Egyptian detective, archaeological thriller
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Paul Sussman's second Inspector Khalifa thriller, has a touch of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures, starting with a an age old mystery of the lost army of Cambyses, before coming up to date with aforesaid Inspector.
I like novels that are set outside the USA for a change, and the lead character, an Egyptian detective and respectful Muslim family man, gives it an interesting edge.
Reasonably well paced, history (archaeology) thriller. Good read.
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Thumping good read
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I really enjoyed this book, Paul Sussman convincingly creates the hot atmosphere, dust, noise and smells of North Africa. Also a convincing lead in Inspector Khalifa.
I tried this after suffering a Matthew Reilly 'thing' (I can't call that a book) and my relief to find an intelligent author with something to say and history to back it up with - brilliant.
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Feeble string of cliches
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The initial interesting idea about the solving of a legendary mystery is soon utterly wasted amid banal dialogue and every cliche of plot and character under the sun.
A mad fanatical fundamentalist leader with a weak spot, a sadistic German who falls into a quicksand when about to have his wicked way with the heroine who had just escaped rape and murder and then willingly agrees to return to the clutches of the villains, a lone superhero policeman, helicopters disgorging the forces of law and order in the nick of time, people shrieking: "I'll kill you for that, you bastard!" and "not that way, you fool!".....
I suggest re-classifying this onto the children's bookshelves.
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Entertaining, but not what I expected.
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I did enjoy this book and the ending was a complete surprise and very enjoyable but I can't help feeling a little disappointed that the story didn;t meet my expectations.
Although there is a lot of ancient egyptian facts and history in this book, I was expecting more of an historical mystery, but it turned out to be more about middle eastern islamic terrorists.
Anyway, don't be put off as I still did enjoy this read. I would also like to echo previous reviewers in saying that I think there was no need for the continual use of foul language through this book.
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a veritable treasure trove of military memorabilia - the background for a gripping mystery
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In 525 BC the Persian emperor Cambyses II invaded Egypt and successfully overthrew the native Egyptian pharaoh, Psamtek III, last ruler of Egypt's 26th Dynasty to become the first ruler of Egypt's 27th Persian Dynasty. Cambyses II sent his army to Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert to seek (or seize) legitimization of his rule from the oracle of Amun, much as Alexander the Great would do in the 4th century BC. However, the army was overtaken by a sandstorm and buried.
For centuries adventurers and archaeologists have tried to find the lost army, and at times, tantalizing, though usually false glues have been discovered. Within recent years all manner of artifacts and monuments have been discovered in Egypt's Western Desert. Here and there, new discoveries of temples and tombs turn up, even in relatively inhabited areas where more modern structures are often difficult to distinguish from ancient ruins. Very recently, when a geological team from the Helwan University geologists found themselves walking through dunes littered with fragments of textiles, daggers, arrow-heads, and the bleached bones of the men to whom all these trappings belonged.
So far so good the reality which forms the background of this amazing crime story which will hold you from page one and only lets you go with the very last page. It is a page turner where fact and fiction merge into a one. Paul Sussmann knows how to hold the reader's interest, develops the personalities and the story in a convincing and interesting way. The various leads merge at some point, the twist are not outrages in the sense that one asks oneself "Where the hell is this coming from".
There are some aspects one needs to think about: terrorism, its roots and its effects.
All in all a book I highly enjoyed and can equally recommended.
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