Out of the Black Land

Starred review from December 3, 2012
Australian author Greenwood, having made a name for herself with the lighthearted Phryne Fisher series (Cocaine Blues, etc.), succeeds brilliantly with this gripping thriller set in ancient Egypt. In 1335 B.C.E., the ascension of a new pharaoh, Akhnaten, sends the country into turmoil. The ruler, who holds the heretical religious view that there’s only one god, acts to spread this idea by banning the worship of the traditional deities. Two charismatic figures—Ptah-hotep, plucked from obscurity to become the Great Royal Scribe (who acts “as auditor for the whole of the nation”), and Mutnodjme, Akhnaten’s sister-in-law—display a gift for surviving palace intrigue. The author is especially good at conveying the nitty-gritty details of life at the time. For example, Ptah-hotep is advised to keep an eye out for tax cheating concerning fish and turtles. If not quite in the same class as Nick Drake’s mysteries set in ancient Egypt (Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead, etc.), this is close enough to make historical fiction fans hope that Greenwood isn’t done with this period.

Starred review from December 15, 2012
Three young people living in the time of Egypt's 18th Dynasty become a force to be reckoned with. Amenhotep III has ruled Egypt wisely and well, but his deformed and impotent son Akhnaten is about to plunge the country into the depths of misery. Before his father's death, Akhnaten inexplicably chooses the bright young scholar Ptah-hotep to be his Great Royal Scribe. Despite his inexperience, Ptah-hotep quickly finds his feet and does well even though he's been forced to leave behind his lover Kheperren, who soon finds a place as scribe to the powerful Gen. Horemheb. Akhnaten has chosen the beautiful, self-indulgent Nefertiti as his bride. Her younger sister, Princess Mutnodjme, is a bright, curious child who fights to be educated and becomes a priestess of Isis. Despite her best efforts, Nefertiti is unable to conceive Akhnaten's child. So, in order to preserve the dynasty, she produces heirs by Amenhotep. Vague and easily influenced, Akhnaten is passionate about his devotion to a single god he calls Aten. Forbidding worship of the other gods, he spends a fortune building a new city devoted to Aten. Ptah-hotep and Mutnodjme, who have become friends and lovers, are appalled at conditions in Egypt, where the people are starving and Gen. Horemheb can barely secure the borders while his troops are used to obliterate all signs of the old gods. As powerful forces fight for control, the fate of the nation hangs in the balance. From the often wildly differing conclusions of professional Egyptologists, Greenwood, best known for her mysteries (Unnatural Habits, 2013, etc.), has fashioned a fascinating, plausible and erotic tale.

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February 1, 2013

Egypt during the 18th Dynasty is peaceful and prospers under the rule of the dual Pharaohs, Amenhotep III and IV. Yet deep within the Royal Court--and within the younger pharoah himself--lies a darkness no one could have foretold. Young peasant Ptah-hotep is appointed grand royal scribe to Amenhotep IV, leaving his lover, Kheperren, behind. Amenhotep IV marries the beautiful Nefertiti, who is joined at court by her younger sister, Mutnodjme. Ptah-hotep slowly builds his position as others in the court scheme to unseat him. At the same time, Kheperren joins General Horemheb as he defends the Black Land, not realizing that the worst enemy sits upon the throne. For Amenhotep IV, now Akhnaten, is insane, and his plans to suppress all gods in Egypt but his own will lead to murder, madness, and danger for all who live in the Land of the Nile. VERDICT In a change of pace from her bubbly Phryne Fisher series (Unnatural Habits; Cocaine Blues), Greenwood takes readers deep into the heart of ancient Egypt, making them wonder--much like Ptah-hotep does--if they will come out the other side intact. While some may argue that this story leans more toward historical fiction than mystery, the intricacies of the court and those who serve it hold more than their share of intrigue and suspense.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2013
Greenwood, the Australian author of the Phryne Fisher and Corinna Chapman mystery series, heads off in a radical new direction. Her new novel is set in ancient Egypt around the time of Nefertiti and Tutankhamen and concerns itself with a pharaoh's grandsome might say megalomaniacalplan to change the religious landscape of the country. There are also several subplots winding themselves in and around the main story (Nefertiti figures prominently in one), and the story is told in roughly alternating fashion by a pair of young scribes, one of them a sister to Nefertiti, the other a lower-class boy who dreams of a better life. Greenwood has taken a big risk here. Ancient Egypt as a source of literary material has been pretty well mined. But the novel feels fresh, partly because Greenwood isn't insisting on shoehorning a traditional mystery plot into the book. She's working on a much broader, epic scale that almost suggests Norman Mailer's Ancient Evenings (1983). A real change of pace, but the majority of the author's fans won't be disappointed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)