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Across Ancient Sands: Uncovering a Bronze Age journey around the Mediterranean Sea by Eric Horn
sabrinaslivingliterature's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to Eric Horn (@ericscotthornart) for sending me an ARC of this great book in exchange for an honest review. The book is well written and well researched you can feel the tension building and the pressure the characters are under. The relationships between characters are interesting and well thought out. The author does the illustrations which are all beautiful and I loved the inclusion of cultures and myths from across the world. I struggled with the parts written in the style of epic poetry but the important parts are repeated to make sure you don't miss anything which was appreciated. I will definitely pick up more by the author.
youreadtoomuch's review against another edition
2.0
Like it's very long and detailed title, this book has a hard time determining what it wants to be. Does it want to focus on it's characters conducting this dig or the discovery made (a ancient text)? I was thoroughly impressed and captivated very quickly to the monumental discovery taking place but quickly checked out upon reading passages on passages of a voyage I struggled to clearly understand. Half was due to my own ignorance on the topic but mostly I wasn't interested in the actual text being translated. I was here for the group of characters and there dysfunctional yet very functional cooperation.
Once I understood, the translated text was going to be a very important piece of the novel, I wanted follow-through and have this out into the world. But just as the text is becoming to be everything we hope for, the drama of the original characters returns us to the real world of betrayal and danger. And just like we don't see this translated text become something bigger outside of this group of characters, the conflict also failed to follow through. It quickly snuffed itself out and no real danger was present. It was more a ploy to remind the reader that we have multiple moving pieces here. It's a book with no clear direction and I can appreciate that to an extent. I can appreciate the author's very creative and instructive topic even more though.
Once I understood, the translated text was going to be a very important piece of the novel, I wanted follow-through and have this out into the world. But just as the text is becoming to be everything we hope for, the drama of the original characters returns us to the real world of betrayal and danger. And just like we don't see this translated text become something bigger outside of this group of characters, the conflict also failed to follow through. It quickly snuffed itself out and no real danger was present. It was more a ploy to remind the reader that we have multiple moving pieces here.
Spoiler
It was a cop out to have the betrayer be a woman in love with someone who so clearly objectified her. It was rude to introduce a partial romance with no further thought than maybe we should have some kissing happen?andrealoverke's review against another edition
3.0
It's always nice to read a story and feel that the author knows what he is writing about. That is surely the case in this book. You can really feel he has been part of archeological digs.
This book switches between a poem, the ancient carvings on the wall they find and the dig story in itself. Jade and Tariq discover a papyrus that talks about the journey of Sfas. In the poem we meet all the gods you can possibly think of from Bronze Age Greece and Homer's stories but also Egyptian pharaohs and Phoenician gods. It all blends beautifully together.
I have to admit I didn't go back and forth between the notes and the story though because I always lost track of the page I was on. So I let that go after a couple of pages. But it didn't make the story less interesting. I might not have gotten the whole poem though because of some names I didn't know. But I read them all at the end.
This book switches between a poem, the ancient carvings on the wall they find and the dig story in itself. Jade and Tariq discover a papyrus that talks about the journey of Sfas. In the poem we meet all the gods you can possibly think of from Bronze Age Greece and Homer's stories but also Egyptian pharaohs and Phoenician gods. It all blends beautifully together.
I have to admit I didn't go back and forth between the notes and the story though because I always lost track of the page I was on. So I let that go after a couple of pages. But it didn't make the story less interesting. I might not have gotten the whole poem though because of some names I didn't know. But I read them all at the end.
readitwithred's review against another edition
3.0
This is certainly a unique read and for lovers of archaeology and history, this should one for your TBR pile!
We follow a team of archaeologists as they discover new and confusing things at their digsite and try to stop the fascinating finds leaking to the world and specifically the locals that could shut them down.
It almost reads as a non fiction book but there are also character relationships and friendships that bring about the fiction, so it can take a little getting used to at the start.
There was a little romance in there but it felt rushed, almost like a last minute add on that I don't think we needed.
It was certainly interesting learning about different cultures, and the author kindly offers explanations relating to certain passages at the end.
The ending gave off a feel that we could see this team again so it would be interesting to find out what they can get up to next.
We follow a team of archaeologists as they discover new and confusing things at their digsite and try to stop the fascinating finds leaking to the world and specifically the locals that could shut them down.
