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Pharaoh: A Novel
Pharaoh: A Novel
Pharaoh: A Novel
Ebook426 pages4 hours

Pharaoh: A Novel

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Valerio Massimo Manfredi's Pharaoh is a thrilling archaeological mystery.

Jerusalem, 586 BC. The kingdom of Judah is on the verge of annihilation by the Babylonians. In the chaos, the prophet Jeremiah saves the sacred Ark of the Covenant and hides it in a cave. He returns terrified, having made a discovery that appears to have sent him mad.

The Middle East, early in the second millennium. Professor William Blake, renowned Egyptologist, has a surprising visit from representatives of an American mining corporation. They have discovered a strange Egyptian tomb, which risks exploding the powder keg of Middle Eastern geopolitics.

Blake finds himself facing the most mysterious case of his life. The tomb of the Pharaoh lies in the middle of the desert, miles from the Nile and the Valley of the Kings. As he starts to unravel the Pharaoh's story, a disturbing theory forms in Blake's mind as to the identity of this mysterious ruler - a theory that could destroy the balance of the modern world.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherPan Macmillan
Release dateFeb 25, 2011
ISBN9780330526197
Pharaoh: A Novel
Author

Valerio Massimo Manfredi

Valerio Massimo Manfredi is an archaeologist and scholar of the ancient Greek and Roman world. He is the author of numerous novels, which have won him literary awards and have sold 12 million copies. His Alexander trilogy has been translated into thirty-eight languages and published in sixty-two countries and the film rights have been acquired by Universal Pictures. His novel The Last Legion was made into a film starring Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley and directed by Doug Lefler. Valerio Massimo Manfredi has taught at a number of prestigious universities in Italy and abroad and has published numerous articles and essays in academic journals. He has also written screenplays for film and television, contributed to journalistic articles and conducted cultural programmes and television documentaries.

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was the twelfth of Manfredi's books that I have read so I have to call myself a fan, but after the previous two, (Ancient Curse and Ides of March) I was prepared for disappointment. I did however enjoy this book. I found it exciting and interesting.At the start of the book, we are taken back to Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem before the exile of its population to Babylon and the destruction of the first Temple in 586BC. The prophet Jeremiah escapes the city with the temple treasures (including the Ark of the Covenant) and hides them in a cave on the Holy Mountain. However, he discovers something else on the mountain that shatters his world.Jump forward to modern times. An American archaeologist, disgraced, recently divorced and out of a job is asked to excavate a mysterious ancient Egyptian tomb accidentally found by a shady American mining company operating in the Middle-East. What follows is a thrilling story of archaeological discovery, international nuclear terrorism and a new Arab-Israeli war.I think to enjoy this book, you really have to remember that it is fiction. Some of its key ideas are interesting speculations but stretch plausibility to its limits. The suggestion that an archaeological discovery, even one so momentous as proposed in this book, would destroy the faith of Jews, Christians and Moslems shows a misunderstanding of the nature of religion worthy of a religious fundamentalist or one of the new breed of "bumper sticker" atheists.Also, Manfredi hasn't grasped some of the finer details of middle-eastern politics and religion. The suggestion that Sunni Moslems would accept (Shia) Iranian control of Mecca to gain the liberation of Jerusalem from Israel seems to be a given for Manfredi. Not so simple I'm afraid.None of this significantly reduced my enjoyment of this book. It is FICTION after all. Some of the writing (perhaps translation) is clumsy but some (e.g. parts of chapter 13) are brilliant. As a general comment on conflict in the middle-east, Manfredi shows sensitivity to all sides and makes the often made observation that violence begets violence. An observation worth repeating often. My faith in Manfredi is restored.

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Pharaoh - Valerio Massimo Manfredi

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