Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead (2006)

Ugh. Ugh times ten to the 1 millionth power. I would give this a 1-star; but I reserve that for books that are DNF. Run away from this book as fast as you can. I can only be grateful it was free at Barnes and Noble. ( )

The formality of style contributes to the slow pace of the book. Little actually happens in the first half of the book, and there is really no mystery. There is much cruelty.and pain and unhappiness which I'm sure was the case at the time, but it doesn't make for pleasant reading and serves little purpose in teaching us about the human soul, except its greed and quest for power. Very little is known for sure about Nefertiti; therefore, little can be said of her or described or explained. ( )

Lowly detective Rahotep is commanded to find Queen Nefertiti. In a land in turmoil that may be hard to do. Everyone has reasons to hate the new Rulers of Egypt. Akhenaten decides that he is going to do away with the old Gods and only have one God. His God.

Rahotep has no idea if the Queen is missing, kidnapped or dead. To make his duty even more difficult he only has 10 days. If he can not return the Queen or her body in that time, the King with kill his family. How is he supposed to find out anything when no one will answer his questions? ( )

This story, though called Nefertiti, is more about Rahotep, a Seeker of Mysteries. His purpose is to discover what has happened to the Queen, but she doesn't actually make an appearance until well into the book. Naturally "Rahotep" wouldn't sell as many copies, I'm sure. Though the tale is told as a first person narrative from Rahotep's diaries, the story does focus on Amarna, its king and queen and the changes that come about at the end of the time of the Aten.

There were many times when I thought of this as an Egyptian Sherlock Holmes story, though not told as well as the iconic mysteries. The scenes are beautifully depicted and pull you in to the events as they unfold, but the mystery itself is not quite as brilliant, sometimes predictable and rather disappointing at the end when we realize there never was much Rahotep could have discovered in the first place. His role in the events seemed worthless in the end, but continued to be written as if there were still a job to do all the way to the last pages.

An enjoyable, beautifully descriptive book that lovers of Egypt will probably pick up just for the reason of having one more book about one of the most famous periods in history. Don't look for ancient terms or historical perfection (there is much modern language that can throw you off) , just sit back and enjoy the ride along the Nile. ( )

Ancient Egypt? Everyone has a fascination with ancient Egypt. The pyramids, the mummies and a pantheon of strange chimeric beings speak of a culture that is far removed from ours yet one which we seem very familiar with given its exposure in the media.

Nefertiti is a detective novel set within this culture. Rahotep, a Seeker of Mysteries, is summoned to the new city of Akhetaten to investigate the disappearance of Pharaoh Akhenaten's queen Nefertiti. As an added incentive to his usual salary he is promised a painful death both for himself and his beloved family should he fail.

Nick Drake (not, apparently, the musician) immerses us in Rahotep's world; the imagery is vivid - almost cinematic - though the language is modern and, sadly, prone to anachronistic metaphors. By telling the whole story from Rahotep's perspective, we are sucked immersively into the narrative. I really enjoyed the atmospheric way the scenes were set and the immediacy of the way the story was told.

What let Nefertiti down was that it wasn't a particularly good story. I found it quite predictable and I was disappointed by the way Rahotep was tossed around by events. Although the story unfolds around him, he has little direct influence on their outcome, despite being our main protagonist. He discovers things for it to become evident that these were already known or were completely inconsequential and were the main character to be removed from the story it would proceed in much the same way.

It's a first novel though and Drake's still learning his craft. So while I was disappointed, there was enough promise in the telling of the story that I'll give Rahotep another chance and read the sequel some time in the hope that the plotting has improved. ( )