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Two Horizons
Great Pyramid, jealous Queen, rival priests, ambitious princes and drought all prey on God-king Khufu. Frightfully, his most potent protector is a mere commoner, Mehi, the son of a tomb-robber.
Khufu’s external trials are the nomad invasions and regicide attempts conspired by the priests, his gold treasury’s depletion he requires to perfect his pyramid, and his Queen’s sterility that extends into Khufu’s romance with Theormi, a harem woman. As a result, Theormi embarks on her own path to prove her royalty.
Yet Khufu’s inner and ultimate battle is with his own kingship. While his desire for Theormi proves his humanity, Egypt’s people require his divinity. The God-king’s divine magic raises the annual Nile inundation, irrigates the ribbon of Egypt’s farmland, and feeds his people who would otherwise starve in the desert that creeps in on all sides. But when the Nile doesn’t rise in this year of the novel’s setting, Khufu searches for the magic in his body, apparently abandoned like love has abandoned him. Do the Gods disfavor him against protecting his people as they have in, or perhaps because of, his quest for human love?
In parallel to Khufu’s labors, Mehi labors to absolve his family of its crime by self-sacrifice, physically and mentally, on the pyramid. The crime also burdens his love for An-khi, a governor’s daughter. In the course of the year, propelled by the Nile’s seasons of inundation, harvest and drought, Mehi’s brother enters as a rival for An-khi’s love. Meanwhile, she aspires to be governor herself.
By year’s end, will Mehi save Khufu from his enemies, including Mehi’s brother?
Khufu’s external trials are the nomad invasions and regicide attempts conspired by the priests, his gold treasury’s depletion he requires to perfect his pyramid, and his Queen’s sterility that extends into Khufu’s romance with Theormi, a harem woman. As a result, Theormi embarks on her own path to prove her royalty.
Yet Khufu’s inner and ultimate battle is with his own kingship. While his desire for Theormi proves his humanity, Egypt’s people require his divinity. The God-king’s divine magic raises the annual Nile inundation, irrigates the ribbon of Egypt’s farmland, and feeds his people who would otherwise starve in the desert that creeps in on all sides. But when the Nile doesn’t rise in this year of the novel’s setting, Khufu searches for the magic in his body, apparently abandoned like love has abandoned him. Do the Gods disfavor him against protecting his people as they have in, or perhaps because of, his quest for human love?
In parallel to Khufu’s labors, Mehi labors to absolve his family of its crime by self-sacrifice, physically and mentally, on the pyramid. The crime also burdens his love for An-khi, a governor’s daughter. In the course of the year, propelled by the Nile’s seasons of inundation, harvest and drought, Mehi’s brother enters as a rival for An-khi’s love. Meanwhile, she aspires to be governor herself.
By year’s end, will Mehi save Khufu from his enemies, including Mehi’s brother?
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First published March 17, 2013
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October 8, 2015
This was one I picked up for free on Smashwords ages back, and only just got around to reading. I'm now kind of kicking myself I left it for so long, as it was very enjoyable. It's quite a slow burner, especially early on, but was definitely worth sticking with.
The book tells the parallel stories of Khufu, god-king of Egypt (yes, the one with the enormous pyramid), and Mehi, who works on the same pyramid as a self-imposed penance for his father's crimes. Although the two men are worlds apart for much of the book, there are similarities in their lives. Both love a woman, but the relationship is ruined. Both deal with fraught family situations. But while Khufu must deal with a hateful wife and difficult children who contrive through court intrigue to gain their own ends, Mehi's family is torn apart by a criminal father and a scheming brother. Khufu is plagued by the priests of Ptah, who scheme to end his reign, while Mehi must fight his own demons and unhappiness with his life. As the lives of the two men gradually intersect, circumstances reach a point of no return.
There was something very mesmerising about this book. As I mentioned above, it's something of a slow burner, but after the first couple of chapters I found myself reading longer and longer sections at a sitting. The language is quite poetic in some ways, and life in Egypt during the reign of Khufu is depicted vividly, whether in the royal court or among the people. It was a refreshing change to read a novel of Egypt set during this particular period too. While I couldn't claim to have read every bit of fiction set in Ancient Egypt, I've read a fair few over the years, and most seem to be set later, either during Ramses' reign or in the Akhenaten/Tutankhamun era. This book made a nice change in the historic setting, and it was interesting to spot the similarities and differences. There was plenty of intrigue going on in the royal court, and a lot about mental health issues too, which brought a hint of the unusual to the book. Altogether, it certainly caught and held my attention.
The book tells the parallel stories of Khufu, god-king of Egypt (yes, the one with the enormous pyramid), and Mehi, who works on the same pyramid as a self-imposed penance for his father's crimes. Although the two men are worlds apart for much of the book, there are similarities in their lives. Both love a woman, but the relationship is ruined. Both deal with fraught family situations. But while Khufu must deal with a hateful wife and difficult children who contrive through court intrigue to gain their own ends, Mehi's family is torn apart by a criminal father and a scheming brother. Khufu is plagued by the priests of Ptah, who scheme to end his reign, while Mehi must fight his own demons and unhappiness with his life. As the lives of the two men gradually intersect, circumstances reach a point of no return.
There was something very mesmerising about this book. As I mentioned above, it's something of a slow burner, but after the first couple of chapters I found myself reading longer and longer sections at a sitting. The language is quite poetic in some ways, and life in Egypt during the reign of Khufu is depicted vividly, whether in the royal court or among the people. It was a refreshing change to read a novel of Egypt set during this particular period too. While I couldn't claim to have read every bit of fiction set in Ancient Egypt, I've read a fair few over the years, and most seem to be set later, either during Ramses' reign or in the Akhenaten/Tutankhamun era. This book made a nice change in the historic setting, and it was interesting to spot the similarities and differences. There was plenty of intrigue going on in the royal court, and a lot about mental health issues too, which brought a hint of the unusual to the book. Altogether, it certainly caught and held my attention.
Displaying 1 of 1 review