24 Bones

24 Bones is not my usual choice of genre, but when I saw the premise of the story, I wanted to give it a go. What author Michael F. Stewart does here is create a thrilling plot driven story steeped in ancient Egyptian mythology and Christian religion. Good versus evil are at the heart of the book. Samiya, leader of the Shemsu Seth, is born into shadow and her brother is born into light. At the start of the story Samiya's own mother Tara, tells her she must go to the darkness, to keep the balance. Tara is part of the Sisters of Isle, who help keep the balance between good and evil. As you read, you don't know who to root for, seemingly good or seemingly evil. The world building was great as the two sides prepare for war. Shemsu Hor are the ones who protect the 24 bones of Osiris's spine. I liked this whole idea of the 24 bones.

Being that 24 Bones is urban fantasy with plenty of plot twist and turns and a good amount of characters woven into the storyline, this is a hard book for me to review. I will say that I was drawn into the world Michael F. Stewart created. I wasn't so much into the characters as I was the storyline itself which actually takes place in current day Cairo. I enjoy reading about ancient Egypt mythology so I found this aspect of it interesting. I felt like I didn't know what was coming next and I was in for an interesting ride.

"The stone colonnades of Luxor Temple, lit from below, vaulted like the pillars of Shu, god of air, to the heavens. Ramessess II stared from the cracked throne that flanked the gate, stony eyes lingering on Faysal, one of the companions selected to reclaim the missing pieces of Osiris."
p. 140, 24 Bones

So, if you are into ancient myths and enjoy urban fantasy you might enjoy 24 Bones.

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of 24 Bones in exchange for my honest opinion.
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers and authors, such as this one, I am under no obligation to write a positive review.
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/2013/05/24-bones-review-and-giveaway.html ( )

An interesting story in which the battle of good and evil is fought against the backdrop of Egypt's ancient monuments.
I really enjoyed the story. Stewart makes an intricate mix of religion, myth and history with fantasy and magical elements, and I thought it worked quite well. I like the way in which he uses theory about religion and myth to complement the story.
The story is fast-paced and well written. I very much liked the characters and how they develop, choosing different sides in the course of the novel. The connections between the different characters and groups are sometimes complex, but this also means that the story stays interesting until the end, and makes it much more intriguing than a simple 'good vs. bad' type of story.
I'm looking forward to reading more of the author's work. ( )

I found it difficult to get into this book. At first it seemed esoteric, but once present day Egypt and David appeared on the scene, I was hooked.
The Egyptian mythology was a good idea, setting this book apart. It acted as a bridge linking the present day goings on and Coptic Cairo in particular, and at the same time anchored it to the past. This resulted in a great read, just as the book's of Mary Renault used the ancient Greek mythology to such good effect.
Some reviews complained of the quality of the prose, which seemed to read better if you followed it's flow, as if it were being read to one by the author or in audio form. As to the numerous spelling errors referred to I found only three, which in the greater scheme of things in comparison to, other books, books is not many. Very much still a book worth reading!
Another point in this authors favour can be found in the pledge on his website, should this not be an example all authors on librarything should be asked to follow, otherwise it is a bit like politicians voting for themselves! ( )

Apart from a multitude of grammatical and spelling errors, this was a very pleasant read. The intertwining of Christianity and Egyptian Mythology was very interesting, and added many new perspectives of certain religions. The author’s method of bringing three completely separate story lines together was quite thrilling; a reverse-branching storyline that doesn’t come together at an intersection, but in slowly realized relations. ( )

Super interesting. It takes old Egyptian myth and brings it into the present via small-ish religious groups that have kept a low profile. They story surrounds a prophecy that is set to come to fruition. There's good (Shemsu Hor) and evil (Shemsu Seth) that are battling it out to retrieve pieces of the Osiris. Whoever gets it, becomes a demigod and rules the world. One of the best openings ever--during an intense ritual. Also, the characters did not end up as what I thought they would be.

You can tell the extensive research that went into this book. A lot of different Egyptian myths are incorporated, as well as, Christian myths. I've always been interested in Egyptian myths, so it was great to get some a lot of the 'basics'.

While the story was wonderful, there were a few bumpy spots. Some of the sentences were a bit awkward and needed rereading to understand exactly what was being said. It was also a bit jumpy, though out of necessity. There were several characters that needed to be incorporated, so it went back and forth with short chapters.

Overall, a good read. I liked it, but probably won't go back for a full second read. ( )