Sphinx

by T.S. Learner

Now, when I look at the desert, I am reminded of the year I spent in Egypt -- the most definitive of my life ...

Egypt, 1977. Oliver, a geophysicist expert in oil exploration, finds himself unwillingly swept up in a world of political and mystical sabotage after his wife, Isabella, a marine archaeologist, discovers a mysterious ancient artefact, an astrolabe she′d been searching for all her life.

Oliver embarks on a journey that takes him into the secrets of Isabella′s once-wealthy Italian-Alexandrian family, and the powers of the astrolabe itself. Powers he, a fierce sceptic, refuses to accept.

Now the reluctant custodian of the astrolabe, and pursued by those keen to use it for their own purposes, Oliver flees back to London where punk is raging, and sex, drugs and rock′n′roll are all around. When his brother overdoses, Oliver is reluctantly forced to test the powers of the astrolabe himself; in doing so he seals a Faustian pact.

Tobsha Learner′s latest novel of ambition and obsession brings together modern and ancient Egypt and plays out to its terrifying climax against a backdrop of political unrest, occult intrigues and anguished love.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Mystery, Egypt, Mystery Thriller

480 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Aka Tobsha Learner

Reviews

[Urszula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a Secret Santa present from my Book Club, and I have to say it chose me well!

It had everything I like: murder, mystery, intrigue, romance, interesting facts about ancient Egypt’s beliefs and enough information about the political situation in Egypt at the time of this story.

The story was very well written with colourful characters. From the beginning you are not sure who is the real villain and if there was a murder, or maybe just an accident. I loved the detailed descriptions of cult’s rituals so close to the ancient religious traditions.

There was enough in this story to give you sense of unrealistic events to question if there is greater power behind some of the attacks. I though the ending was quite good, bringing all the ancient believes together.

[KJ Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Ancient Egypt, myths, mystery, a seemingly magical device - very tombraider / indiana jones. It sounded right up my street.'Fast paced and utterly gripping' claimed the review - well not for me it wasn't. I had to labour through this one and the only reason I finished was to find out where this was all going. And still not sure I understand.

Not to be completely negative, here's what I did enjoy:

*Barry was a great character. Was miffed he got killed so quickly.

*Well written, descriptive text (had me reaching for google a few times for some of the fancier words.)

*Great places (again googled them to see for myself)

*Good idea for a story. Started believable, the story backed up with science and mythology.


And now for the nit-picking:

*There were a lot of characters. And as each one turned up I was convinced they were the bad guys. But the real bad guys were never really ellaborated on. The one who turned up in London had a wierd caterpillar-like tattoo on the neck - was that referred to more than once in the book? And Mosry was the main concern but he was a silent mystery who didn't do much other than chase and stare at Oliver? He might have been afraid of Mosry but I was bored of him.

*Politics of the Middle East. Lived there myself and even I didn't care about the ins and outs. To much blah blah blah about politics.

*Faakir was a bit pointless. I know he had 'other things' more important to be doing and said he'd be watching out for Oliver, but then he bogs off for most of the time Oliver's in trouble. Then he pops up again breifly (oh well done Faakir, I'd almost forgotten you), only to bugger off AGAIN! I was expecting more from him.

*Oliver trusts no one apparently but tells EVERYONE apart from the one woman he should have about the device! ARGH!

*The workings of the device and its constrution confused me. How do you change your death date if you get it? How do you part the red sea? Eh?

*Granny Brambilla - argh! Grumpy old bat could have told Oliver practically everything about the cult members but doesn't! Her grandaughter had her heart whipped out! Why is she not helping Oliver to find the people who did it? Then when she does open up, it's only for a little bit then she clams up about the rest. Namely WHO the people are! Oliver, just jump on the old crone and tickle torture her into telling you everything!

*How did the egyptian-god-cosplay-lot manage to lure Oliver into that tomb? Did they know where he was all along? Nice imagery of the whole scene, but stupid at the same time.

*Ok, the sparrowhawk in London bit confused the hell out of me! Firstly, a small falcon managed to smash a windscreen so bad he was able to punch it out?! Come on! And I was convinced this falcon was symbolic of Isabella's soul dying or something, like she'd been the payment for saving Gareth? Cause Isabella didn't really feature again after that. The psychic punk girl could have been used to make that clearer if that was the case - like, why's that bird not with you anymore? Or something.

*The ballet. He even points out that it's risky to brazenly head out in public like that so what was the point? Not wise. Nice symbolism with Orpheius but that's the only reason I can see for that scene - symbolism.

