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Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu
For more than 4,500 years, the Great Pyramid at Giza has been shrouded in veils of impenetrable mystery. For nearly as many years, a dedicated and nearly obsessive community of explorers, scholars, and profiteers has sought to uncover the secrets of this ancient and sacred structure. But the Great Pyramid guards its secrets jealously, and the efforts of most have been silently rebuffed. Until now. Is it the will of destiny or God’s eternal hand that connects two strangers in tragic circumstances with the Great Pyramid itself? It is only through the determination of one that the truth is revealed—and in that effort, the name of the other is cleared. Despite being relentlessly hunted by the descendants of the elite ancient warriors, he is now on a quest for truth that spans two continents. One of the greatest deceptions in the after-burial of the most powerful and influential pharaoh in all of ancient Egypt’s history is about to be revealed. Will what he discovers be his salvation or his extinction?
- GenresAdventure
384 pages, Paperback
Published December 10, 2015
2 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 16, 2016
Michael has dreamed of visiting the Egyptian pyramids since he was a child. On his first day in the country touring the Great Pyramid, he meets a dying German engineer who claims to have been poisoned. After giving Michael a business card for his daughter and a small notebook, his last words are “find four ways.” Michael begins an adventure beyond his wildest dreams, attempting to recover a stolen ancient stele, decode the dying man’s final words, and find the final resting place of the great Pharaoh Khufu. He is accompanied by the German’s daughter, Anna, and together they try to unravel the mystery surrounding her father’s death.
Strengths
This was a very well-written (and well-edited) book. That’s not to say I didn’t find a few typos, but obvious care went into the writing and research of this book. There is SO much fascinating history about Egypt and the pyramids included in this story! I learned more than I thought I’d ever know about Egypt in a single read.
The story line was exciting and full of action. I liked the main characters, Michael and Anna, and enjoyed going on the adventure with them.
Weaknesses
The main weakness for me–which may not be seen as a weakness by someone else–was simply the length of this book. Clocking in at 363 pages, I feel like the same story could be told at two-thirds the length. There were times when I simply couldn’t keep up with the complicated theories the characters uncovered about the pyramids. You almost need a larger base of knowledge about Egypt before starting the book to fully appreciate everything. The extent of my knowledge about Egypt comes from middle and high school history classes, so I’d say it’s pretty limited. By having such complicated and intricate sub-plots, the audience can become bored or feel alienated for not understanding.
Conclusion
It’s obvious an incredible amount of time and thought went into researching for this book. The characters go on a great adventure, survive car chases and murder attempts, recover an ancient artifact, and discover long-held secrets. I love the journey Michael goes on–he’s definitely my favorite character. My girly side wished there was a little more romance to the story; it’s totally set up for Michael and Anna to fall in love, but nothing really happens except mention that they steal glances at each other. And I wish the story was condensed a bit, more focused. I think this is a book that fans of crime fiction or books like The DaVinci Code would love. If that sounds like you go check this one out!!
4 out of 5 stars
For more of my reviews, please visit http://goodtales.novelblogs.com/
Strengths
This was a very well-written (and well-edited) book. That’s not to say I didn’t find a few typos, but obvious care went into the writing and research of this book. There is SO much fascinating history about Egypt and the pyramids included in this story! I learned more than I thought I’d ever know about Egypt in a single read.
The story line was exciting and full of action. I liked the main characters, Michael and Anna, and enjoyed going on the adventure with them.
Weaknesses
The main weakness for me–which may not be seen as a weakness by someone else–was simply the length of this book. Clocking in at 363 pages, I feel like the same story could be told at two-thirds the length. There were times when I simply couldn’t keep up with the complicated theories the characters uncovered about the pyramids. You almost need a larger base of knowledge about Egypt before starting the book to fully appreciate everything. The extent of my knowledge about Egypt comes from middle and high school history classes, so I’d say it’s pretty limited. By having such complicated and intricate sub-plots, the audience can become bored or feel alienated for not understanding.
Conclusion
It’s obvious an incredible amount of time and thought went into researching for this book. The characters go on a great adventure, survive car chases and murder attempts, recover an ancient artifact, and discover long-held secrets. I love the journey Michael goes on–he’s definitely my favorite character. My girly side wished there was a little more romance to the story; it’s totally set up for Michael and Anna to fall in love, but nothing really happens except mention that they steal glances at each other. And I wish the story was condensed a bit, more focused. I think this is a book that fans of crime fiction or books like The DaVinci Code would love. If that sounds like you go check this one out!!
4 out of 5 stars
For more of my reviews, please visit http://goodtales.novelblogs.com/
February 21, 2016
Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu is a rare book that has it all. It is a brilliant mix of international intrigue, suspense, romance and thrills. Reading it, it was hard to believe that this is the authors first work and that this is not an established author from the NY Times Best Sellers list.
Michael is a man who is not content to let history be something that dwells in textbooks or in the slides in his Egyptian history classes. His love for the subject of ancient Egyptian history, is what leads him to the great pyramid, and into the middle of a murder with international ramifications including from secret societies with ancient roots.
There is so much to love in this book. Michael the main character is a joy. He is a strong man but complex. A former military man, now computer programmer, with a strong need to do the right thing that is what ultimately propels the book forward.
