Thursday 4 March 2010

YOUNG ADULT REVIEW: Eye of the Sun - Dianne Hoffmeyr

BOOK BLURB:

In this exciting sequel, Tuthmosis's brother, Amenhotep, struggles with the priests and his power-hungry young wife, Nefertiti. Ta Miu, who helped Tuthmosis and Isikara escape in Eye of the Moon, is now maidservant to Nefertiti's rival, Kiya. But Ta Miu disastrously falls for tomb-robber, Samut, and finds herself imprisoned as a result. Meanwhile Tuthmosis and Isikara return from Egypt in secret, sending rumours flying about the prince's intentions. Nefertiti is terrified that he is after her husband's throne, while the High Priest fears his secret will be revealed. Their hiding place betrayed by Samut, Isikara is captured and thrown into prison alongside Ta Miu, whilst Tuthmosis is murdered. But only Ta Miu and Isikara know the truth and unless they can escape from their prison, the guilty will go free...


REVIEW:

Authors have to be careful when dealing with historical fiction especially when they’re adapting it for the young reader in order to find a way to get the story across without it becoming a pure tale of info-dumping to get the reader to comprehend what happens within.

What Dianne does well within this offering is keep the reader engrossed through clever narrative, careful misdirection alongside bringing her characters to life in such a way that they speak to the modern reader who may well be unfamiliar with a lot of the background surrounding them.

It’s well written and whilst this is the second novel in the series it’s one I managed to pick up and read without having read the previous instalment. Something for people searching for a different tack on their usual reading habits and is a tale that will lead to more questions than it answers that will hopefully be delved into in future expeditions.

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