It almost reads as a non fiction book but there are also character relationships and friendships that bring about the fiction, so it can take a little getting used to at the start.
There was a little romance in there but it felt rushed, almost like a last minute add on that I don't think we needed.
It was certainly interesting learning about different cultures, and the author kindly offers explanations relating to certain passages at the end.
The ending gave off a feel that we could see this team again so it would be interesting to find out what they can get up to next.
badwolfbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I was asked to read this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I read this book via Kindle Unlimited.
This book has very specific archeological elements and it’s very evident that the author is very passionate regarding this specific topic. I however, am not, and I ended up feeling like I wasn’t intelligent enough to actually finish the book. I got to approximately 65% before I put down the book for good.
The story follow Dr. Jade Asher-Reece and Dr. Tariq Al-Maquari as they excavate a dig in Algeria. There are many themes in this book, however there is little in the way of character development until much later and I found it a bit confusing. While I liked the focus on the monetary exploitation that accompanies archeological discoveries, it just seemed like the author figured the history and the terminologies that he was expressing would be understood by everyone who was requested to read the book and, in reality, this is not the case. I was among those who simply didn’t understand what I was reading half the time.
I’m sure that there is an audience for this book, and it is very detailed in the historical elements laid out, it just wasn’t the type of book I enjoy.
This book has very specific archeological elements and it’s very evident that the author is very passionate regarding this specific topic. I however, am not, and I ended up feeling like I wasn’t intelligent enough to actually finish the book. I got to approximately 65% before I put down the book for good.
The story follow Dr. Jade Asher-Reece and Dr. Tariq Al-Maquari as they excavate a dig in Algeria. There are many themes in this book, however there is little in the way of character development until much later and I found it a bit confusing. While I liked the focus on the monetary exploitation that accompanies archeological discoveries, it just seemed like the author figured the history and the terminologies that he was expressing would be understood by everyone who was requested to read the book and, in reality, this is not the case. I was among those who simply didn’t understand what I was reading half the time.
I’m sure that there is an audience for this book, and it is very detailed in the historical elements laid out, it just wasn’t the type of book I enjoy.
bookwormbea's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not going to lie, I really struggled with this book. It was quite confusing as to whether it was meant to be fiction or not and wasn't exactly my kind of read. So it's hard to know how to rate it.
The idea of an archaeological mystery novel did pique my interest as I love mysteries and enjoy history based from time to time. It was clearly very well researched and very technical, which I expect would be enjoyed by someone who is interested in this sort of genre. However, the beginning of the story ended up straying too far into the technical that it lost the promise of a good story. And while the author did attempt to write in character development and relationships, because these elements weren't a key part of the first half, they happened all of a sudden and seemed like an afterthought.
The first half and the second half of the book really didn't seem to match up and I feel as though you would really have to enjoy this specifics of archaeology and history to get much out of this book. However, there definitely seems to be an audience for this and I think that's great! I'm just not part of it.
I have read and reviewed this book at the request of the author.
The idea of an archaeological mystery novel did pique my interest as I love mysteries and enjoy history based from time to time. It was clearly very well researched and very technical, which I expect would be enjoyed by someone who is interested in this sort of genre. However, the beginning of the story ended up straying too far into the technical that it lost the promise of a good story. And while the author did attempt to write in character development and relationships, because these elements weren't a key part of the first half, they happened all of a sudden and seemed like an afterthought.
The first half and the second half of the book really didn't seem to match up and I feel as though you would really have to enjoy this specifics of archaeology and history to get much out of this book. However, there definitely seems to be an audience for this and I think that's great! I'm just not part of it.
