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Title: Valley of the Kings: A Novel of Tutankhamun by Cecelia Holland ISBN: 0-312-86862-6 Publisher: Forge Pub. Date: 01 August, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95

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Average Customer Rating: 2.2 (5 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: Valley of the Kings: A Novel of Tutankhamun
Comment: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and chose it to review for my "Lost Civilizations" class. The characters in this book are largely based on their "true life" counterparts and if some people think that makes for dull reading then so be it. I was engaged through the entire text and found Ms Holland's interpretations of the Pharaoh's life to be very enlightening and interesting. Something obviously happened to this young man for him to die so young and the very idea that his wife murdered him added depth and intrigue to a very shaded and long-ago time. Her characterization of Howard Carter, the man who devoted his life to digging in the desert, is very straightforward and very much as my professor told the story in his lectures. Frankly, I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in King Tut, Egyptology, and the Valley of the Kings. If you don't have an interest, or want to know then leave it on the shelf, otherwise it's a story that you won't be able to put down.

Rating: 2
Summary: This was ok, but no where near her usual...
Comment: I thought I would really like this book. While it did entertain me for an hour or so, I didn't think it was a keeper. The story should have been divided into two distinct parts, rather than the abrupt change at chapter 9. The first part is from the point of view of Howard Carter. The second part is a third person view of King Tut and his family. There for a while I wondered why they had placed Tut's story after Carter, but then some of the nuts fell into place. But the characters have no depth. You don't get to know the Carter gang well enough to care, and they are very shallow. Tut is shown as a spoiled, whiny little brat with his shallow wife. The ONE thing I did find interesting was the theory behind Tut's death.

Go ahead and read this book, but don't expect to be overwhelmed. I enjoyed "Great Maria" much better.

Rating: 1
Summary: Poor Character Development leads to a dull read
Comment: Cecelia Holland divides her book into two parts - Howard Carter's expedition in the early 20th century and the events leading up to the death of Tutankhamun thousands of years before. The concept intrigued me and, having heard much of the work of Cecelia Holland and being fascinated with Ancient Egypt, I was anxious to get this book into my collection. I hate to say it, but what a disappointment!

After so many people raved about Ms. Holland's talent and skill, I was astonished to find her character development to be so flawed and inadequate. While Howard Carter is a somewhat believable figure, Tutankhamun and his wife Ankhesenamun are simply flat. Little if any motivation can be found to justify their actions and neither character possess depth.

In my opinion too much historical material exists about the restoration of traditional Egyptian Gods in the aftermath of Akhenaten's monotheism for such an uninteresting book to be written. I had really hoped for better.