Book Description
She is called "The Perfect One," the most famous and beautiful woman in the ancient world. She rules with her husband Akhenaten over the most powerful, sophisticated and affluent society the world has ever seen and across an empire that stretches from Africa through the Middle East.
But behind these glorious scenes an epic power struggle is taking place: Nefertiti and Akhenaten inaugurate an enlightened new religion and build a magnificent and mysterious new capital, Akhetaten, in which to worship the Sun God, the Aten. The delicate balance of power in Egypt is thrown into confusion. The priesthood is stripped of its traditional authority and wealth, the army is enraged by the growing turbulence in the empire, and the people resent the loss of their gods. Old alliances are brought into doubt, and generations of inherited power and wealth are suddenly at stake.
And then, just days before the crucial festival to celebrate the new capital, Nefertiti suddenly vanishes. Rai Rahotep, the youngest chief detective in the Thebes division, with a rising reputation for his original methods, is secretly assigned by Akhenaten himself to investigate. He has ten days to find the Queen and return her in time for the celebrations. Success will bring glory—but if Rai fails, he and his family will die. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing, discouraging, and disturbing.......2007-09-23
I was so annoyed by this book that I am moved to write this. Here's what you can look forward to: a detective who detects nothing -- the only crime he supposedly solves has nothing to do with the outcome of the book. Sherlock Holmes was a triumph because he showed the power of thought; this book reveals the impotence of thought, loyalty, and persistence. But what is frustrating is that Drake has skill; what he needs is a better editor. Nothing the protagonist does matters in the end. His triumph is a non sequitur.
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN INTRIUGE.......2007-09-12
NEFERTIT is a truly fascinating novel about this enigmatic Queen of Egypt. Written in a contemporary style, but possessing all of the stilted syntax of formality, the reader is swept away and along the Great Nile and into the distant past. The "Prefect One" is missing, and it falls to chief detective Rahotep of the Thebes division of the police. Rahotep uses unusual methods of detecting, and he has come to the attention of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who is seeking the whereabouts of his missing Queen.
Religion, power, duplicity, insanity, revenge, fear, and terror all blend together to weave a story that is powerful but yet telling. Nick Drake, the gifted author, makes the reader keenly aware of the toxicity of power, and the impact that callousness from those in power has upon society as a whole. He speaks of the time of Nefertiti, and to our own time as well. Basic values are also explored, and the fragility of the human condition, both of the great and small, are explored.
The resolution of the mystery of the Queen's disappearance is as intriguing as her original disappearance. The rationale for her disappearance and re-appearance will leave the reader in wonder. We ultimately all have roles to play in the greater scheme of things, and this book will remind us of that simple truth. READ THIS BOOK.
Adventure set in ancient Egypt........2007-09-09
Nefartiti. The perfect and the most beautiful one.
I have always been interested in Egyptian history. Specially Queen Nefartiti's reign is something I really love to know and find out more about. That's the reason I started reading this book. And when I started reading this book, I couldn't keep it down.
An adventure/mystery weaved during the time of Queen Nefartiti and King Akhenaten in ancient Egypt. The book is written with the perspective of Rahotep, Medjay detective in Thabes.. Rahotep has to find Queen Nefartiti, who has vanished couple of days before the big festival day. Does he manage to find her in time for the big festival?
You will surely like reading this book if you are interested in adventure/mystery and ancient Egypt. Recommended.
So so, but with some funny moments.......2007-09-01
I didn't love the book, but I didn't hate it. It was reasonably good light reading.
I also have to respect an author who can stick a Steven Wright quote in the middle of a historical mystery set in ancient Egypt. (It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.)
There were a few other laugh out loud lines in there as well--often obvious ones, but still funny.
Hopefully the reader has read most of the other reviews and realizes this isn't a comic novel--still the funny lines were pleasant surprises though I wouldn't read the whole book for them.
