Drinker of Blood [Paperback]

I recommend Warlock, which is an exceptional book, and The Egyptian, by Mika Watari, whick is the best book I've ever read regarding Ancient Egypt!

The first Meren novel to be told in a non-linear braided format, the first thread of the narrative follows Nefertiti, beginning on the day in the reign of Amunhotep the Magnificent that Pharaoh and Queen Tiye selected this minor princess to be groomed as the consort of Pharaoh's weird younger son: Akhenaten. Almost supernaturally ugly himself, Akhenaten's appreciation for Nefertiti's beauty is one of the few normal facets of his character. Scorned by his father in favor of his older, more satisfactory brother Thutmose, Akhenaten turned to religion and theology; Egypt was to reap the harvest of Amunhotep's neglect when Thutmose's sudden death marked Akhenaten as the next pharaoh - a heretic who believed in only one member of Egypt's pantheon of gods, despite the power of the priesthoods and their pivotal role in Egypt's economy.

The second thread follows Meren's 'present', in year 5 of the reign of Tutankamun, Akhenaten's youngest brother - so much younger that he remembers Akhenaten only as a kindly, if distant, guardian. However, Tutankamun adored Nefertiti - and Meren, having seen enough damage done to the country, is protecting him from the knowledge that his beloved foster mother was murdered. If nothing else, the stability of Nefertiti's father, the vizier Ay, must not be risked in the face of an impending war with Hatti. His excuses having finally run out, Meren must finally take the king on a raid, letting him gain battlefield experience against bandits before he must face Hittite armies.

Not knowing that he's diverting resources from a far deeper inquiry, the king (who finds Meren's investigations a fascinating diversion) assigns Meren an unrelated task: to investigate the death of Bahkt: a minor royal guard, to be sure, but one who always had fascinating stories for a boy prince. Tutankamun knows that Bahkt *hated* baboons, and doesn't believe he'd accidentally fall into their cage in the royal menagerie. Meren's distraction from the king's tasks draws the wrong sort of attention...

Kysen's criminal informants in the Caverns - the slum around the Memphis docks - are deployed: Tcha the housebreaker is happy to be *ordered* to rob a merchant's house in search of information - but less than happy to find that the suspect has 8 Nubian guards, being a clandestine arms dealer. :) Examination of the government's accounts on another suspect reveals a pattern suggesting corrupt manipulation of foreign aid. (The equivalent, anyway - financial aid from pharaoh to a vassal state.)

The Nefertiti narrative isn't a mystery at all, but an unfolding tragedy - the wonder isn't that Nefertiti was murdered, but that *any* of her family - or the country - survived Akhenaten's reign. The 'present' narrative, following Meren, is a suspense story studded with some investigative trappings. Evidence *is* being presented fairly to the reader, but the manner of presentation isn't that of a normal investigation. For those reasons, the book isn't as appealing as its predecessors - not a nice, detached investigation. The feel is more like that of _Murder at the God's Gate_ than the other books.