The wreck of the Beatice, a brig
carrying Egyptian antiquities, foundered off the coast of Spain in
the 1800s. Among the artifacts was the sarcophagus of the fourth
dynasty pharoah, Menkaure. Jack Howard and Costas dive to discover
the location of the wreck. They find it and to their surprise the
sarcophagus contains a plaque depicting Akhenaten and his wife
Nefertiti. This find sets the stage for an adventure that uncovers
more interesting artifacts from the reign of Akhenaten. That's one
part of the story.
The other part of the story concerns
the 1884 British relief expedition struggling to reach Karatoum to
rescue General Gordon. Major Mayne, a sharp-shooter is sent ahead of
the expedition to try to convince Gordon to leave his post, an action
he is very reluctant to take. This story is lightly tied to the Jack
and Costas adventure mainly through Gordon's interest, and that of
other British army officers, in the Egyptian antiquities.
The book is actually two stories, the
adventure story and the story of the Karatoum relief expedition.
Personally, I found the story of the Karatoum expedition the most
interesting. It is well researched and presents a clear picture of
the suffering experienced by the expedition moving up the Nile
against the current.
The adventure story is the usual
adventure story where high tech is used to search for ancient ruins.
I found this story interesting, but not as well done as the Karatoum
portion. I would rate this story three stars and the Karatoum
adventure five stars. This averages out to a rating of four stars for
the book. I recommend this book only if you enjoy the coupling of an
adventure story with an historical novel.
I reviewed this book for Net Galley.
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