*Similarly, Amelia's lecture. Why was he suddenly there like a sitting duck? Just to hear Amelia go over the same old history lessons? He seems to swing between not trying to hide at all to dressing like a monk.

*The ending. After waiting for ages for something to happen (and surprised how little of the book is remaining by that point) Oliver finally teams up with Amelia. Just Amelia. Not even Amelia's in-laws who she fought for are willing to come back them up on the journey, y'know to make sure they weren't followed! And each part of Oliver's drug-fuelled trip was supposed to last an hour? Did it? I know he was tripping but it didn't feel like hours. And although I'm perfectly at home with out-there fantasy, it felt like an about turn in the story, kinda like Tarantino's From Dusk til Dawn. It was trying to be gritty and scientific for the majority and just dropped it all at the last minute. I was expecting it to go that way but it did nothing for me. Sorry.

Overall an ok story but parts of it irritated me, or bored me, and in the end I was still confused about certain bits. But I did have a cold when I read it so maybe I was too preoccupied with blowing my nose and missed stuff.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first book I've abandoned in a very long time but life is too short to read this dross. It's improbable, badly-written and just plain not worth your time. I wish I could get back the few hours I spent reading the damn thing in the first place. If this review can save someone from that fate then it will have been worth it. Avoid at all costs. How on earth it was ever published in the first place shows there are a lot of morons in the world.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

First with the negative... this did start to drag on. There was probably too many murder attempts (strange as that may seem) and it got a bit repetitive.

Now with the good. THIS WAS BRILLIANT! I found the plot enthralling, the characters not only entirely believable but also incredibly relatable. The plot had enough mystery to make it alike to da vinci code etc, and yet it didnt go too far not to make it unrealistic. It helped that our main character/narator, didnt believe in the "voodoo" either.

I would recommend this and will pass it onto my mini book club.

[Alina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A primeira coisa que me chamou a atenção ao livro foi logo a capa, que sinceramente achei fascinante.
Infelizmente, a obra não esteve à altura das expectativas que criei em torno do grande mistério do astrário.

Pontos positivos:
- A trama passa-se essencialmente no Egipto,
- Foca-se muito na mitologia e rituais praticados no Antigo Egipto;
- O misticismo sempre presente e a tensão resultante;
- Relacionamento com personagens e factos históricos;
- Um final que ajudou a salvar toda a obra.

Pontos negativos:
- Primeiros capítulos absolutamente nada interessantes (já por duas vezes tinha tentado começá-lo e desistia sempre a meio do primeiro ou segundo capítulo),
- Descrições pormenorizadas completamente desnecessárias (tal como algumas situações e alguns diálogos),
- Personagem principal que se considera um cientista em todo o sentido da palavra, cético em todos os aspetos, mas que adivinha petróleo a cheirar o ar e a colocar os pés nus na areia do deserto e acha isso perfeitamente normal (mas recusa-se a acreditar na mulher),
- Situações à Indiana Jones interpretados por uma personagem que não faz ideia do que está a fazer (explico de seguida o porquê),
- A esposa de Oliver, sabendo o que sabia, deveria ter-lhe contado tudo de maneira a que ele ao menos tivesse umas luzes sobre o que tinha em mãos (e não apenas o típico "objeto capaz de fazer coisas muito boas como muito más dependendo de quem o controla") - sabendo que o marido era o maior cético do mundo, ela contou-lhe coisas absolutamente desnecessárias, mas não lhe contou o que ele deveria saber antes de se ter decidido a não contar nada precisamente por o achar um cético,
- A única pista que Oliver tem é a de que "deve confiar no seu instinto" - o que curiosamente ele faz de forma completamente desastrada mas ainda a bradar aos céus que não acredita em nada de misticismos,
- Personagens que aparecem literalmente do nada para ajudar Oliver nas situações mais difíceis,
- Situações muito previsíveis (incluindo o final, embora tenha a sua graça),
- Muita palha pelo meio e apenas a partir de metade do livro é que se torna realmente interessante,
- Os "maus" tanto parecem idiotas como super inteligentes (em plena cidade, onde é fácil calcular o seu paradeiro, não lhe apanham o rasto, mas se ele se meter num deserto no fim do mundo a seguir um mapa que mais ninguém tem, quase que o apanham),
- Cena final de perseguição confusa (o que era escusado),
- O mistério do astrário, na minha opinião, deixou muito a desejar - apenas o seu efeito final é que o tornou minimamente interessante,
- Muitas pontas ficaram soltas no que toca a várias situações que a personagem viveu.

