The Hippopotamus Marsh (Lords of the Two Lands, #1) by Pauline Gedge

The Hippopotamus Marsh (Lords of the Two Lands, #1) Reviews

• 
  Iset

  
  I have heard many authors in the past decade being touted as ‘the Queen of Historical Fiction’; in fact there must be a civil war going on, I see it bandied around so often. I’m a lifelong history nut and voracious reader, and yet I can definitively state that no historical fiction author I have read to date can match up to the majesty of Pauline Gedge.
  
  It is frankly criminal that this author is not better known. This is my third re-reading of Gedge’s trilogy about ancient Egypt’s 17th Dynasty, and there’s a reason why I keep coming back to it time and time again. Gedge is a gifted writer, there’s no other way for me to put it. Her knowledge of language is broad, and yet she never writes down with condescension, or conversely stuffs her text with obscure words repeatedly like other nameless authors who seem to open a thesaurus and then worry at a marvellous newly discovered word with all the persistency of a dog with favourite toy. Her prose has beautiful flow, never jarred by awkward phrasings or misjudged pacing. Her descriptions and imagery are vivid and engage all the senses, truly transporting you to historical places with remarkable intensity. Moreover, they are accurate! You would think the author had access to a time machine – and I say that as an academic in this field with a specialism in ancient Egypt. The writing is inventive and intriguing rather than pedestrian and prosaic, full of flair and finesse; a style that is exciting and stylish without being off-the-wall or frustrating.
  
  p.51: “Spring ended and Weset sank into its summer somnolence. In the arbour the grapes formed and began to swell, green and hard. The crops began to lose their willowy brightness and stiffen to yellow. The crocodiles could often be seen basking immobile, with eyes closed, on the sandbanks of the rapidly shrinking Nile, and over all that self-contained, placid domain the sultry timelessness of Shemu exhaled its burning breath.”
  
  p.163: “The Nile is beautiful by starlight; the water dark, and the ripples silver.”
  
  p.184: “The sky faded to pearl. The stars went out. If he braved the spray of fine sand the horses kicked up and craned to the side, he could see ahead to where the Braves’ chariots were wheeling out onto the desert.”
  
  Gedge’s character building is just as deft as her skill with scene-setting and turning a phrase. There are no stereotypes to be found here. Each and every character is a realistic Human being; subtle and complex. Each character is distinct, driven by their own experiences and agendas, and makes decisions that have a logic you can follow and empathise with even if you don’t agree with it – and yes, that applies to the antagonists too! This is really something we should demand and expect as a matter of course from historical fiction, but I have seen way too many flat characterisations and cheap stereotypes in my time. This kind of understanding and finesse in creation of characters is a real treasure! And Gedge marries this instinctive grasp of characters to a grounding in the social mores and values of their time, so that the characters are both instantly empathetic to the reader and completely in tune with historical attitudes. It’s an incredibly rare skill in a historical fiction author. Most of the time I read books where the characters either behave like 21st century people, or the characters behave seemingly irrationally and inscrutable stereotypes, often because the author has failed to understand their culture and the motivations behind their actions.
  
  The level of research that goes into Gedge’s books is obvious. The care and thoroughness of it marks a genuine dedication to telling the story of these historical personages. The Egyptian and Setiu (Hyksos, in Greek) names, place names and idiomatic phrases are authentic. Culture, style, and the landscape of the country in this period has been highly researched. I will note that the accuracy isn’t 100% – Gedge did deliberately change a few minor details. If you don’t want spoilers, don’t click the link. In real history Aahotep was Seqenenra’s sister, and he also had two other sister-wives named Inhapy and Sitdjehuty. Tani was actually the name of Apepa’s sister (who was also possibly his wife), and the name of Seqenenra’s younger daughter was really Aahmes-Nebta. Si-Amun is fictional, and there was more of an age gap between the brothers Kamose and Ahmose. Seqenenra’s wounds were real, as was his rebellion, but we may never know exactly how they were sustained. The important thing about the changes Gedge makes is that they don’t overwhelm the history; it’s mostly a case of plausible gap-filling and some minor alterations that have very little impact on the long-term historical plot.
  
