- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; illustrated edition edition (22 Jan 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571202853
- ISBN-13: 978-0571202850
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,079,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"'Extraordinary... leaves you feeling shaken. And that is meant as the highest compliment.' Guardian"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
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Product Description
The House of the Eagle begins Duncan Sprott’s 'Ptolemies Quartet', an epic restoration of the dark and glittering story of ancient Alexandria and the Greek Pharaohs of Egypt, whose extraordinary dynasty spans twelve generations from the death of Alexander the Great to the fall of Cleopatra. Narrated by Thoth, the ibis-headed Egyptian God of writing and wisdom, this book details the rise of the shrewd Ptolemy I from ordinary soldier of Macedon to Satrap of Egypt, and his coronation as Pharaoh and a god in his own lifetime. We follow then the astonishing history of Ptolemy’s twelve turbulent children in unending wars, domestic murders and incestuous marriages, all set against the exotic backdrop of Egypt. With its cast of powerful characters - King Ptolemy himself, the violent Ptolemy Keraunos, the famous Thunderbolt, the luxury-loving Ptolemy Mikros, and their poisonous sister, Arsinoe Beta - this is a triumph of historical salvage that brings vividly to life the most bizarre family that ever existed. This is a great sequence of historical novels that brings Egypt to life in all its complexity and strangeness and will place 'The Ptolemies Quartet' in the company of Robert Graves’s I Claudius and Mary Renault’s The King Must Die.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first Duncan Sprott book I have read, and I was quickly drawn into the intrigue. It is a story of machinations and often perverse family relations, but woven in amongst everything is some fascinating detail about social and political life in both the Egyptian and Greek worlds at the time.
The narration, by the Egyptian god Thoth, serves to add a surreal veracity to proceedings that only adds to the sense of place.
It may be a difficult book for some, though, as it is not a 'blood and thunder' style of historical novel, but has a more methodical pace. This allows for a deeper exploration of the characters and subject matter, but might feel a little slow if you're more interested in, for example, dynamic battlefield accounts.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an unusual but brilliant novel, which takes a little known part of Egypts history and brings it vividly to life, through the eyes of one of Egypt's ancient gods. The style is humerous and witty, the author's knowledge of the period astounding, and his recreation of the Ptolemies, the dynasty which was later to produce Ceasar's Cleopatra, is spellbinding.
The reviewer on this website who said he found the books boring was perhaps looking for the blood and guts war epics which historical novels often prove to be; this book is different, in the style of 'I Claudias,' and it achieves the rare achievement of keeping its audience both excited and amused and informed all at once.
I for one have already started reading the second in the series, which is equally enjoyable, and look forwards to the third and fourth.
The reviewer on this website who said he found the books boring was perhaps looking for the blood and guts war epics which historical novels often prove to be; this book is different, in the style of 'I Claudias,' and it achieves the rare achievement of keeping its audience both excited and amused and informed all at once.
I for one have already started reading the second in the series, which is equally enjoyable, and look forwards to the third and fourth.
7 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After "Clopton Hercules" and "Our Lady of the Potatoes", each of whichbristle with such vivid descriptions of time and place, where theatmosphere of each scene can be smelled through the force of Sprottslimpid writing, this book comes as absolutely no disappointment.
It isa brilliant gritty portrayal of the first three generations of the Ptolemydynasty in Egypt after the division of Alexander's empire.
And once again it is Sprott's highly individual descriptive power thattransforms what might have been a mere history into a story in which thefamily's ambitions and barbarous proclivities lead to doom and disaster.Viewed through the eyes of the complaint Egyptians we find ourselvesasking why they should behave like that. And yet, reading today'snewspapers, the answer becomes all too clear.
It isa brilliant gritty portrayal of the first three generations of the Ptolemydynasty in Egypt after the division of Alexander's empire.
And once again it is Sprott's highly individual descriptive power thattransforms what might have been a mere history into a story in which thefamily's ambitions and barbarous proclivities lead to doom and disaster.Viewed through the eyes of the complaint Egyptians we find ourselvesasking why they should behave like that. And yet, reading today'snewspapers, the answer becomes all too clear.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Eagle Reader
A thoroughly enjoyable and fast moving read which brings to life historical characters of ancient Egypt. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Valerie Hunter
Unusual but finely crafted and engrossing.
The language is perfectly balanced and the detail impeccable. This is an unusual book, but finely crafted and utterly engrossing.
Published on 17 April 2007 by ajs
Boring
I bought this book after reading other historical novels about Alexander the Great and was looking forward to reading a similar story about what happened to one of his generals... Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2005 by "lazzz2005"
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