the Great Royal Consort. Ramses dedicates a great temple to her in the sacred land of Abu Simbel, which was to be her lasting tribute. So close are the king and queen that to get at Ramses Nefertari was a frequent target as was Ka, the king's oldest son.

I only give this book three stars because, even though it is written in the direct and fast-paced nature of his other books, the treatment of Moses troubled me. The true relationship between Moses and the pharaoh may never truly be known but Moses was portrayed as mad and wicked; which I find to difficult to believe. In the Ramses series, Christian Jacq has him in league with Ofir, the Hittite spy and sorcerer. Furthermore, Ofir suggests and may have been responsible for some of those plagues, thus undermining the role of God in all this.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A series of historical novels with neither accuracy nor (much) entertainment, July 28, 2005

By 

Frikle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ramses: The Lady of Abu Simbel - Volume IV (Paperback)

Christian Jacq has brought out a series of five novels detailing the life of Ramses II, one of his role models. The series largely fails as a historical novel series. Firstly, it is inaccurate historically. Yes, this can be OK in many cases, but here it is a deliberate mish-mash of historical figures and chronologies where Ramses II rubs shoulders with Moses, Menelaus, Homer etc etc. (although Moses is the most likely to be an actual contemporary, this still seems like hacking together people and events). As for entertainment value, it is interesting in the way that extremely light writing with implausible plotlines is a quick read as it doesn't require much concentration and doesn't wear you out. However, there is much better writing out there (both literary and "light") - here, I found the dialogue to be especially unreal.

Jacq does mythologise Egypt with the sacred mysteries and magic of the priests being real. He also does a lot to make the whole setting come alive, which is the biggest strength of the series. But this could all be done without the several ridiculous aspects of the books.

In this, the fourth book, the Exodus of the Hebrews is finally described. It differs much from both the Biblical and contemporary historical accounts, but is not novel enough I don't think, to justify the rearrangement of history. There are also developments in the diplomacy between the Egyptian, Hittite and Assyrian kingdoms and Ramses decides to build Abu Simbel - a monument to his love for his sick wife.

A decent series if there's nothing better to read and it will increase your interest in Egypt, but there IS something better to read in terms of almost all the aspects of the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great as fiction, but . . ., June 23, 2006

By 

SesshoumarusMiko (In The Dog House) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ramses: The Lady of Abu Simbel - Volume IV (Paperback)

I have read this entire set and they are excellant reading in general. The way Mr Jacq portrays Ramses was very unrealistic, he was a god in his own right but the man was still human! It seemed throughout the 'books' that Pharaoh was "perfect" and "could do no wrong" but the characters around him were flawed. I think this five part "saga" would have been more believable if its main attraction had showed some frailties along the way. For example. the relationship Ramses has with his wife, Nefertari appears to be untouchable. What married couple has a "problem-free" relationship? I understand these novels were created for entertainment but what about just a little realism. Overall, its a good story and worth a read, even if the characters are shallow.