I have read and reviewed this book at the request of the author.
bookishaddictions's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.5
I would like to start by thanking Eric for helping me snag a free copy of his book for me to review; he reached out to me quite a while ago, and I’ve been slowly working my way through the text. I’ll be honest, my first impression was that the cover looked like that of a dull history textbook- but this story was not that. The novel follows along with two archaeologists and their students as they work to uncover hidden historical gems in what I believe was the African desert. As the archaeologists uncovered the story of a (possibly real?) historical figure, they are learning of an overlap between cultures that were not previously believed to have interacted with one another. I’m not certain how much of this story is historical accurate- I have a degree in English, not history- but you will learn as the story continues. I will say that the thing that took the story from 4⭐️ to 3.5 for me was how little we learn about the characters. I could picture the stories the characters learned about clearly, but it was very difficult to really see the actual characters as individuals. This book would be great for someone that’s a fan of archeology or a history buff, but it was lacking the humanistic component for me. Overall, I found myself entertained despite my struggling to connect with the text. I would recommend this book to those that loved history class or had those childhood dreams of discovering ancient relics
adperfectamconsilium's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
A while ago @ericscotthornart messaged me to say if I was interested in his book then the e-book was free for a limited time. I quickly downloaded it and I'm glad I did as this is a very interesting read.
The title and cover art first made me think it was a non fiction book, but no, this is an archaeological fiction book (is this a new genre 🤔?)
Dr Jade Asher-Reece is on an archaeological dig in a remote desert location in Algeria. Together with Dr Tariq Al-Maquari and a group of student archaeologists she unearths what could be the most important discovery in history.
Ruins of buildings together with tablets of art and script in various languages including some that shouldn't be possible in that area.
There are some good twists and turns with the story involving Jade and Tariq and trying to keep the discovery secret so they can decipher the meaning of what they've found together with Jade's friend Ryan. If he can't translate a dead language then he will know someone who can.
It's a race against time story with a lot of detail about the archaeological excavation. I learnt all sorts of facts.
Throughout the book we go into the bronze age story of the journey and lives of the people they have discovered.
As each portion of the journey is translated we get a piece of that story in poetry form. I found myself looking forward to the parts of the chapters where they would listen to the next reading. Along with the poetry there are pictures of the stone tablets. All the artwork is done by the author and it really adds to the realism. I could almost swear this did happen instead of it being a work of fiction.
An unusual but rewarding tale with a story within the story.
A strong ✨✨✨✨4 stars
The title and cover art first made me think it was a non fiction book, but no, this is an archaeological fiction book (is this a new genre 🤔?)
Dr Jade Asher-Reece is on an archaeological dig in a remote desert location in Algeria. Together with Dr Tariq Al-Maquari and a group of student archaeologists she unearths what could be the most important discovery in history.
Ruins of buildings together with tablets of art and script in various languages including some that shouldn't be possible in that area.
There are some good twists and turns with the story involving Jade and Tariq and trying to keep the discovery secret so they can decipher the meaning of what they've found together with Jade's friend Ryan. If he can't translate a dead language then he will know someone who can.
It's a race against time story with a lot of detail about the archaeological excavation. I learnt all sorts of facts.
Throughout the book we go into the bronze age story of the journey and lives of the people they have discovered.
As each portion of the journey is translated we get a piece of that story in poetry form. I found myself looking forward to the parts of the chapters where they would listen to the next reading. Along with the poetry there are pictures of the stone tablets. All the artwork is done by the author and it really adds to the realism. I could almost swear this did happen instead of it being a work of fiction.
An unusual but rewarding tale with a story within the story.
A strong ✨✨✨✨4 stars
tatyana_'s review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
Thank you to the author, Eric Scott Horn, for sending me a copy of this book for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
This book follows a group of researchers and grad students excavating Bronze Age artifacts in the Mediterranean that detail the travels of Sfas. With their discovery comes many challenges from individuals and institutions who want to take credit and manipulate the team. Additionally, the team must navigate how this discovery will impact them professionally and personally, with culture and religion also playing a role in their dynamics.
You can truly tell how much research the author put into this book. There were many interesting details about the ancient culture and history and the procedures and skills the discovery team used. Translations and drawings are even included in the book, so it’s like you are gathering the story of Sfas with the crew. It was very cool to see how different historical and cultural influences came together to form the epic detailed on the artifacts. And as someone who enjoys ancient history, it was fun to see familiar historical and cultural figures in the translations.
While I did enjoy the archaeology background provided at times, at other times it felt like an info dump. There were times when I felt lost while trying to follow the many characters and their relationships. At other times it felt like I was being told things more than being shown, or that dialogue was telling the plot. Instead, I wish we got to see more of their interactions with each other and got into their heads more. This probably would have helped make the dangerous moments and the plot twist more explosive.
Overall, this was a pretty interesting, slow-to-medium-paced read, and it made me want to brush up on ancient history!