Krishna
The story continues in this book and holds your interest to the very end. There is more of the drama, betrayal and the brilliant tactics of Kamose, the son of Sequenenra, who takes over the mantle, from his dead father, as the leader of rebellion. It tells of the personal tragedy of Ramose, whose love for Tani and loyalty to the Tao family is in direct conflict with his father’s friendships with Apepa and the treachery which was rewarded with death by an avenging Kamose. It tells of the victory of the young King, aided by his remaining brother Ahmose, who is so different from the brooding Kamose.
It tells the story of how Kamose collected the fractious princes into his allegiance, how he raised an army with a core of the warrior like Medjay soldiers under the control of the able but ambitious general Hor Aha. It tells of the ruthlessless and cunning he displayed in cleansing the northern villages of disloyal Egyptians, and foreigners. Ultimately, it tells how he captured almost all of Egypt except for the heavily fortified Her-Uart, and how he even outmaneuvered the brilliant general Pazedku of Apepa, who was the nemesis of his father earlier. (In The Hippopotamus Marsh).
When he had all within his grasp, everything unraveled in a shocking turn of mutiny and the Taos lost almost everything. And it tells the brilliant story of how, when every man in the family was dead or wounded grievously, the women rallied to save the day.
It continues without a slack from where the first book left off, and ends in a poignant moment.
A brilliant story, which continues the good yarn of the first book. In fact, one can argue that there is more twists and turns in the first book, but this one makes up for the lack of incidents with the brilliant narration of both Kamose’s plan to outwit the enemy and the mutiny. A subplot of what Ramose learns when he goes to Apepa as an emissary of Kamose, just to get a glimpse of his beloved Tani, carried off earlier by Apepa as a hostage, is another interesting side story.
He gets to meet her but then in so strange a circumstance that it wounds not just his heart but also the collective pride of the Taos.
A great book. I would rate it an equal to the first volume, and so, let us say, a 7/10
— Krishna