Tutankhamun: The Book of Shadows by Nick Drake
Rai Rahotep #2
Genre: Historical mystery
Tutankhamun, son of Akhenaten, has inherited an empire that seems to be at the height of its power and international glory. But the young King, just eighteen years old, is faced with the political and personal intrigues and conspiracies of the Court, where his godfather Ay, and the General Horemheb are locked in a bitter struggle for ascendancy. Tutankhamun must steer the empire back from the brink of disaster and dissent to which his father Akhenaten’s rule led the Two Lands of Egypt, and re-assert the stability and authority of his famous dynasty.
Rahotep, chief detective of the Thebes division, has his own worries – his daughters are growing up in a changing world of danger and instability, while out on the streets of Thebes things are falling apart; poverty and dissent are breaking out into a nightmare of violence, gold and corruption seem all-powerful, and the city’s shadowy underworld is itself witnessing mysterious acts of shocking brutality.
Yet when he receives a mysterious invitation to the secret halls of the Royal Palace, he cannot refuse. What he finds there, and the quest on which he embarks, will change his life, and put everything he thought he believed, and everything he loves, at risk.
My thoughts
A lot has happened between the events of Nefertiti and King Tutankhamun‘s reign. Drake does a good job filling in the gap: Akhenaten and his revolutionary new religion have collapsed, the priests have their power and wealth reinstated, and the capital city has returned to Thebes. A new king is on the throne, though he clearly doesn’t hold power.
In Rahotep’s personal life, things have changed, too. He is older, perhaps wiser, and still leery of any requests from royalty. In addition to his three adorable daughters, now he has a son, too. This book delves more into his family life more than the previous book, particularly his wife’s subtle weariness/resentment that her husband’s job intrudes upon their life. Even on special occasions, he is always “on call.”
He’s a sympathetic character, especially in the moments when he chooses mercy over the law. His family is intriguing. I would’ve loved to have spent more time with the girls, particularly his oldest daughter who is determined to become a physician, and his aged father, who lives with them.
Rahotep’s friend Nakht, whom we briefly meet in Nefertiti, returns and plays a larger role in this story. He’s an interesting character. His vast intellectual knowledge is a good complement to Rahotep’s earthier, practical knowledge. This is especially helpful when the case delves into the metaphysical/religious realm and the realm of forbidden-to-be-spoken-of matters. (Secret books and secret knowledge shared by a select group of initiates? I don’t know how much of this is historically accurate, but it was fun to see Nakht and Rahotep butt heads over whether these books exist!)
Even though things have returned to the status quo, there is still lots of conflict between the former state religion of Aten and the re-established religion of Amun. Drake does a great job showing how the predicted changes of the first book have happened, but stability hasn’t returned. The priestly class has returned to power. But there’s still resentment from those who had benefitted from the new and now forbidden religion, and who are now ruined from its dismantlement. There are violent retributions against the Aten-worshippers, including some gruesome rumors that Rahotep almost discounts. Almost.
What was most intriguing is how the young king and his sister-queen (she’s his half-sister) seek out Rahotep to help them. I like his interactions with both young people.
The conversations between young Tut and Rahotep are the most moving sections of the book. The king is young, frightened, and feels a wistful longing for his late parents. Rahotep, who knew the late king Akhenaten, can help fill in the gaps from Tut’s bewildering past. It’s clear that the young king is fragile and has no idea how to rule a kingdom, though he resents Ay’s assertion of authority over him.
As usual, Drake does an excellent job building the world of ancient Egypt. As I mentioned in my review of Nefertiti, my knowledge of this subject is woefully lacking, so I can’t confirm whether thus-and-such detail is correct. But Drake fills in the gaps in the historical record in imaginative ways and I truly enjoyed his theories about certain well-known facts.
While I like his descriptive world-building skills–and Drake is clearly skilled with words–after a while I started to skim the longer descriptions. Some felt repetitive, others felt overly long for the locale’s importance, and too many felt like they are detached from the actual story scenes. (Those with characters and action.) In my opinion, many could’ve been pared down without adversely affecting the story.
The descriptions of the former capital city are terrific. When Rahotep visits Akhetaten, the former capital city, alongside King Tut, the emotions run deep. Unfortunately, by the time I got to this part of the book, I was almost numb to the descriptions because I’d read so many others in the first fifty-percent of the book. I had to force myself to slow down to read this carefully.