  Pauline Gedge is in my estimation one of just three historical fiction authors of this high level of quality, the others being Mary Renault for ancient Greece, and Sharon Kay Penman for medieval Eurasia, in the brilliance of writing and the understanding of their respective time periods. Pauline Gedge is the true Mistress of the Two Lands.
  
  10 out of 10
• 
  Lolly's Library

  4.5 stars
  
  Let me state, right off the bat, this is an excellent book. It is truly the standard by which all ancient Egyptian historical fiction novels should be measured...for the most part (I'll explain in a moment). The research is impeccable, thorough without being overwhelming and used appropriately (meaning that Gedge knows when to hold back and let the story take over and when to use her research to enhance/explain a scene). No info dumps here! The story itself moves along a brisk pace, the tension and action nicely balanced with more introspective, character-centered moments--it neither drags nor wears the reader out with never-ending action. The language is where Gedge truly shows her talent: the dialogue is beautiful, neither anachronistically modern (thus jarring the reader out of the book's ancient setting) nor so archaically formal that the reader is forced into multiple re-reads in order to decipher what was said; the narrative truly immerses the reader in the sights, sounds, and textures of ancient Egypt, to the point where I felt I could reach out and stroke the sweat-slicked flesh of the characters as they sat under Ra's implacable eye or smell the intoxicating scents of perfumed oil cones as they melted, the oil soaking the gauzy linen sheaths and kilts of the banqueters as they feasted in a stuffy, noisy dining hall. Certain hist. fiction authors who are currently the darlings of the publishing world, whom shall remain nameless here (although I will give out the initials P.G. and M.M.), should take note of Gedge's creative writing ability and follow her most excellent example.
  
  Now to explain the "for the most part" bit from earlier. Bear with me as my one criticism- no, that's the wrong word. How about I say 'problem' instead? My one problem with the book is rather nebulous and difficult to explain. While all of what I've said in the previous paragraph is true, while Gedge brings to life these ancient peoples and places and personages to a degree that is to be envied and admired, the characters themselves, most especially those who are responsible for driving the story, still don't feel as fully fleshed as they could be, as though they're missing whatever it is that would make them jump off the pages and become real human beings. To contrast, Conn Iggulden, whose Genghis series I'm currently reading, has to deal with some of the same issues as Gedge in bringing his characters to life, i.e. taking an historical personage about whom more myth than reality is written/known and creating a real human being from the scraps of truth to be found in such myths and legends. Yet Conn's Temujin/Genghis doesn't just leap off the page, he smashes his way through the flimsy wood pulp and weak ink letters which hold him captive. And the same dynamism is true of all the other characters in Genghis's life: some are weak, some are cunning, some are utterly depraved and despicable, and some are brave, noble, conflicted, innocent, dependable--in other words they are human, with human foibles and human drives. With the characters in The Hippopotamus Marsh I don't get that same sense of reality. Yes, we are shown the motivations of Seqenenra and his son Kamose, their pride and sense of honor, as they chafe under the rule of the Setiu/Hyksos king Apepa; the conflicted outrage of Kamose's twin brother Si-Amun as he traps himself in a no-way-out situation; the wise resignation of Seqenenra's wife Aahotep, the haughty grandeur of Tetisheri, the matriarch of the family, and the lesser motivations of the rest of the family. Yet I never really got a sense of each character's depth beyond those surface impressions. And this is where the nebulousness comes in, as the depth of personality for each of these characters (which I'm sure will deepen as the series progresses) is perfectly adequate (and in comparison to some hist. fiction downright marvelous). Taken in combination with the rest of the elements of Gedge's writing, The Hippopotamus Marsh becomes a work of fiction which is quite astonishing and absolutely amazing to read. So why am I complaining? I guess because I want to go deeper, I want to know more about these characters--Kamose, Seqenenra, Tani, Ramose, Aahmes-Nefertari and the rest--I want them to break free of history's cobwebs, leap off the page and stand before me as they tell me their story, through Gedge's words, much as Conn Iggulden's Genghis Khan did. They seemed too tame, too calm, too remote for such dynamic history taking place around them.
  