How In The World Did This Get A Starred Review?.......2007-08-09
I have no idea what book some of these reviewers were reading. I am a huge Nefertiti addict. I've read all of the books, seen all of the specials on Discovery Channel and NG, and have even taken a trip to Berlin to see her bust. I'm hoping my next trip will be to Egypt. But this book was sadly lacking in any historical accuracy whatsoever. The characters were unbelievable, the plot thin and extremely difficult to follow in places, and the end leaves you really wishing you had stopped reading much earlier on in the book. Perhaps Drake's work down the line will be better, but this book is not recommended.
Average customer rating:
- Super Reader
- An Odd Gemstone of a Thriller
- A Stephen King tragedy
- "Classic" Stephen King?
- The Dead Zone is ALive and Kicking.
|
The Dead Zone (Signet)
Stephen King
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| King, Stephen
| ( K )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Paperback
| King, Stephen
| ( K )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| King, Stephen
| ( K )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Paperback
| King, Stephen
| ( K )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Firestarter (Signet)
-
Cujo (Signet)
-
The Stand: Expanded Edition: For the First Time Complete and Uncut (Signet)
-
Pet Sematary
-
It (Signet Books)
ASIN: 0451155750
Release Date: 2004-01-06 |
Amazon.com
In the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, Gary Westfahl predicts that "King has already earned himself a place in the history of literature.... At the very least, he will enjoy the status of a latter-day Anthony Trollope, an author respected for his popularity and social commentary.... More likely, he will be enshrined as the Charles Dickens of the late 20th century, the writer who perfectly reflected, encapsulated, and expressed the characteristic concerns of his era."
If any of King's novels exemplifies his skill at portraying the concerns of his generation, it's The Dead Zone (1979). Although it contains a horrific subplot about a serial killer, it isn't strictly a horror novel. It's the story of an unassuming high school teacher, an Everyman, who suffers a gap in time--like a Rip Van Winkle who blacks out during the years 1970-75--and thus becomes acutely conscious of the way that American society is rapidly changing. He wakes up as well with a gap in his brain, the "dead zone" of the title. The zone gives him crippling headaches, but also grants him second sight, a talent he doesn't want and is reluctant to use. The crux of the novel concerns whether he will use that talent to alter the course of history.
The Dead Zone is a tight, well-crafted book. When asked in 1983 which of his novels so far was "the best," Stephen King answered, "The one that I think works the best is Dead Zone. It's the one that [has] the most story." --Fiona Webster
Book Description
John Smith awakens from an interminable coma with an accursed power-the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in...the dead zone.
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-27
After a serious accident, a man awakes from a coma of several years.
Everything is different, including his own self. He now has precognition. An isolated figure already, this new power isolates him further.
At a meeting he gets a precognitive reading off a low level politician, and realises the man has truly evil ambitions, and that he is the only man that can stop him.
John Smith has to decide how far to take this role of possible hero/assassin.
An Odd Gemstone of a Thriller.......2007-08-25
What's left to say about a book that was a bestseller, was later made into a hit movie with major stars, and is currently cashing in as a popular (but cultish) television show? Only this: the book is still the best incarnation of these creations. And it is unique among King's novels.
But first, here's the setup: Johnny Smith, a popular English teacher soon to be wed to a beautiful co-worker, has a very bad ending to what started out as a great night. After courting his lady and winning big on the wheel of fortune, Johnny is involved in a cab crash that leaves him broken, comatose, and upon awakening, permenantly psychic.
He's been out of it for nearly five years, and during that time, he's lost his job, his girl--pretty much everything. Even his parents are on the outs, thanks largely to the financial and emotional stress brought on by his accident. And this "gift," this ability to see the future, torments Mr. Smith, threatens to tear apart what's left of his sanity. He's quickly famous and infamous, savior and freak, less human with each new revelation. And the final one will force him to make an easy, but terrible, choice ...
The things about THE DEAD ZONE that makes it unique among early King books is that it's more dramatic than frightening, more empathetic than kinetic. THE DEAD ZONE makes it as horror, thriller, and mainstream fiction, an important step (along with DIFFERENT SEASONS) towards works in his later career that were similarly rich in a dramatic sense.