It also didn’t help that I read Tutankhamun immediately after finishing Nefertiti. (I read my TBR list in the order of publication date and/or date of scheduled review.) These are books that need to be spaced apart.
Most authors have their favorite writing devices that they fall back on if they aren’t careful. Drake’s appear to be these long descriptive passages and equally long discussions about philosophy. They make the book feel disjointed at times, as if various disparate elements have been placed in sequences, rather than integrated together to form a story.
However, this was a good book. It will appeal to those who like historical fiction with some mystery, rather than those who prefer mystery with some history. If you enjoy lush descriptions and mysteries with a more leisurely pace, this book will appeal to you.
Note: Be forewarned that the murder methods are horrible, and the victims’ bodies are described in graphic detail. This will probably cross a line for many sensitive people.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
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About Nick Drake
Nick Drake is a poet, screenwriter, and playwright.
His father was Czech, his mother English; he grew up in Hertfordshire, studied at Cambridge University, and then lived for several years in the Alpujarras mountains, south of Granada, assisting Paul O’Prey to edit Between Moon and Moon (Hutchinson 1984), the second volume of Robert Graves’ letters, and writing The Poetry of W.B.Yeats for Penguin (1991).
Nick was literary assistant at the National Theatre, where he commissioned the first three series of the Connections Project; Literary Manager at the Bush Theatre; and head of development at InterMedia Films working on projects including Hilary and Jackie, Sliding Doors, Iris, Enigma and The Quiet American, and with film makers such as Anthony Minghella, Terrence Malick and Ridley Scott.
His first collection, The Man in the White Suit (Bloodaxe 1999) was a Poetry Society Recommendation and won the Waterstones/Forward Prize for Best First Collection. It was followed by From The Word Go (Bloodaxe 2006).
In 2010 Nick was invited by Cape Farewell to join a group of artists and scientists on a voyage around the Svalbard archipelago, close to the North Pole, to witness and respond creatively to climate change. The Farewell Glacier (Bloodaxe 2012), is a book-length poem inspired by that journey.
Nick collaborated with United Visual Artists on the award-winning installation High Arctic (National Maritime Museum 2011). Set in 2100AD, High Arctic is a monument to an Arctic past (and future), which used recordings of the poem’s many voices – from explorers to the ice itself telling their stories – to invite the audience to think about human impact in the Arctic region and contemplate its fragility, its beauty, and its scale.
His first screenplay, an adaptation of Raimond Gaita’s Romulus, My Father, was directed by Richard Roxburgh, and starred Eric Bana, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Franka Potente. Released in 2007, it won Best Film at the Australian Film Awards, and the screenplay was shortlisted for Best Screenplay. It was the highest grossing domestic film of that year.
Other film writing includes: an adaptation of William Dalrymple’s White Mughals for Rainmark Films, Ralph Fiennes attached to direct; an adaptation of Marco Pierre White’s Devil in the Kitchen for Scott Free with Anand Tucker to direct; Out Of Russia based on the true story of Brian Grover, for Shoebox Films; Second Best Bed, about Shakespeare’s last year in Stratford, for Ecosse Films; a film about Bradley Manning for producer Dan Lupovitz. He has collaborated with Hassan Abdulrazzak on the film adaptation of Hassan’s play Baghdad Wedding for Focus Features; and with James Marsh on an adaptation of Graham Joyce’s novel The Silent Land, also for Focus.
Theatre work includes: To Reach the Clouds, an adaptation of Philippe Petit’s account of his walk between the Twin Towers (Nottingham Playhouse 2007); Success for National Theatre Connections (2009); All The Angels (Wanamaker Playhouse, Globe Theatre 2015).
Nick wrote the libretto for a new opera Between Worlds, composer Tansy Davies, directed by Deborah Warner, for ENO, which premiered at the Barbican, in 2015.
He has also written a trilogy of crime novels set in 18th Dynasty Egypt; Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead; Tutankhamun: The Book of Shadows; and Egypt: The Book of Chaos (all Bantam). The books are currently being adapted for TV by Patrick Harbinson for Mammoth Screen. (from author website)