The Hippopotamus Marsh: Lord of the Two Lands: Volume I (Lords of the Two Lands, Volume 1) (Paperback)

~ Pauline Gedge (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-This first volume in a projected trilogy chronicles the rise of the Eighteenth Dynasty in ancient Egypt. As the story begins, the "Two Lands"-upper and lower Egypt-have been under the rule of the Hyksos, canny invaders from Asia Minor, for 200 years. The Tao family, hereditary kings and queens of Egypt, have long been exiled to a distant part of the kingdom. Subjected to increasing humiliations at the hands of the usurpers, they are finally pushed beyond endurance and begin to rebel through intrigue and open warfare. However, after several generations of Hyksos rule, it is often difficult to discern where true loyalty and wisdom lie. Tragedy results when a key character, acting from good intentions, unwittingly betrays the cause; yet, after a crushing defeat, the Taos and other loyal Egyptian royalists are rising again at the book's end. This novel's unhurried pace may strike some teens as slow, but for those who enjoy a satisfying generational saga, or who like to lose themselves in another world, it succeeds remarkably well in bringing a distant and alien time and place to life. Ancient Egypt's gods, customs, geography, and history become surprisingly accessible as readers come to know the arrogant, loving, devout, and contradictory Tao family members and the world that shaped them.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Fast moving and thrilling . . . Perhaps the best piece that Pauline Gedge has written." -- Edmonton Journal

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Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Soho Press (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569472203
• ISBN-13: 978-1569472200
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #214,183 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gedge does it again, April 16, 2001

By	Stephanie Smith "a98hoya" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: HIPPOPOTAMUS MARSH-C (Lords of the Two Lands, Vol 1) (Hardcover)

Pauline Gedge has been granted a gift. She has the ability to bring civilizations, long dead, to life through her words. Imagine that you are the ruler of a specific region of a country and that you receive a letter from your king, who lives several hundred miles away, which states that the noise made by the Hippopotami who inhabit your marsh are keeping him awake at night. What a ridiculous notion! Yet Seqenenra Tao must deal with a king who is just this irrational. Add to this mixture the fact that the king is a foriegner, a Setui or Hyksos as we know them today, and that in Seqenenra Tao flows the blood of the rightful pharoahic line of Egypt and The Hippopotamus Marsh, Gedge's masterful tale of revolt in Ancient Egypt, is begins. Truly, I couldn't put this book down until I finished it and I am finding the same thing to be true of the Oasis, which I am reading now. These characters are so well developed that the reader invests much in their lives.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hippopotamus Marsh, July 5, 2000

By	Standing In Motion (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HIPPOPOTAMUS MARSH-C (Lords of the Two Lands, Vol 1) (Hardcover)

Once again, Ms. Gedge uses her papyrus time-machine to transport us back to a vivid and living ancient Egypt. We find ourselves walking among the sands of time as it slowly drifts between the late Seventeenth and early Eighteenth Dynasties. Egypt at this time has been occupied for nearly two hundred years by the Hyksos, foreign Asiatics who rule from the Delta city of Avaris. Apophis, the Hyksos king, delights in imposing ridiculous demands on the semi-autonomous Egyptian princes of the South. The straw that breaks the camels back, is an edict to kill every hippopotamus in the Nile marshes around the city of Thebes. This terrible task the Theban prince cannot bear, nor will he do. The prince is Sequenenre Tao II. This book is the first in a trilogy about the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt by the House of Tao. It is a compelling and imaginative saga, with brilliant twists and turns of historical fiction. Ms. Gedge lays a feast of alternative history on the palate that is sumptious and exotic. Enjoy! Book two of this trilogy "The Oasis", is scheduled for release in October of 2000.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Depiction of an Ancient World and People, July 14, 2001

By	Stuart W. Mirsky "swm" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

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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