(This review has been posted by Marcus Damanda, author of the vampire novel "Teeth: A Horror Fantasy.")
A Stephen King tragedy.......2007-08-23
In "The Dead Zone", the master of the macabre, the prolific Stephen King mixes the supernatural with a healthy dose of adversity to create the saga of the unfortunate Johnny Smith. Smith, a Maine native was a fledgling but popular school teacher just at the onset of a developing adult life. He had met Sarah Bracknell, another teacher who had potential to be Smith's long range significant other. They went on a date to a local carnival where Smith in frightening fashion had a long inexplicable streak of good luck guessing numbers on the Wheel of Fortune. This however is where Smith's luck ran out.
After dropping off Sarah, Smith hired a cab for the ride back home. Enroute the cab was involved in a horrific highway accident producing multiple fatalities. Smith, though he survived, lay comatose for 4 1/2 years. Time marched on and Sarah eventually married. Smith's parents Herb and Vera's lives gradually got torn apart as medical expenses and their anxieties about Johnny's vegetative state grew.
Miraculously however, Smith awakened from his coma. He did so with the power is foresee the future. His remarkable clairvoyance was triggered when he made physical contact with either a person or an item. His neurologist Dr. Weizak speculated that this power was facilitated by a nasty head first fall Smith took as a child that had produced brain scarring. In combination with the coma, Smith's clairvoyance was born.
Smith eventually got on with his life after undergoing multiple surgeries to regain control of his limbs which had atrophied badly. He became celebrated as a psychic although he was reluctant to use his gift. By chance, he encountered local politician Greg Stilson at a political rally, shaking hands with him. The vibes he received told him that Stilson, a shady crooked bully of a man who rose to power using fear, blackmail and violence would lead his followers down a path of destruction.
King plays out the drama to it's inexorable tragic conclusion as Johnny Smith follows what he believes to be his calling as outlined to him by his clear vision of the future.
"Classic" Stephen King?.......2007-07-26
When I was reading this book while working at a retail store, a customer came up and noticed it and told me it was classic Stephen King and an excellent read at that. I gave him a quizzical look if only because I had been less than enthralled with this 1970's book about a man with special cognitive powers that allow him to see the future when he is physically engaged with an object or person (ie: touching them).
The thing about Stephen King books, and many of the same genre, is they fail to really challenge the reader other than to try and retain certain clues and hints as to what might happen in the future of the plot. Why are we being introduced to a lightning rod salesman? Why do we see a blue and yellow filter in a vision? What is the significance of the main character's interest in meeting politicians?
Well for the most part, the big hints were pretty easy to pick up on in this wide-sprawling tale. The main character's gift of predicting the future remains dormant for most of his life until a near-fatal car crash puts him into a coma for four and a half years. When he wakes up he finds most of his old life - and his old self - has wasted away, except for this newfound gift that continually astounds people, but more importantly freaks them out.
I guess my beef with the book was how much of it felt like filler and fluff. Even the more exciting parts of the book didn't reallllly contribute to the so-called climax of the story. I guess in reflection the story is a lot about checks and balances - ironic since a good deal of it deals with politics. An eye for an eye and all that..the big twist kind of falls in line with other elements of the plot but I can't say it was a BIG twist like say, in Secret Window. The characters fell flat, the descriptions were tideous to get through (and were often skipped), and good portions of the book failed to ignite tension, while others forced it.
I know this is classic Stephen King and I'm sure for the time it was written it was quite a remarkable, exciting book...but it felt flat and pulpy to me unfortunately, and just wasn't my cup of tea overall.
The Dead Zone is ALive and Kicking........2007-07-02
Ah, the infamous Dead Zone. And no, I'm not talking about the hit USA Network TV show, either. Though it's based off of the King Novel, The book reads just a bit different than the adapting the TV screen.
