This reads like you are there. A richly written tale...Excellent!

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I always enjoy Smith's historical novels of adventure. I've read several of his Courtney novels that take place in the early days of African exploration. This novel is the first in his ancient Egypt series and takes place in about 1650 B.C. during the time of the Pharaohs. The narrator and main protagonist of the story is Taita, a wise and gifted slave who is also a eunuch. His master is Lord Intef, the corrupt vizier of Thebes. Intef's daughter, Lostris, is in the care of Taita and is also wanted by most every male in the city including Tanus, a young and virile warrior who was cheated out of his inheritance by Intef. Lostris later marries the Pharaoh, Mamose based on a vision of Taita but she gets pregnant by Tanus and has a son that is in line to be Pharaoh. Egypt is later invaded and overwhelmed by the Hyksos which forces an exodus to the South where the Egyptians encounter the black tribes of Cush and the mighty Ethiopians.

The story is full of adventure and history. I had never heard of the Hyksos who invaded Egypt around 1650 B.C. The Hyksos were able to overwhelm the Egyptians because they had horses and chariots. These were soon seen as a great advantage and the Egyptians brought them into their warfare. The book also brought to light much of Egyptian mythology which I was only vaguely familiar with including the origin stories involving Osiris,Seth, Isis, Hapi, etc. Very fascinating. I'm not sure how accurate some of the history is as presented in the novel but it all makes for a great yarn. I would highly recommend Smith for anyone wanting some action with their history and I'm sure I will be reading more of both his Egyptian stories and his other works.

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Very long and detailed but so interesting. Great characters and some interesting hypotheses about why the ancient Egyptians believed what they believed. Good read.

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