Dito isto, creio que foi um livro meio (e apenas meio) interessante de se ler, mas que com tantas páginas, poderia ter desenvolvido melhor as personagens ou as situações se tivesse sido retirado metade da palha que tem.
Apenas não dei nota inferior por ter gostado realmente do final e por ter metido ao barulho mitologia egípcia.

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps a little bit more than another apocalyptic thriller because of the depth of scholarship and the sense of place.
Here a young geophysicist finds himself in possession of an ancient Egyptian relic. Ostensibly a mechanical device to calculate astronomical events, people in Ancient Egypt and 1970s Egypt too believe it has powers over the weather and can even cause earthquakes. There is at least a very real fear that some people in Egypt would use it to sabotage the Egyptian -Israeli Peace Accord which is being set up in the background of the events in this novel.
Oliver Warnock's mission becomes one of finding out who wants the astrarium, keeping it from them and finally working out how he can place it beyond the hands of anyone who would misuse its powers.
This novel has less tension than the da Vinci Code because the element of the chase is less central to the action, the evil villain is too much a shadowy background figure and the puzzle aspect is less engaging and surfaces late in the novel.
The choice of the first person narrative may be part of this weakness since the narrator can not switch between characters and events. Thus in the da Vinci Code Silas is a menace because we know what he is up to as much as we know what Robert Landon is doing, and we also know first hand about the greater political events between Opus Dei and the Pope. In Sphinx, we only know what Mosry is doing when he is hard on Oliver's heels and we learn about Sadat's diplomacy through characters telling about it to Oliver

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part I enjoyed the book; I enjoyed the references throughout to Egyptian archaeology, the mysteries of the atrarium and also the socio-economics of the period in which the book is set (Sadat's era). The last few chapters were disappointing where the plot seemed to take an about turn and dived in the completely fantastical and the apparent 'plot twist' in the final chapter was just baffling. As other reviewers have said, those last couple of chapters or so seem to belong to a different book!

[Jennie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, the illogical things the main character does! "Trust no one" apparently means tell everyone you encounter, and carry it around with you everywhere you go, as you tell everyone your bloody real name and lead them to your bloody friends and family. I couldn't take it after the first 100 pages or so; skimmed the rest. Even that was too much.

[Lenah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mysticism, Egypt (is it an omen? the day I started reading this book, the protest broke in Egypt!),Indiana Jones-type adventure, it should be a formula of a good book, but why it was so hard to read this book? I almost even decided to abandon the attempt! I found it burdened with a slow pace and basically the writing style is a bit boring.

[Patricia Lopes · Rating 3 out of 5]

YUPIII!!
Acabei!!!!
Uffff!!!

O mistério misterioso do astrário é interessante, mas a maneira como a história foi contada para mim foi massacrante, já ñ podia com tanta descrição...

O livro podia ter metade das páginas q chegava mto bem.
Fez-me lembrar as novelas PT, engonham engonham e nos últimos capítulos toca a despachar!!

É pena tinha potencial para ser algo mais!!
:)

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book a real let down and only got half way through before giving up. The story just didn't seem to get going, and I lost interest and the will to keep on reading to the end. I don't like to leave a book unfinished, but I can't waste any more time on this when I have lots of other books waiting patiently on my bookshelf and Kindle. Very disappointed :-(

[Jo]

really disappointing, a chore to finish.

[Elizabeth Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first couple of chapters were slow, but then I really enjoyed it & couldn't put it down! There were some predictable bits but I found it a very enjoyable read and loved the Egyptology!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been so long since I've read a Tobsha Learner novel and last year I happened to stumble among a good couple in one of my favourite second hand book stores and just picked them all up including a couple I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet which includes this one.

Sphinx is a ride from beginning to end, set in Egypt in the seventies during tenuous political unrest, your protagonist is Oliver, a geophysicist and self proclaimed cynic. While his wife, Isabella, is a archaeologist and whose mysticism is at odds with her husbands rationale. Isabella is in the midst of a desperate search for an ancient artefact that she believes can change the course of her life, even history.

There's the perfect balance of political thriller and National Treasure (but with a way less enthused version of Nic Cage) and just the right amount of fascinating Egyptology. The pace is quick, the body count high and there's not a soul to be trusted... just the way I like my thrillers.

This isn't high class reading but it sure is enjoyable.

[Abbie Ennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book.

When I read the blurb I thought wow this is right up my bookshelf but when I was resing it it lost the wow factor, but did not disappoint.