  One other quibble I have with the book, which ties in with the issue I pointed out above, is the action, compelling as it was, could've been more dynamic and more compelling to read. Once again, I need to refer to Iggulden as I've been spoiled by him and his depictions of battle, of blood and death, defeat and victory, depictions which are at once gruesome and engrossing. If I can smell the flood waters of the Nile, feel its life-giving mud slither through my fingers and the grit of the desert sand, then I should also be able to see the sweat and fear pouring off a soldier's face, hear the clashing of swords, the crash of shields, the twang of bowstrings, the hiss of blood as it sinks into the baking earth. Yet that never occurred. As with the personalities of the book's characters, the action is surface-level only: I saw the clash, I saw the tactics, the hope and fatigue of the soldiers, the humiliation of defeat, but I never felt the reality of the action taking place. Maybe it's simply due to a contrast in styles between a male and female author (and, god, I hate myself for even thinking that, let alone writing it, as I'm well aware of many female authors who can write kinetic and enthralling action scenes as well as, if not better than, male authors). Or perhaps it's simply that Gedge has so much territory to cover, she didn't feel the need to dwell on the battle scenes. Who knows?
  
  What I do know is the issues I have with the novel are minor in comparison to The Hippopotamus Marsh's overall scope and readability. There may be a few (a very few) books out there which are better (and we all know "better" and "worse" are highly subjective adjectives), but there are certainly a great deal too many books which are worse--pieces of dreck which would have to climb onto extension ladders just to get close enough to reach out and aspire to Gedge's level of artistry.
• 
  Marylyn

  Could not get into this, gave it a good 200 pages, maybe pick it up again in like 50 years!!!
• 
  Crystal Starr Light

  Bullet Review:
  
  Let's have a history lesson to put things into perspective.
  
  The last time I rated anything I read 5-stars:
  February 24, 2017
  
  The last non-fiction book I rated 5-stars:
  January 13, 2017
  
  The last fiction book I rated 5-stars:
  March 31, 2015 (and to be honest, the only reason I think it should get 5-stars is from its good message; I'm actually going to go right now to that review and revise to 4-stars)
  
  The last fiction book I rated 5-stars that makes me want to reread it RIGHT NOW:
  April 16, 2014
  
  I do NOT pass out 5-stars willy nilly. And I have NOT read a fiction book decent enough to rate 5 stars in nearly TWO YEARS, and not one that made me excited to reread or gave me fond memories in nearly THREE. Hell, the last fiction read that I gave 4-stars was back in
  November of last year.
  
  This book is fabulous. I've been effing needing a book like this to remind me how much I love to read FOR EFFING YEARS.
  
  Full Review:
  
  Seqenenra Tao is a Prince of Weset and one of the last of the royal house of Egypt. He lives rather peaceably there, minding his own business but King Apepa, ruler of the Two Lands from the Horus Throne in Het-Uart, is not content with letting that be. He makes demands of Seqenenra until finally Seqenenra has had enough and amasses an army to go to war. This is the novel of that uprising.
  
  This book was awesome and the first fiction book I've loved in 2 - 3 years (depending how you reckon it). Read it.
  
  Bye, I'm on book 2!
  
  
  
  Oh wait...did you want more of a review than this??? Well, I suppose I can accommodate. After all, this IS the FIRST fiction book I've rated 5-stars since 2015.
  
  Yes, you read that right - the last fiction book I rated 5-stars was Anna Godbersen's "The Lucky Ones" in January of 2015 (Sara Zarr's "Story of a Girl" was 5-stars until yesterday, when I realized it was more of a 4-star read). That means in 2 years, I've read nearly 300 books and comics, 87 books (fiction and nonfiction) without a single 5-stars fiction read.
  
  I mention all this to emphasize: I don't pass out 5-stars willy nilly. I'm not one of those readers who 4- and 5-stars everything. I'm also one of those readers who picks out the worst books for herself - ones she hopes she will like but ends up hating or just feeling meh about.
  
