Scarab: Tutankhamen (The Amarnan Kings, #3) A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Max Overton

Scarab: Tutankhamen (The Amarnan Kings, #3) A Novel of Ancient Egypt Reviews

• 
  Dyana

  This 3rd in the series of ancient Egyptian historical fiction continues the story of the no-name princess later known as Princess Beketaten or, as she likes to be called, Scarab. In the prologue and epilogue, her story is being read by Dr. Dani Hanser, who is a British archeologist, from the hieroglyphics on the wall of her tomb. Scarab is the sister of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, and Tutankhamen.
  
  This book begins with the deposed Pharaoh Smenkhkare after his attack by a crocodile when everyone thinks he is dead and after the battle of Waset which concluded book 2. The cruel vizier, Tjaty Ay had connived and sent him to his death so that the young Tutankhamen could become his puppet king; and thus Ay, can rule Egypt himself. Now, Smenkhkare's objective is to rebuild his army, travel south, and reclaim Kemet (Egypt) because, being alive, he is the rightful Lord of the Two Kingdoms (Kemet and Nubia).
  
  Soldiers sent out from the Fort of Kubban are ambushed by Smenkhkare's troops and all are massacred. Scarab, along with Khu, her farmer companion, and Nebhotep, the physician, offer to stay behind with six wounded men. They will take refuge in the mountains until all are healed and then travel south again and meet up with Smenkhkare. Scarab asks the men to teach her and Khu fighting skills so they can be useful soldiers. Meanwhile Smenkhkare adds the Nubian tribes of Tu'qa, Q'ema, and Suri Kan to his army. There is one memorable scene in which Scarab fights the chief of the Suri tribe.
  
  Ay sends General Horemheb to battle and to destroy Smenkhkare and his army. Horemheb eventually captures Scarab and her band. She makes the suggestion that Tutankhamen and Smenkhkare form an alliance, restore Smenkhkare to his throne, and together they both rule Egypt and restore peace. During a hard rain storm, Scarab and her band of soldiers escape.
  
  Tutankhamen is only 13 years old and wants to head his army and go to war with the Hittites who are pressing hard against the northern borders and drive them from Kemet. Since Ay can't stop him from going, he sends General Nakhmin (who is later adopted by Ay as his son and heir) as a guardian with instructions to stay close and keep the young king from harm. But when Tutankhamen misjudges the situation and gets in real danger, General Paramessu (Scarab's lover and who she had a son by) rescues him. After Tutankhamen is victorious, he goes to the old capital at Men-nefer to stay away from the controlling Ay and has his Queen Ankhesenamen join him there.
  
  Then the book jumps to five years later. Ay is Tjaty of the South and Paramessu is Tjaty of the North for Tutankhamen. Tutankhamen decides to build a strong army and march on Waset and oust Ay (who is 70 years old) and make him retire so the king can rule once more from the city of Amun. Smenkhkare and his well-trained army return to Waset to reclaim his kingdom, home, and family. As General Horemheb is marching on Men-nefer to bring Tutankhamen back to Waset so Ay can regain control of the young king, he interrupts the mission and sends Horemheb chasing after Smenkhkare so he can't protect Tutankhamen from Ay. As Smenkhkare and his army get closer, Ay cancels the mission; but too late, Smenkhkare overwhelms Nakhmin's forces.
  
  Smenkhkare and Tutankhamen meet outside the city, Smenkhkare rejects Scarab's compromise, and both fight in hand-to-hand combat. Conniving Ay has poisoned Tutankhamen's spears and daggers. Smenkhkare dies from his wounds, and Tutankhamen is gravely wounded. Ay takes over and sends Horemheb in pursuit of Smenkhkare's retreating army. This is all leading up to the next installment when Ay and Horemheb vie for the position of Pharaoh of Egypt.
  
  The author is gifted at transporting you into the time period with all your five senses. One chapter that describes the losing of a hand by Jebu, the General of the Amorite and Hittite army, is descriptively graphic. By-the-way, this is also one of the minor tales that are thrown in and which detracts from the main story line. Very little is known about Smenkhkare and Tutankhamen because their histories were blotted out after they died. The author has fleshed out their stories in a very credible way. Although, Tutankhamen's mummified body shows he might have died in a different way then portrayed in this book. But a riveting book, none-the-less, and one well worth reading if you like ancient Egyptian stories. There is always a Who's Who and What's What in each book of the series as well as The Main Characters and Places. There is also a list of the Gods and what they were worshiped for. They definitely help in the pronunciation of all the difficult names and places.
• 
  Paul Burnette

  Scarab, previously known as a no-name child of King Nebmaetre of Egypt's Middle Kingdom, then named Beketaten, who in previous books of Overton's series came of age (Bk 1), fought against her usurping Uncle Ay on the side of her brother Shmenkhkare (Bk 2), continues the battle alongside her older brother Shmenkhkare against the cruel and ambitious Ay and her younger brother Tuthankamen (Bk 3), finally falls under the power of King Ay's adopted son Nakhtmin, then turns the tables on her worst enemies, clearing the way for Horemheb to come to power and her ex-lover Paramessu to become Horemheb's successor and eventually her son Set to sit on the throne of Egypt (Bk 4). In The Amarnan Kinds Book 5: Scarab - Horemheb, Overton combines his story with the Biblical story of the Hebrews' escape from Egypt, with former King Ahkenaten resurfacing as Yahmose (Moses) aided in the Hebrews/Khabirus' exodus from slavery in Egypt by Jesua, a warrior follower of Scarab. This tale has been 'read' to us from the beginning by a British female archaeologist Dani, who has found Scarab's tomb, apparently, in modern-day Syria, on the walls of which the aging Scarab had recorded her life story. It emerges at the end of Book 5 that Scarab is not buried in the tomb in Syria, as we had thought all along, but that her husband Khu had taken her body to her brother Shmenkhkare's hidden tomb in Egypt and secretly buried her there. So the stage is set for Book 6, where archaeologist Dani, apparently a descendant of Scarab's, is going to wield the golden scarab she found in the Syrian excavation, to assist her as she deals with unearthing her ancestor's body and story and fending off the efforts of a Saudi Arabian official who threatens the lives of the British archaeologists as well as the integrity of the history of Scarab. If this sounds a bit far-fetched, it is to the credit of the storyteller Max Overton that it all goes down smoothly, and delightfully, as Scarab's marvelous resilience and resourceful character grow slowly from the little girl playing with a dung beetle in Book 1 into the queen wielding the power of the gods of Egypt in Book 5. She restores Ma'at, the balance of justice and peace, to her country, just as any good fictional heroine should. We wait on Book 6 of The Amarnan Kings: Scarab - Descendant to see if Dani can do as well as her ancestor against the greed and ambition of present-day despots!
• 
  Sandy

  I really enjoyed researching the actual characters and seeing where Max couldn't have gotten his story, since it is based on real people who lived thousands of years ago.
  
  It was cool to see them come to life in archeology reports and feel like I sort of knew them when the archeologists didn't (even though it is a fictionalised account, you feel you know the people:)
  
  As well as an appreciative reader, I also published this book (only accepted because I liked it:)
• 
  Stephanie

  What?!?! I was thinking all along that this was a three book series. Its actually five, and now I have to wait to read the outcome. I loved this one as well. Scarab really comes into her own in this book. Ay is the ultimate villain. Can't wait to see what the author does with Ramses and Seti. Please hurry the release of books 4 and 5!
• 
  Sekhar N Banerjee

  Exciting story
  
  I cannot wait for the next book. It is more absorbing and page turner than a Mystery novel. As of now, I have not found any conflict with the History.