Day of the False King
Semerket #2
by Brad Geagley
Fans of writers like Christian Jacq and Paul Doherty were no doubt devouring Brad Geagley's
first novel Year of the Hyaenas when it came out last year, and now here is book
two. Fresh - if such a word can be said to apply to somebody like Semerket - from his
exertions to unmask the conspiracy to murder Rameses III, Semerket is off to Babylon.
Egypt's Clerk of Investigations and Secrets (a Paul Doherty title if ever there was one)
has to bring back the statue of the god Bel-Marduk to cure the consumptive new pharaoh
Rameses IV, and find his ex-wife Naia. He is sure that she is alive, and even has a scrap
of writing from reluctant conspirator Rami to prove it. But once he is in this strange
land, nothing is what it seems and Semerket ends up having to solve a mystery set by King
Kutir to find his missing sister.
Novels set in ancient Babylon are not exactly numerous, so it is a treat to read this one
and discover something about this mysterious land. The parallels to today are many, with
warfare a constant and everything in turmoil. Mr Geagley brings the place to vibrant life
and there is even space for some humor, with a brief Casablanca spoof slotted in, and
the Indiana Jones perils of the dreaded Insect Room, which is obviously going to feature
at least once. There is a long-lost prince (shades of King Solomon's Mines) and
the obligatory local investigator who seems stumped until Semerket steps in and points
out some obvious things. The first book featured rather a lot of supernatural happenings,
but here virtually everything is explained as technically possible. My main criticism
of book one is that the author hadn't brought enough of his own to the book, but here his
style reveals itself a little more. Semerket himself is surely the archetypal self-destructive
Sam Spade gumshoe, and therefore the setting with its flashes of inspiration culled from
classic films seems fitting. |
The Book |
Simon & Schuster (US) |
January 2006 |
Hardback |
0743250818 |
Historical Crime [1150BC, Egypt] |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt |
NOTE: Some violence |
The Reviewer |
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewed 2006 |
NOTE: |
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