There is something infectious about Jacq's easy-to-read books that is hard to define. They contain no gory scenes, yet are not cozy. The characters tend to be either pure hearted heroes or evil villains, and their direct, simple style is more like that of a folktale than a modern novel. Add these things (and others) up and you have a winning style that keeps those pages turning far into the night. In here the plot is less linear than in previous works, which is all to the good, and there are some interesting developments about various characters that I cannot reveal. Supernatural things do happen, but not quite in the way they do in a fantasy novel. People see things they cannot explain, but this could be due to various things and helps prevent the fault of many historical writers--making people of the past seem too modern. These are people who believe in wonders. Yet part of the theme of this series is that there is nothing new under the sun, and this is a more complex book than most of his others.

On one level, this is an exciting adventure story, on another Jacq gets to explain many things that hold the key to understanding more about Ancient Egypt. But also there is a parallel here to current affairs, with The Herald and his band of misogynistic terrorists striking at Egypt's heart and trying to change the way things are done. It is thought provoking stuff and I eagerly await the final volume.