  This changes TODAY (actually yesterday) because I finally broke my 2 year dry spell of fiction and found something that makes me all happy and tingly inside because it is SO GOOD.
  
  My dear friend, Iset, was the one who gave me this book some years back. Due to our various schedules, we haven't had the chance to buddy read until this year. When discussing what book we should buddy read, we settled on this one. Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite periods to read about - I like to get away from the overdone eras (Tudors, Regency, Edwardian, etc.) and really explore what it was like a long time ago in a world so much different from ours. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous because it's part of a trilogy and the books are big, and I'm a slow reader. But I finished this book in about a month (and that was with a brief break in the middle and switching from this and a few other books I finally cleared off my currently reading shelf), and I cannot WAIT to move onto "The Oasis".
  
  Why do I like a book? So much of the answer is just how the author executes the book itself, but I like to boil it into discrete categories: Characters (who are they: are they unique real people or are they caricatures and stereotypes?), story (what is the point of the novel itself?), flow (does the story move fluidly from beginning to end or does it start and stop?), writing (does the author use her skill to create a beautiful, well-thought out world...or does she write the absolute bare minimum with the most basic of English skills?) and other (this could be things like historical or scientific facts, overall message or theme of the book, or perhaps something really noteworthy that the author did). I don't think it's too much to ask to have a book rank highly in these areas (aren't these the absolute basics of novels>) - but according to my track record, it is.
  
  How does "The Hippopotamus Marsh" rate?
  
  Characters - 10 stars out of 5. The characters are well-developed, unique individuals. When I think of their names - Seqenenra, Tetisheri, Ahmose, Si-Amun, Kamose, Tani - I can think of more than one adjective to describe them, detail more than one thing about their character than just their one reason for existing in this world. Even the villains - Apepa, Pezedkhu, the spy, the traitor(s) - are real people with actual motivations behind their actions that are beyond "ZOMG, I am so evulz muahahahhaah!"
  Story - 5 stars. Perhaps this is your "standard" uprising story, though none of it feels "standard" to me. We see Seqenenra have to deal with Apepa's taunting and teasing, how challenging it is, how demeaning for someone of royal blood. These early scenes are not superfluous - in fact, there is not a point in the book that comes across as extraneous or only added for padding or to read a certain page/word count.
  Flow - 5 stars. Hell maybe 6 stars in light of the wordy books I've recently had to read *cough*
  Dreams of Gods & Monsters*cough*. Every bit of the novel is necessary to further the plot - there is not one moment that you go, "Okay, so I just finished reading 4 chapters of that - what was the point?"
  Writing - 10 stars out of 5. Gedge is a master craftsperson, able to form sentences and paragraphs and chapters that perform the dual function of being beautiful withOUT bogging the story down in purple prose. There were numerous passages that detailed the beauty of this exotic world and time, without hampering the flow, derailing from the story, or detracting from the character study. Too many times and especially in this day and age of the Hunger Games, authors have gone for the stripped-down, pedestrian style that makes reading ugly and clunky. Or alternatively, authors get so purply with their prose, you can't find the story through the words. Not so with Gedge.
  Other - 5 stars. Gedge made Egypt come alive for me. She described this amazing world so well, that while I was reading, I felt I was there. THIS is the reader's high. THIS is what a reader dreams of reaching - the "runner's zone" of reading. Where you forget the world around you, you live in the book, and when you are done, you look around and sigh despairingly, "Oh, right...that was a book, not reality."
  
  For many years, I despaired that I didn't love to read anymore. I went to authors I once loved and books I thought were my favorites and was disappointed by them. I read so many books from book clubs and Goodread reviewers and friends who said, "OMG, this is the best ever!" and came away feeling like I am on a totally different planet - a planet where I was the sole person who disliked/wasn't wowed/hated a book everyone else loved. As I went through the copious books I bought, culling the ones I didn't want to read anymore, I wondered despondently if I should just purge all the books in my personal library and just not try to read anymore - to abandon a hobby I've had since I was a wee one, reading Boxcar Children Books in 2nd grade.
  