The leading man, Oliver is character that has something that every reader could relate to and his wife Isabella is someone that everyone will have in their lives, these characters mixed with the culture and landscape of Egypt is a great match and the storyline incorporates modern life with Ancient times beautifully. The attention to detail brings the story to life and helps the reader by giving history of culture and yet not drown you in long passages that can sometimes happen.

I strongly reccommend that you give this book a try and stick with it though it is slow I was not left disappointed.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason 'Sphinx' gets an extra star is because at least it wasn't a Christian conspiracy! What started as a promising story into Ancient Egyptian mysticism, a strange device and a skeptical protagonist quickly became quite tedious to read. I felt several parts could have been cut as they added nothing to the plot for starters. The epilogue really put the nail in the coffin, so to speak, as it entered full on ridiculous. What was good was that it got me reading on the side about ancient Egyptian beliefs as it's been a long time since I last indulged in their history. I also enjoyed the correlation between civil unrest in Egypt and her neighbouring countries in the 70's. Overall though an underwhelming read.

[Jeane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was so fast to read, so absorbing which is great for a book in discount about which you had never heard and thought it would be okay.
Isabella, an Italian archeoligist, is married with the English Oliver who seems to have a talent to discover oil. They live in Egypt but due to work in different places. Time is 1977, and we are in Alexandria.

The life of Isabella, Oliver and many others will be influenced, controlled by a vey old artefact 'an astrarium'. Oliver isn't a believer but the astrarium will have more and more influence on his life and thoughts till it completely controls him. Enemies,mystery and time are all important in this wonderful story.

[Galihmelon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is quite interesting. It tells some information about Egypt, its socio-cultural, political, as well as the economical situation in Sadat's era from a european point of view. It also offers some historical stories back from Pharaonic and Ptolemy period.

I should be honest that I was lost and confused for the most part of the book, up until the last part when the main character started a fast-paced mission to return a skybox to its rightful place. Well, maybe it's just me, being bad at history and stuff.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was undecided whether to give this book two stars or three, but as this is the first book I've read of the historical/adventure/mystery fiction genre, I've nothing to measure it against. The first thing I'd say is that its long, too long really. I was reading it on the kobo reading app, not realising that the physical paperback edition was 560 pages! I like fiction to be between 300 and 400 pages, but that's just personal preference.
The good parts were very good, the not-so-good parts became a bit tiresome and somewhat implausible. Overall it was okay but nothing spectacular.

[Manca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first saw this book in a bookstore where it was on sale. Immediately I was drawn to it as I'm a big fan of Ancient Egypt and fantasy in books. But the first time I couldn't get past the first 70 pages. A few month later I picked it up again and this time I managed to finish it.

The pacing was a bit slow for me and the main character a bit odd at times. But I still really enjoyed reading it. It had a nice flow and I like the way the author included fantasy. The plot twist at the end was a nice touch as well.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a few chapters to get into, but once you got into it you couldnt put it down! Could get very attached to the characters and the historical facts throughout the story made for a very interesting read! :)

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very slow start, however did give a ambience of the setting and times, it did improve with time but even then didnt grip me in, a good story but certainly wasnt a page turner and definately not in the same class as her other novel The Map, that was a much better read altogether.

[Dilys Myhill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always had a fascination with Egypt so I was drawn to this novel but was disappointed I struggled to finish it. Very good in parts but it lacked that special ingredient. worth a try if Egypt is your thing.

[Antony · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting journey through the politics of 1977 Egypt and the Gods and beliefs of the ancients. Wrapped around a story of oil exploration, archaeology, personal loss and adventure. A good read with plenty of background detail, and interesting characters.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than I had expected and two thirds of the book was great but I didn't care much for the ending and the shamanistic focus. All in all, not a bad read. I feel, as usual that 2 stars are too little a rating but three maybe too great.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise. Solving a Egyptian curse that lasts for centuries, and a man taking the journey into the underworld. The hero has to solve a lot of history and mystery before he can finally follow fate. It's sometimes confusing and hard to follow, but definitely worth the read.

[Chris Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems to be written more like a screenplay with one eye on Hollywood than a novel. That said its a easy read romp of an Indiana Jones type adventure, but too many implausible 'escapes' for the main character Oliver.

[Jade17 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this. It had mystery, murder, superstition, a touch of supernatural, romance and best of all it's set in Egypt!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the book didn't like the characters.

[Shilpa Mankikar · Rating 1 out of 5]

picked this up on an airport. thought it would be a suspenseful flight read like "Da Vinci Code". instead it put me to sleep. predictable, poorly written.