Still, this was something good to read and made you really understand what King was thinking about when he wrote it, you get to be Johnny Smith for a little while and feel everything he's feeling in the beginning.
Now, if only someone would write media tie-in novels of the TV show, then we'd be good-to-go.
--Joseph McGee, author of In the Wake of the Night, Phil's Place and Darkness Won't Rest: Phils Place II
Amazon.com
A father's shame is explored by his son in The King Is Dead, the third novel by Jim Lewis. Walter Selby, a decorated WW II veteran, becomes a speech writer and strategist for a prominent Tennessee politician; marries Nicole, a decade younger; and lives with all the trappings of the Southern upper-middle class, including two small children, Frank and Gail. A political debacle causes the fiercely moral Walter to resign, and he returns home early, only to find Nicole has been unfaithful. The second half of the novel follows Frank--who recalls little of his parents after his adoption--as a known, but declining, actor approached by a famous actress, Lenore, to star in her swan song.
Lewis displays considerable writing talent, such as when Frank explains to Lenore that he never talks about his real father, and "[s]he sounded surprised by the notion, and slightly incredulous, as if he'd told her that he'd never tasted orange juice, or that he'd once gone a year without sleeping." The novel is constructed to showcase Lewis's astute musings on love, sex, and death, but gives short shrift to the relationship between Frank and his ancestry. Instead, Frank's time is spent recalling his first love, Kimmie, and their sexual experiences (in vivid detail). While engaging characters abound, the plot of The King Is Dead becomes suppressed and merely strings them along. --Michael Ferch
Book Description
Returning a hero from the battlefields of World War II, Walter Selby settles into a charmed domestic life in Memphis. But in a few brief moments, Walter sees his life and his world fracture and split apart, driving him to commit a terrible crime.
Many years later, Frank Cartwright ponders his next move. His film career has left him wealthy but incomplete. When a director approaches him with a script that has a riddle for a plot Frank is intrigued by its resonance. In his search for an answer to the riddle, Frank embarks on a journey that will lead him into a past he doesn’t remember.
Jim Lewis, acclaimed author of
Why the Tree Loves the Ax, returns with a novel stunning in its originality and scope. And as he tells the stories of two men and the conflicts that shape them, he delivers a powerful portrait of America and the treacherous currents that run through it.
Customer Reviews:
loved it.......2006-06-03
I don't like a lot of books I've read, in the same way I like movies and see them over and over, but this one is one I keep reading. Great plot twists, really swift writing, meaty but not chewy.
Among the Best.......2005-07-12
Jim Lewis is certainly a master of description, a scratcher of psychology and a writer who digs hard at the turf of extraordinary people trying to mundane down their lives. The characters of Walter Selby and his son Frank are deeply connected (as is their pre history), yet they are not even known to each other. This is a story of one's inability to escape their heritage or genetics, even though much credit goes into reinventing themselves. In the skilled writing of Jim Lewis, we see a kiss of Wendell Berry and Robert Penn Warren; simply a tradition of the best. Mr. Lewis will make you see the world in a slightly different manner and will impress upon you the need to think, search and reflect right along with his characters. I plan to read his other books and feel graced that I'm able to enter the world of this author's writings.
The King is dead but literature is not........2005-02-01
This is a difficult book to recommend because as much as I loved it I wouldn't argue with someone who didn't, they'd probably have some valid points. Halfway through I threw it in the trash and woke up a few nights later to dig it out and read at three am. My copy is still stained and smells. Not a perfect book if perfection means universal appeal but if you think quantity has displaced quality both in number of books published and number of pages in each book this is the one for you. Jim Lewis is the best author alive in my opinion and has two things most don't - a real gift and the ability to be concise. Anyone can convey a miserable and interminable experience by creating one for the reader but a precious few can do it, or anything else, in one sentence. If 'I know this much is true' was half as long, twice as good, and a little more brutal it would be 'The King is Dead' on its best day. I agree completely with the reviewer who said Jim Lewis makes him reluctant to write by showing what the best are capable of. Robert Penn Warren, John Steinbeck and Annie Proulx come together in this brilliant author. If you like it read 'why the tree loves the axe' if you can find it.
