cedar_grove | And the Third

Season of the Hyaena by Paul Doherty

From product information on Amazon:

Paul Doherty brilliantly evokes the atmosphere of the hyaena world in which the ally standing beside you at one moment may turn and rend you at the next. Capturing ancient Egypt in all its beauty and brutality, he has created a powerful and riveting story.

Mahu, former Chief of Police and Keeper of the Secrets of the Heart is sitting down to record his memories. He sees uneasy quiet reigning in the Royal Circle at Thebes, after the disappearance of the Pharaoh Akenhaten and the abandonment of his new, sun-worshipping religion. Members of different factions are barely held together by loyalty to the six-year-old Emperor, Tutankhamun. Then extraordinary news reaches the Council: Akenhaten has returned to Egypt. The words are greeted with dismay by all who hear them, for surely Akenhaten is dead? Mahu can certainly vouch that the woman claiming to be the Emperor's wife, Nefertiti, is a fraud. Whoever the man is who has appeared in the Delta, he must be investigated.

This is the second book of a trilogy... and everything I said about the first book applies to this one too. The two books together are hard to put down... While I enjoyed this one, I think I liked the first one better... not necessarily for any lack, just... it's the nature of the story. Ahkenaten dissapeared far too soon... that's all. I suppose another disappointment was the seeming lack of Smenkhare in the mix after the disappearence of the 'Heretic.' While I realise this was just one of the theories about what occurred directly after Ahkenaten disappeared, it is by far my favourite, for many reasons, and perhaps I had a certain expectation that it would appear in the book. I won't say too much more because I don't want to give anything away. It's still good - still everyone should read it.