  But finally...finally!...I have found that Holy Grail that readers the world over look for - a 5-star read that I gobbled up enthusiastically and cannot wait to dive head-first into the sequel. I am trying to keep my hopes for book 2 modest, so as not to be disappointed, but given how masterfully Gedge wrote "The Hippopotamus Marsh", I have no doubt that she will wow me once again in "The Oasis".
  
  Thank you, Pauline Gedge, for helping me rediscover my love of reading! And thank you to my dear friend, Iset, for giving me this book - without it, I would still be looking for that White Elephant, that Unicorn of a 5-star read.
• 
  Lisa

  Oh my god.
  
  If you gave me one word, just one, to sum this book up, it would be: epic.
  
  In The Hippopotamus Marsh, Pauline Gedge tackles (with all of her considerable skill and talent) one of the most defining moments of Ancient Egyptian history: the expulsion of the Hyksos, which led to the golden age of the Egyptian empire: the New Kingdom.
  
  It's a period I've long been interested in, but not one I've read a lot about as most of the books I've come across talk about the Hyskos as a short prologue to introduce Egypt's New Kingdom. So it's incredible to see this time, and the pharaohs Seqenenra Tao, Kamose and Ahmose given the attention they more than deserve.
  
  These pharaohs, and the rest of their family, are examples of Gedge's superb characterisations. She doesn't bash us over the head with how deserving they are of the Horus throne, but instead allows them to become figures that the readers can find believable, and admirable, attractive or at the least, understandable. For example, I didn't want Si-Amun to die, despite knowing that he betrayed his family and his relative unimportance to the historical explusion. This lends a sense of pathos to the story, and when beloved characters were in some way harmed or killed, I felt their pain and/or loss keenly.
  
  If I had to pick a flaw, I would say that there could have been a little bit of time spent with Ahmose, but he'll probably come into his own in the next instalments. Despite this, he was one of my (many) favourite characters.
  
  I adore that Gedge also used the Ancient Egyptian names for locations rather than the modern names (i.e. Weset instead of Thebes). It might be a bit off-putting for less knowledgeable readers, but I found it refreshing, not least because it makes the story feel more authentic to its setting.
  
  I have to say that I was surprised to hear that others thought this book 'slow' – I thought it was anything but. It was a real page-turner for me, and I regretted not being able to really sit down and devour it in one go. As I write this review, I'm restraining myself from racing off to order the rest of Gedge's bibliography the trilogy because it's that good.
  
  In short, it's an amazing, epic read, the beginning of a "lush, sweeping epic", if you'd like, and Pauline Gedge remains, in my head at least, the undisputed Queen of Ancient Egyptian historical fiction.
• 
  Dawn

  My seemingly never ending quest to find a really good historical fiction story set in Ancient Egypt led me to this series. To my disappointment it was another dud.
  
  It did have potential as a story. It is a good period of history and stories of oppression and uprisings make for good reads.
  I thought the plot was a little lacking, there was a very long set up period and it could be said that the entire book is a preamble to the real story coming in the rest of the series, which I found to make the read very tedious.
  I also thought that there should have been fewer characters that we spent more time with and that got fleshed out better, rather than such a big cast and trying to incorporate them all, leaving me with half created personalities.
  
  I shall have to continue my quest elsewhere.
• 
  Cayleigh

  I randomly found Pauline Gedge while searching the Goodreads list of Egyptian books. Hippopotamus Marsh was the only book my library had by her. I enjoyed this book, she brings Ancient Egypt alive during the time when the Hyskos are ruling egypt and the Tao family decides they want their birthright as the real Kings of Egypt back. For the first part of the book I didn't know if I was going to like it, then the things started hopping and by the end of the book I became entrenched with the characters Kamose and Hor-Ah. I'm now eagerly awaiting getting my hands on the next in this series.
  
