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Title: The Mask of Ra by P. C. Doherty ISBN: 0-425-18093-X Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: 10 July, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.41 (17 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Egypt and chess
Comment: I found the book "The Mask of Ra", by P. C. Doherty, to be mildly enjoyable. The historical background against which the story plays, namely the ascension of queen Hatshepsut (Hatusu) to the throne of Egypt, is a fascinating period of Egyptian history, and Doherty uses this background quite well. The plot, involving several deaths that have to be investigated by Amerotke, Pharao's Chief Judge, is also well thought out. Three aspects weaken the quality of the tale. Firstly, the writing has at times an amateurish quality to it, with weak dialogues or conceptual errors (for example, the political maneuvering at the court is equated by Hatusu with a game of chess, a pastime unknown in Egypt at the time). Secondly, the interplay between some of the characters is hard to conceive as representing social mores at the time; to illustrate, the level of familiarity between the Chief Judge and his servant Shufoy, or between the Queen and the Chief Judge, would seem to be totally out of place in a formal society such as Egypt's. Thirdly and expanding on the previous point, other aspects of daily life are presented with similar carelessness: again, and just to cite one example, it is difficult to imagine the Chief Judge moving around Thebes without a formal escort, including armed guards or charioteers. A more careful and believable presentation of social interactions in ancient Egypt can be found, among other places, in Robinson's Lord Meren tales (which in turn have, however, suffered from weak plots in more recent installments).
Rating: 5
Summary: A great novel. interesting and intriguing.
Comment: Beign 15, i'm obviously not as clever as some of you know-it-all Egyptologists. So i am unable to spot all the errors you have. Do you know what? I don't care whether they're there or not. This is not supposed to be a textbook on life in Ancient Egypt, or a history lesson, or a written equivalent of an archaeological dig. It's supposed to be a story. I dont give a damn whether he's got his facts straight, because that's not why i read the books. if it manages to partially inform, that's all well and good, but it's not the purpose of the book. It's fiction. it's a story. So just read it and ignore any errors you may find. because they don't matter. No Paul Doherty does not "have a responsibilty to provide a 100% accurate representation of those times" as i'm sure soome of you may believe. It is not a textbook, so the facts don't have to be right. He only has a responsibility, as a storyteller, to tell a good story. and he has.
i enjoyed this book a great great deal. I've read all of his Ancient Egypt novels, and they are among the best things he writes. The atmosphere he evokes is great, and the plots he creates are complex and intriguing. His writing, although it could do with more dialogue, is refreshing and easy to understand. Judge Amerotke is a very interesting and likeable. I greatly enjoy reading about him and his quest for truth.
This is a very good book, containing a good mystery, with a great ancient setting. A cast of great characters and a great plot amke this a winner. Some superb action scenes, and some very violent and unpleasant deaths reflect effectively the bloodthirsty nature of the times. However, they are not gratuitous, and all serve a purpose for the plot. If you want an Agatha Christie type mystery with a great setting, choose this book.
Rating: 3
Summary: Colourful history with mystery novel
Comment: I am not an expert in the history of Egypt-ancient or modern -and so am not qualified to comment on the accuracy or otherwise of the historical background to this novel ,the first in an ancient Egyptian sequence by the prolific Mr Doherty .Others have indicated on these pages that they have some reservations on this point and I will defer to the greater level of expertise which they have.
I will simply judge the book as a colourful period novel and judged on these ground it strikes me as perfectly competent.
It is subtitled "A NOVEL OF INTRIGUE AND MURDER"and the batting order strikes me as significant .There are murders in the book and an investigation is carried out to determine the culprit or culprits but most time and space is taken up with the political ramifications of the deaths and the jockeying for position in the power vaccuum that results from the event which triggers the novel's event's namely the death of Pharoah Tutmosis the second in 1479 BC .The investigation and the revelation of the perpetrator is almost secondary to the political in fighting which results.
The death of the Pharoah results in a power struggle between his widow ,the cunning Hatusu and two other potential rivals for the position of regent to the infant Pharoah Tutmosis 111 .Her chief rivals are the Grand Vixier and a prominent general and the country has to deal with a major incursion from a foreign power before the political conflict is resolved .
The book's strengths are some vivid battle scenes and some atmospheric writing describing the architecture and ritual of ancient Egypt ;the scenes in the Necropolis are a reminder that its author has dabbled in the occult genre and are especially nicely done.
Judged as a mystery it is routine and will not satisfy those who demand that whodunnit elements occupt centre stage but it a crisp piece of lively historical writing with enough incident and brio in the writing to keep the pages turning
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Title: The Horus Killings by P. C. Doherty ISBN: 0425182932 Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: January, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: The Anubis Slayings by P. C. Doherty ISBN: 0425185818 Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: 06 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Slayer of Gods by Lynda S. Robinson ISBN: 0446690384 Publisher: Mysterious Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: A Cruel Deceit by Lauren Haney ISBN: 0380812878 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: A Path of Shadows by Lauren Haney ISBN: 0060521902 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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