Firebird: Amazon.co.uk: Michael Asher: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

Ancient myth meets modern day Egypt in Michael Asher's second novel Firebird. It's 1995 and in Fayoum a badly mauled boy is brought to the local monastery, the boy has terror in his eyes and the Bedouins swear he was attacked by a ghoul. Four years later in Cairo, Egyptian-born Dr Adam Ibram, a key environmental adviser to the US government is shot dead in the middle of the bustling Khan-al-Khalili bazaars. Desperate to quash any rumours of possible terrorist attacks, the FBI and the Egyptian police forces sweep into unilateral action. Inevitably the two forces meet head on and the end result is the unlikely pairing of self-proclaimed Aswan sewer rat Sammy Rashid and all-American, Barbie doll look-alike Daisy Brooke. Despite initial antagonism the duo work well together and Sammy cannot help but be impressed by Daisy's fluent Arabic, cat-like agility and razor sharp mind.

The hunt for Ibram's killer is by no means straightforward--the only clues available to Sammy and Daisy are an Islamic amulet belonging to the long-disbanded Sanusiya tribe and Dr Ibram's dying words "firebird". As the investigation continues the pair become increasingly isolated, unsure whom to trust as they operate on the outer limits of the law. In Old Cairo the "ghoul" attacks intensify.

Firebird is a tightly plotted novel which combines contemporary life with ancient history to great effect. Asher writes with real affection for Egypt and excels at description of its desert landscapes. He is an authority on Egyptian history and as a result the story is peppered with fascinating historical detail. Unfortunately, the dialogue is not quite as strong--initially the central characters are rather two-dimensional and lack credibility. However, characterisation improves as the story develops and the plot is so engrossing that these minor flaws are more than compensated for. Firebird is an action packed, genre-crossing read with a nail biting denouement centred around the Giza Pyramids on the eve of the millennium. --Valerie Powell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

The new atmospheric thriller by the author of the outstanding The Eye of Ra.

The murder in Cairo of Dr al-Ghali, Egyptian-born adviser to the US President, brought both the local police and the FBI to the scene. Feisty, country-born Lieutenant Sami is paired with the FBI agent, arrogant, attractive Daisy Brooke, with her degree in middle eastern studies from California.

The only thing the dying man said was ‘Firebird’.

The explosive mix of character and national interest was fuelled by the discovery at the murder scene of an amulet traced to the Sanusiya Brotherhood, a fundamentalist Muslim sect thought to have disappeared at the turn of the century. The Sanusiya appear to have been involved in the excavation in the Western Desert of a remarkable site where Camyses III, King of Persia, and his vast army, armour and gold bullion, disappeared in a powerful sandstorm. And the words Operation Firebird seem enough to have every door slammed against you… The activities of a renegade group of Americans, apparently working for a secret organisation, of a strange Bedouin woman, always present just before violence occurs, and of the US Embassy and the various elements of Cairo police, make Sami and Daisy’s investigations both difficult and dangerous.

The combination of Egyptian myth and history with contemporary politics and violence, the author’s deep and authoritative knowledge of the peoples and places of Egypt, the strength of the storytelling and characters make this, as it did his first novel, The Eye of Ra, a fascinating thriller.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Fast and fun and you'll learn some Egyptology too! 13 Sep 2000

By "dionemco"

Format:Hardcover

Michael Asher has produced a "page turner." Embark chapter one to be swept along at a gallop and larded with humour to the conclusion. This is predictable and incredible but still enjoyably spectacular. Sammy Rashid is a Special Investigations Detective living in Cairo. After the murder of an apogee of scholastic intelligence who was also a US Governmental Adviser, he is called on to co-operate with female representative, Daisy Brooke, of the FBI. The sexual interaction is stereotypical, but compensation comes in some memorable throwaway lines in their dialogue. Sammy has minor psychic gifts enhanced by his childhood in the desert which create an interweaving sub plot connected, when he was a child, to the disappearance of his American father. Written evocatively, the tale loops through the sinister back streets of Cairo, sharing the seedy night life of criminals then into the aridest areas of the Sahara desert. It steadily peels layer upon layer from the character of Sammy Rashid. Meanwhile, Daisy is not all she seems. Asher's writing style is such that he has lifted the whole of Egypt from its present environs to the United States. All the accents and the players' thoughts are strictly Midwest. After the initial shock of a native born Egyptian saying, "Let's grab a soda," or "sonofabitch", acceptance of the style adds to the humour. Where this book is outstanding is in its treatment of the Egyptian myths, legends and mysteries which continue to beguile historians. Even within the context of a novel, Asher's enchantment with the subject shines through providing yet another strand to superbly enhance the narrative. Egyptophiles will happily wallow in his analysis of the conundrum of the Great Pyramid, using Sammy's voice; others will decide to visit the great Egyptian repositories like the British Museum or better still visit the real thing.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

An interesting story! 20 Nov 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

An interesting story for two reasons: First the plot in the foreground and the egyptian mystique in the background.

This book inspired me to look deeper into real egyptian history passed over from generation to generation, than just eat the lukewarm soup brewed up by conventional Egyptologists.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Just too far-fetched 23 Oct 2001

By johnverp TOP 1000 REVIEWER

This is a very disappointing book.

It has pace and that's about it. Nothing stylish about the writing and the licence the author has taken with the plot is unbelievable.

I have already bought "The Eye Of Ra" but I suspect it'll be some time before I turn to an Asher novel again although, to be fair, his first book did rate very well.