• 
  Neus Gutiérrez

  Me da mucha pena, pero esta vez no he visto en Gedge lo que vi en otras ocasiones.
• 
  Jacob

  Historical Fiction set in Ancient Egypt like Child of the Morning. This one focuses on a family descended directly from former Pharaohs who have been displaced by conquerors. A monarch never rests easy around someone else who has a legitimate claim on power, so the story asks: what do you do when you're not a credible threat to the powers that be, but too much of a threat to be left alone?
  
  I again appreciated the historical education in terms of ancient Egyptian culture. It's not a typical setting, so I feel like it's more worth reading for that alone. And months later I can still remember the story and care enough that I'll be reading the two sequels.
• 
  RealmsQueen

  I am a fan of Pauline Gedge's book. I am waiting with baited breathe for her last instalment in the King's Man trilogy to come out in mass market, but I must admit I was rather dissapointed in this book, the first of her Lord of the Two Lands trilogy.
  
  Now don't get me wrong I did enjoy it, but it was not my favorite of her works. It was rather dry , and the characters were for the most part whiny. Constantly bemoning their bad luck, disgrace, and fall from grace.
  
  It's a lot of repetition in the actions of the characters and the reactions of the world around them. I wound up skimming several pages.
  
  It is still beautifully written, the characters are colorful, and the breathless and timeless beauty of Egypt springs forth as it does in all her other books, but the plot and the story just didn't seem as well put together as the other books I read by her.
• 
  Erin

  Read in anticipation of Middle East travels. I'm ready to see some ancient Egypt now :)
  
• 
  Dawn Ang

  "The Hippopotamus Marsh" by Pauline Gedge is an engaging historical fiction that raises to life the Ancient Egypt in which it's characters lived. Gedge's prose is on point with the time period she depicts. All aspects of the novel combine to craft a beautiful story.
  
  Set during an Egypt in transition--not at its height nor during its final days as an empire-- "The Hippopotamus Marsh" gives an interesting, unique perspective on the majestic civilization.
  
  Some reviewers have said the novel moved too slowly at times but, in my opinion, the pacing is done very well and reflects the pace of the life of the characters. There are, indeed, times when the pace is slower but these slacks in the plot allows for a glimpse of the characters away from the influence of the conflict. The reader is afforded a chance to get to know the players as they are--without them having to make difficult choices or deal with challenging situations.
  
  The characters of the novel are well-formed. They are all very likable and they undergo visible growth as the plot progresses. The consistency of the characterization allows for the reader to grow an attached to them; the reader grows with the characters and becomes greatly invested in them.
  
  With such a wonderful cast of characters it is easy to bypass the background in which their stories take place but to do so would be to neglect to give Gedge the credit she deserves. The setting is vividly created. Gedge does an excellent job of transporting the readers to Ancient Egypt. The atmosphere is palpable throughout the novel--I believe the novel is worth reading just for Gedge's construction of life on the ancient banks of the Nile.
  
  This is a satisfying read and I will definitely be reading the next in the series!
• 
  Belinda

  4,5 stars - English hardcover - Thanks Amy to let me read this book. History at his best ( in a novel). It is long ago I did read this novel. My neighbours in Maastricht gave it to me to read. I noted the reating in my agenda but there was no entery of remarks about the book. That is a shame I think, but at the time I Just had a little baby with who I totaly adore. Amy went home to the states and I live in Venlo now. I still hope to get a chance to read this books again! They realy are good! 🌸🌷🌸
• 
  Megan

  This was fine, but didn't exactly bring ancient Egypt to life. It did pique my interest enough for me to find out more about the events depicted, but not enough to read the next in the series.
• 
  The Book and Beauty Blog

  Spoiler Free
  
  The Hippopotamus Marsh primarily sets the stage for an upcoming war. The Tao family ruled Egypt until they were defeated by the Hyksos. Two hundred years after the family’s defeat, Seqenenra Tao has had enough of bowing to foreign rulers. He begins a revolt that unfortunately ends in tragedy but in spite of this, the Tao family refuses to give up their battle for the throne.
  
