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cyrenasea's review against another edition
3.0
This book combines sci-fi with a bit of ancient egyptian culture, and does both pretty well. Some plot points seem a bit rushed, and some of the exposition is a little heavy-handed, but overall it was an enjoyable read.
birdloveranne's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely amazing! I am stunned at how good it was.
jmkemp's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this story, it was a mix of classic science fiction, ancient history and a modern thriller. I'm not an expert on the Egyptology, but what there was seemed to work very well for me as a story and was plausible. It managed to avoid being too Erich von Däniken in its approach, and the way that the locals never grasped the technology was completely believable.
Another aspect that I liked was the interplay between the metal poor and biotech rich Kinley (humans from a planet 8 light years away) and their enemies who used cloned Kinley to spy on them. This provided some of the science fiction backdrop for a modern day thriller, with the two racing to recover the lost secret of faster than light travel (the prototype lost in the time of the ancient egyptians as the enemies initiated an apocalyptic war that almost wiped them both out).
The story flitted between the ancient survey team who had used their prototype FTL drive to reach Earth and the modern day search to recover their technology. This worked well, showing the pre-war splendour and achievements in small pieces as the protagonists work out where the survey team have got to. The original team are also shown as dysfunctional and fragmented as their egos get in the way of working together to return home. Mostly this is down to a couple of self-centred characters working against the best interests of the team.
So it has an interesting set of characters who develop (and some die) over the course of the story. There is more than one plot, characters seem to act in a reasonable way given their motives and preferences (including a couple of unreasonable irrational characters, their mental instability comes across well). There are some clever explanations for some of the ancient egyptian behaviours, including a novel explanation for how and why the great pyramid was built!
Overall well worth reading.
Another aspect that I liked was the interplay between the metal poor and biotech rich Kinley (humans from a planet 8 light years away) and their enemies who used cloned Kinley to spy on them. This provided some of the science fiction backdrop for a modern day thriller, with the two racing to recover the lost secret of faster than light travel (the prototype lost in the time of the ancient egyptians as the enemies initiated an apocalyptic war that almost wiped them both out).
The story flitted between the ancient survey team who had used their prototype FTL drive to reach Earth and the modern day search to recover their technology. This worked well, showing the pre-war splendour and achievements in small pieces as the protagonists work out where the survey team have got to. The original team are also shown as dysfunctional and fragmented as their egos get in the way of working together to return home. Mostly this is down to a couple of self-centred characters working against the best interests of the team.
So it has an interesting set of characters who develop (and some die) over the course of the story. There is more than one plot, characters seem to act in a reasonable way given their motives and preferences (including a couple of unreasonable irrational characters, their mental instability comes across well). There are some clever explanations for some of the ancient egyptian behaviours, including a novel explanation for how and why the great pyramid was built!
Overall well worth reading.
bonzabar's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure what to say about this book. It was compelling enough for me to finish, but I never thought it was that remarkable. I'm not sure I have anything bad to say about this book, but not sure I'd recommend it either.
payal_reads_alot's review against another edition
3.0
As a space saga, the use of technology and available resources were well varied. I loved that it didn't include MINING in any shape or form. So hurray for that. However, there was little variation in the human customs and the characters were rather flat and entirely undeserving of any emotional investment. I did like the ultimate misunderstanding by Lucian and Kinley that had perpetuated and kept them at war - seems much more plausible.
snowbenton's review against another edition
4.0
This was so much fun. It felt like a movie novelization: not a lot of internals, tons of action, a rapid romance, endless drama, just enough science to keep it feeling real. The downside, of course, is that I am now mad there is not a movie.
I loved the way she integrated the aliens into ancient egypt and still managed to make the story take place in the present.
I loved the way she integrated the aliens into ancient egypt and still managed to make the story take place in the present.
spidergirl502's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it, but I wanted to like it more. I felt like it could have more depth to it, particularly with the philosophy/spiritual sides of each group. I didn't really care for the jumping around in time, though I understand why the author used the device. Overall, the book is good, but I think I just kept wanting a little bit more.
oracleofaal's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting book but nothing I'd recommend. It was hard to believe some of the character motivations and quite a bit of unnecessary exposition that I tuned out while listening. If you really like the idea of aliens being the builders of the pyramids and having influenced our ancient civilizations then you might enjoy this take on it. Otherwise, it's nothing special but it's not the worst thing I've ever read either.
alyb's review against another edition
2.0
Started out strong enough, but by the end it really started to drag. Glad that I finally finished.
cavergrrl's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75