Best novel of the year, easily.......2003-11-03
A masterpiece. Unbelivable. Stylistically perfect. If you care about literature this is a book you should not miss out on.
Great story.......2003-08-18
I wish I'd never read this book so I could read it for the first time. I wish I'd never read this book so that I could read other fiction without being disappointed. I wish I'd never read this book so I could go on thinking that I could write a decent novel without "The King is Dead" hanging over my head like the law. This is the best novel I've read in a good while.
Average customer rating:
- Classic Locked Room Mystery
|
The King Is Dead: An Ellery Queen Mystery (G K Hall Large Print Paperback Series)
Ellery Queen
Manufacturer: G. K. Hall & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Queen, Ellery
| ( Q )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Large Print
| Formats
| Books
Mystery & Thrillers
| Large Print
| Formats
| Books
Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Face to Face
-
There Was an Old Woman
ASIN: 0783892829 |
Customer Reviews:
Classic Locked Room Mystery.......2005-09-21
King Bendigo was the head of a powerful family-run company, with his own island kingdom. Ellery and his father are hired to keep him from being killed after a series of anonymous notes announces his impending murder.
The good:
The mystery. It's a logic puzzle of a mystery, the kind Ellery Queen is rightly famous for.
The take-over-the-world conspiracy is a fun bonus.
The bad:
The murder, the solution, and the conspiracy are all over-the-top, but that's part of the series charm.
The verdict:
Don't expect in-depth characterization, and don't be surprised that it's dated (it's copyright 1952, after all). Just relax and enjoy a little mental puzzle.
Average customer rating:
|
Dead Dog in the City
Tom King
Manufacturer: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Audio)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 0660196727 |
Average customer rating:
|
Night of the Walking Dead, Part (Critters of the Night Part 1)
Erica Farber
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Spine-Chilling Horror
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Farber, Erica
| ( F )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Horror Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Headless Gargoyle (Critters of the Night , No 4)
-
Werewolves for Lunch (Critters of the Night, Book 1)
-
If You Dream a Dragon (Mercer Mayer's Critters of the Night)
-
To Catch a Little Fish (Mercer Mayer's Critters of the Night)
-
Purple Pickle Juice (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
ASIN: 0679873716
Release Date: 1997-06-24 |
Book Description
A kingdom shrouded in darkness..An evil vampire ruler..And three wicked witches...The Last Empress is the only hope. And it's up to Wanda Howl to find her -- before it's too late!
Books:
- New X-Men Omnibus
- North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment
- Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Classic Seuss)
- On Writing
- Pandolfini's Endgame Course: Basic Endgame Concepts Explained by America's Leading Chess Teacher (Fireside Chess Library)
- Ready, Freddy! #5: Talent Show Scardey-pants: Talent Show Scardey-pants (Ready, Freddy!)
- Saving for Retirement without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery
- Scanning: The Aberrant Architectures of Diller + Scofidio
- Sengoku Nights Volume 2
- Shadow Dance: A Novel
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- All About Dog Daycare...A Blueprint for Success
- The Color Code: A New Way to See Yourself, Your Relationships, and Life
- Pictures will talk: The life and films of Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Nicolas Poussin 1594-1665
- Superman: The Animated Series Guide
- The Power of Impossible Thinking: Transform the Business of Your Life and the Life of Your Business
- Some Like it Hot, Flowers
- Thinkpad: A Different Shade of Blue
- Regression Analysis of Count Data
- The Bookwoman's Last Fling: A Cliff Janeway Novel
Nefertiti: A Novel
The Poisoner of Ptah (Ancient Egyptian Mysteries 6)
City of the Dead (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) (Huy the Scribe Mysteries)
City of the Horizon (Huy the Scribe Mysteries)
The Assassins of Isis: A Story of Ambition, Politics and Murder Set in Ancient Egypt
