Nefertiti (Rai Rahotep 1)
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Product Description
Book Description
A brilliantly compelling and stunningly evocative literary thriller set in Ancient Egypt
Product Description
Nefertiti - the most powerful, charismatic and beautiful Queen of the ancient world.
With her husband, Akhenaten, she rules over an Empire at the peak of its glory and domination. Together, they have built a magnificent new city in the desert on the banks of the Nile. They are about to host kings, dignitaries and leaders from around the Empire for a vast festival to celebrate their triumph.
But suddenly, Nefertiti vanishes.
Rahotep is the youngest chief detective of the Thebes division; a 'Seeker of Mysteries' who knows about shadows and darkness, and who can see patterns where others cannot. His unusual talents earn him a summons to the royal court. Rahotep is given ten days to find the Queen and return her in time for the festival. Success will bring glory - but if he fails, he and his young family will die...
Closely based on historical research, NEFERTITI tells the hidden story of the crimes, mysteries and secrets of the dark game of power played out against the vast panorama of a society in revolution.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is really just a detective thriller, following on the traditions of Morse, Frost, Wexford, Taggart, etc., etc. The twist here is that it is set in the Ancient Egypt of the Pharaohs (so perhaps Brother Cadfael is an even closer cousin.) Indeed the police force in Thebes and Akhtaten bears an uncanny resemblance to its modern counterparts - even down to irascible bosses who don't want our hero on the case and a loyal sidekick `sergeant'.
Once you settle for that, it's a fair page-turner. The case our intrepid hero, Rahotep, is pursuing is actually a missing-person problem. But there are enough violent murders and plot-twists along the way to keep interest high. The political background is well sketched in. We are in the time of Akhenaten, the pharaoh who tried to impose a monotheistic religion on his people and constructed an entire lavish new city to become its centre and his memorial. Inevitably, this leads to a dark and labyrinthine nest of political manoeuverers that takes in the royal family, the old aristocracy and a priesthood dispossessed of their traditional power and wealth, all with motives to disrupt the new order. This is what seems to lie at the root of the mysterious disappearance and possible death of Akhenaten's wife, the charismatic and beautiful Nerfertiti. It is the task of our hero, DI Rai Rahotep of the Thebes Constabulary, to find her alive before the planned great celebratory festival or pay with his life and that of his family.
The plot at times seems a little contrived as characters rather predictably turn out to be other than they seem - the bad ones can be good guys after all and vice versa. Nevertheless, the tried and tested device of imposing a rigid timescale to the investigation and the twists and turns of the narrative keep interest and excitement high and the gallery of characters prove an exotic and interesting bunch. If its evocation of a lost civilisation isn't in the class of a Mary Renault or a Robert Graves, Nick Drake's thriller is still, as they say, a good read.
Once you settle for that, it's a fair page-turner. The case our intrepid hero, Rahotep, is pursuing is actually a missing-person problem. But there are enough violent murders and plot-twists along the way to keep interest high. The political background is well sketched in. We are in the time of Akhenaten, the pharaoh who tried to impose a monotheistic religion on his people and constructed an entire lavish new city to become its centre and his memorial. Inevitably, this leads to a dark and labyrinthine nest of political manoeuverers that takes in the royal family, the old aristocracy and a priesthood dispossessed of their traditional power and wealth, all with motives to disrupt the new order. This is what seems to lie at the root of the mysterious disappearance and possible death of Akhenaten's wife, the charismatic and beautiful Nerfertiti. It is the task of our hero, DI Rai Rahotep of the Thebes Constabulary, to find her alive before the planned great celebratory festival or pay with his life and that of his family.
The plot at times seems a little contrived as characters rather predictably turn out to be other than they seem - the bad ones can be good guys after all and vice versa. Nevertheless, the tried and tested device of imposing a rigid timescale to the investigation and the twists and turns of the narrative keep interest and excitement high and the gallery of characters prove an exotic and interesting bunch. If its evocation of a lost civilisation isn't in the class of a Mary Renault or a Robert Graves, Nick Drake's thriller is still, as they say, a good read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ancient Egypt? Everyone has a fascination with ancient Egypt. The pyramids, the mummies and a pantheon of strange chimeric beings speak of a culture that is far removed from ours yet one which we seem very familiar with given its exposure in the media.
Nefertiti is a detective novel set within this culture. Rahotep, a Seeker of Mysteries, is summoned to the new city of Akhetaten to investigate the disappearance of Pharaoh Akhenaten's queen Nefertiti. As an added incentive to his usual salary he is promised a painful death both for himself and his beloved family should he fail.
Nick Drake (not, apparently, the musician) immerses us in Rahotep's world; the imagery is vivid -- almost cinematic -- though the language is modern and, sadly, prone to anachronistic metaphors. By telling the whole story from Rahotep's perspective, we are sucked immersively into the narrative. I really enjoyed the atmospheric way the scenes were set and the immediacy of the way the story was told.
What let Nefertiti down was that it wasn't a particularly good story. I found it quite predictable and I was disappointed by the way Rahotep was tossed around by events. Although the story unfolds around him, he has little direct influence on their outcome, despite being our main protagonist. He discovers things for it to become evident that these were already known or were completely inconsequential and were the main character to be removed from the story it would proceed in much the same way.
It's a first novel though and Drake's still learning his craft. So while I was disappointed, there was enough promise in the telling of the story that I'll give Rahotep another chance and read the sequel some time in the hope that the plotting has improved.
Nefertiti is a detective novel set within this culture. Rahotep, a Seeker of Mysteries, is summoned to the new city of Akhetaten to investigate the disappearance of Pharaoh Akhenaten's queen Nefertiti. As an added incentive to his usual salary he is promised a painful death both for himself and his beloved family should he fail.