  One of the things I love most about Gedge’s writing is her ability to bring figures from history to life. She captures the human essence perfectly. The ancient Egyptians were real people with hopes and dreams but it’s easy to forget that because they lived so long ago. Gedge paints a well researched picture of what these people might have really been like and it just pulls you into the story.
  
  I didn’t know anything about this period of Egyptian history until reading this book. I did a little research on it once I was finished and there isn’t much information available; which makes this story even more impressive. Gedge took a small amount of known info and spun it into a fully detailed book.
  
  The only complaint I truly have with this novel is it felt overly long and dull at certain points. It was A LOT of slower paced politics and I prefer my stories to be more drama heavy and fast paced. I hope that the next two books have more romance, drama and all of the other stuff that keeps me hooked. Other than that, this book was an immersive and entertaining read.
  
  For other reviews, go to
  https://thebookandbeautyblog.com/
• 
  Erica

  I was a bit disappointed by this book. One of my favorite Goodreads reviewers reread the series a few months ago, and had very good things to say about it. I immediately purchased the book on Amazon after seeing that the author had also written
  Child of the Morning, which I read a few years ago and enjoyed very much. The Hippopotamus Marsh is about an incredibly exciting time in Egypt's history, when the Theban royal house rebelled against the Hyksos, invaders who ruled in Lower Egypt. The first half of the book focuses on Seqenenra, who led the first rebellion, and the second half focuses on his son, the future Pharaoh Ahmose I. Pauline Gedge understandably takes some liberties with the historical details in order to shape her story, and adds some insight to the unknowns that have been lost to history. However, my overall impression is that the book is too long. The plot drags quite a bit and I am unsure if i will be reading the rest of the series.
• 
  Shonna

  Another book that took a bit to sink my teeth into but I am glad I persevered! It took me a minute to get used to the tone and pace-- but I believe that both are more era-appropriate than some other ancient historical fiction I have read. It's not so... stodgy or formal that it is difficult to read, but it definitely serves to immerse you in a completely different time and place.
  
  I love how Gedge shifts perspective throughout the novel. Everything about her characters feels real and believable. This is such a difficult time period to write about because what we don't know vastly outweighs what we do know-- about every aspect of ancient Egyptian life. Any author writing about this time period would have to fill in the gaps and Gedge does so absolutely seamlessly.
  
  Books 2 & 3 should arrive in the mail today and I can't wait to see what happens with Kamose and his family!
• 
  Shira Bea

  Oh my, such a fantastic read! The author weaves words with such flourish, that every time I read a sentence, it blends into a wonderful, dream-like narrative. I can imagine Ancient Egypt with the way she writes.
  
  First, it hurts that Seqenenre Tao was killed in battle. Second, Si-Amun's suicide is inevitable, but a sad reality during that time. Third, I like Kamose's grit. He never wavers on the path of righteous vengeance. Fourth, I have learned little bits of historical knowledge from this book that I have never encountered in other books, which makes it a fantastic read.
  
  Overall, I love reading this book, it builds a suspense, from Seqenenre's rebellion to Kamose's vengeance. I can hardly wait to read the second book! For a trilogy, this first book is a success!!
• 
  Cat Bezubiak

  This was the first book taking place in ancient Egypt that I ever read. It hooked me absolutely and completely. Not only to the time period, but also to the genre of historical fiction. It was an entirely normal experience and it took me some time to get used to some of the parts of the story that were entirely foreign to my sensibilities. However once you get past those few things you will find yourself completely entranced.
• 
  Sandra Paez

  Me encanta Pauline Gedge y todo lo que escribe. Este libro no ha sido una excepción: personajes ricos, descripciones embelesadoras sin ser demasiado extensas. Maravilloso libro que te lleva necesariamente a leer el siguiente.
• 
  Cheryl

  Really well done historical fiction about a period in Egyptian history which is one I was not familiar with because it is not one of the more commonly well-know eras. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
• 
  Cristel Verhaegen

  een serie over het begin van mijn meest favoriete periode: de 18de dynastie
• 
  Joanne

  4.5
• 
  Teresa

  ennjoyed this