Nick Drake (not, apparently, the musician) immerses us in Rahotep's world; the imagery is vivid -- almost cinematic -- though the language is modern and, sadly, prone to anachronistic metaphors. By telling the whole story from Rahotep's perspective, we are sucked immersively into the narrative. I really enjoyed the atmospheric way the scenes were set and the immediacy of the way the story was told.
What let Nefertiti down was that it wasn't a particularly good story. I found it quite predictable and I was disappointed by the way Rahotep was tossed around by events. Although the story unfolds around him, he has little direct influence on their outcome, despite being our main protagonist. He discovers things for it to become evident that these were already known or were completely inconsequential and were the main character to be removed from the story it would proceed in much the same way.
It's a first novel though and Drake's still learning his craft. So while I was disappointed, there was enough promise in the telling of the story that I'll give Rahotep another chance and read the sequel some time in the hope that the plotting has improved.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Hopefully the author will continue the career of the Medjay detective Rahotep. With the fall of Akhenaten, the affairs of Egypt are going to get worse and worse, in the next few years. The plot of the story was rather unbelievable, but most detective stories are--- they are usually more about the people in them and what they go through to solve the mystery than a truly believable plot anyway. Rahotep does solve it, though the ending sort of surprised me, not to give it away, but I didn't expect what he found when he got home, not in that time and place and not with everyone he had angered...
Anyway. Its a fascinating period of time and the Medjay were real people, originally a Nubian tribe who for centuries were first warriors for phaoraoh and then eventually the hereditary police force. The author doesn't clarify that, as Lauren Haney does in her excellent series about the fictional Lt Bak (also a mystery/police series)who leads a group of Medjay at the edge of the empire in the days of Queen Hatshepsut. And to go way back, the first pact between Egyptians and Medjay can be read about in Pauline Gedge's wonderful trilogy: "Lord of the Two Lands" where the Medjay tribesmen help the descendents of last Pharaohs fight to free Egypt from the Hyksos conquerors, centuries before the events in this book.
A much superior book if you are fascinated as I am with Nefertiti is the non-fiction book by Nicholas Reeves: "Akhenaten, Egypt's False Prophet" which is highly readable, loaded with excellent photographs from the carvings and images of the era, and tells the whole true history of the Amarna era as it is now known to be. NOTE: the book should be called "Nefertiti: the Book of the Dead Nefertiti (Rai Rahotep 1)" There is a typo on the title in the review.
Anyway. Its a fascinating period of time and the Medjay were real people, originally a Nubian tribe who for centuries were first warriors for phaoraoh and then eventually the hereditary police force. The author doesn't clarify that, as Lauren Haney does in her excellent series about the fictional Lt Bak (also a mystery/police series)who leads a group of Medjay at the edge of the empire in the days of Queen Hatshepsut. And to go way back, the first pact between Egyptians and Medjay can be read about in Pauline Gedge's wonderful trilogy: "Lord of the Two Lands" where the Medjay tribesmen help the descendents of last Pharaohs fight to free Egypt from the Hyksos conquerors, centuries before the events in this book.
A much superior book if you are fascinated as I am with Nefertiti is the non-fiction book by Nicholas Reeves: "Akhenaten, Egypt's False Prophet" which is highly readable, loaded with excellent photographs from the carvings and images of the era, and tells the whole true history of the Amarna era as it is now known to be. NOTE: the book should be called "Nefertiti: the Book of the Dead Nefertiti (Rai Rahotep 1)" There is a typo on the title in the review.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Informative but poorly plotted
It's difficult to credit some of the reviews for this book. For any aficionado of the crime/thriller genre, this is loosely plotted and in places quite poorly written. Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2009 by Cyrano
Very well written suspense novel
I must admit that I chose this book as a birthday gift rather by chance. Yet was not disappointed. For everyone who is interested in Ancient Egypt - from Cleopatra's nose to the... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2008 by R. Nathaniel
'Nefertiti'--a royal whodunit!
It's an incredibly confusing, frustrating, and frightening time in Ancient Egypt. The "heretic" Akhenaten is on the throne as pharoah and he is more than determined to bring Egypt... Read more
Published on 16 July 2007 by Billy J. Hobbs
A glorious title, a dreary story
One if not the worst book I've read for years, where can I start, well it takes ages to set the scene, and while the lead is supposed to be a skilful investigator, his best... Read more
Published on 15 Jun 2007 by H. Satti
Egypt's Sun Queen : a gripping and dark tale set in the most...
Nefertiti has always evoked major interest as she was at the heart of a cultural revolution of unprecedented impact in ancient Egypt: the change from multiple gods to just one. Read more
Published on 28 May 2007 by Amelrode
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN DETECTIVE NOVEL
As an historian I always avoid any fiction about ancient Egypt; however, this book was bought me by my son, so I was obliged to read it! I actually enjoyed it! Read more
Published on 6 May 2007 by RJ Lane
A Novel of Ancient Egypt
Apart from possibly Tutanhamun, Nefertiti is probably the most famous name to come out of Ancient Egypt, virtually anyone you ask would be able to tell you that she was a Queen of... Read more
Published on 8 April 2007 by J. Chippindale
This book is very informative
I have watched the movie The Mummy. That movie revolves arround this book, it was this book and after opening it the process of evil things happening starts and soon one after the... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2007 by Hamed Sajid Mohammed
Great concept and execution!
I was intrigued by the way the history and culture of ancient Egypy were entwined into a mystery plot, that in itself is based on reality. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2007 by Stupendous Star
Well written and great sense of place and time
The writing style and ideas in this original novel are great. I did find that the story didn't move along fast enough and there weren't many clues for the reader to pick up as in... Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2006 by Millions
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