The history in the book is like another character, not at all weighing it down, but helping the plot to enfold and adding to the mystery and showing the authors obvious love for the subject matter. This book is a must read.
Michael is a man who is not content to let history be something that dwells in textbooks or in the slides in his Egyptian history classes. His love for the subject of ancient Egyptian history, is what leads him to the great pyramid, and into the middle of a murder with international ramifications including from secret societies with ancient roots.
There is so much to love in this book. Michael the main character is a joy. He is a strong man but complex. A former military man, now computer programmer, with a strong need to do the right thing that is what ultimately propels the book forward.
The history in the book is like another character, not at all weighing it down, but helping the plot to enfold and adding to the mystery and showing the authors obvious love for the subject matter. This book is a must read.
January 20, 2020
Decent premise but stupid story line.
January 6, 2016
Countless novels, articles, and books have been penned down that revolve around the mysteries of Egypt. Till date, the curious elements of the Egyptian era remain an element of surprise to readers, and a detective drama based on this genre is bound to attract attention. As I picked up a book named ‘Four ways to Pharaoh Khufu’, I was enthusiastic because I hoped the book would live up to my expectations and I wasn’t disappointed at all.
Debut author Alexander Marmer has beautifully crafted a novel with an engaging plot, twists in the tale and timeline accuracy. As I looked into the protagonist Michael Doyle, the software Engineer who had served for six years in the US army I could see a reflection of the author himself. Alexander too had been in the fields of Kuwait and I believe his experience definitely helped to shape up the character of Michael.
The journey begins with two parallel stories. While Michael sets foot in Egypt to witness the greatness of the pyramids, Amset, an Egyptian of noble birth, comes of age to learn the secret of Pharaoh Khufu. But the mysterious death of Amset creates a disorder and soon the sacred Egyptian ‘stele’ goes missing. When Michael’s friend Mr. Schulze is blamed of stealing the stele and soon poisoned to death, Michael ventures to find the truth.
As the two stories intertwine, an intense insight into the world of Egypt, their hidden secrets, their gods and the Medjai (Nubian race) comes into light. The book grasps the attention from the very beginning, with glimpses of love, jaw-dropping revelations, and unexpected twists. Alexander has not only justified a well-plotted detective story but also given significance to each character. Another important character is Anna, Mr. Schulze’s daughter, and the Egyptian enigma is unknown to her. But she is drawn into the mayhem and her presence brings a vibrancy and color to the story.
Despite uncovering the secrets of Pharaoh Khufu, the story also takes us to places like Germany and Russia and introduces characters like Kirilov, who turn out to be of significance in solving the mysteries. The intense research and facts that Alexander has put into the novel are to be marveled at.
It is not the plot of a story but actually the way a story is presented that contributes to a book. Four ways to Pharaoh Khufu is captivating as it is packed with drama, mystery and thrilling discoveries. The flow of the book succeeds in keeping the readers edged to their seats till the very end.
Debut author Alexander Marmer has beautifully crafted a novel with an engaging plot, twists in the tale and timeline accuracy. As I looked into the protagonist Michael Doyle, the software Engineer who had served for six years in the US army I could see a reflection of the author himself. Alexander too had been in the fields of Kuwait and I believe his experience definitely helped to shape up the character of Michael.
The journey begins with two parallel stories. While Michael sets foot in Egypt to witness the greatness of the pyramids, Amset, an Egyptian of noble birth, comes of age to learn the secret of Pharaoh Khufu. But the mysterious death of Amset creates a disorder and soon the sacred Egyptian ‘stele’ goes missing. When Michael’s friend Mr. Schulze is blamed of stealing the stele and soon poisoned to death, Michael ventures to find the truth.
As the two stories intertwine, an intense insight into the world of Egypt, their hidden secrets, their gods and the Medjai (Nubian race) comes into light. The book grasps the attention from the very beginning, with glimpses of love, jaw-dropping revelations, and unexpected twists. Alexander has not only justified a well-plotted detective story but also given significance to each character. Another important character is Anna, Mr. Schulze’s daughter, and the Egyptian enigma is unknown to her. But she is drawn into the mayhem and her presence brings a vibrancy and color to the story.
Despite uncovering the secrets of Pharaoh Khufu, the story also takes us to places like Germany and Russia and introduces characters like Kirilov, who turn out to be of significance in solving the mysteries. The intense research and facts that Alexander has put into the novel are to be marveled at.
It is not the plot of a story but actually the way a story is presented that contributes to a book. Four ways to Pharaoh Khufu is captivating as it is packed with drama, mystery and thrilling discoveries. The flow of the book succeeds in keeping the readers edged to their seats till the very end.
February 17, 2016
Michael Doyle is about to tackle the greatest mystery of modern times: the Great Pyramid at Giza. Many have sought to uncover its mysteries, and all have failed; but Michael's journey to Egypt to view the pyramids takes an unexpected turn that's about to send him on a path no other explorer has followed before.
The known facts about the Great Pyramid of Giza are delicately woven into a thriller that weaves romance and intrigue into its historical mystery. An opening explanation of three known facts about the pyramid, Pharaoh Cheops, and the Medjay (desert tribesmen turned professional warriors) set the stage for events to follow and clarify facts from fiction.
How can an under-thirty-year-old software engineer with no previous archaeological or historical experience in Egypt accomplish what no other before him has achieved? As events move back and forth between a Medjay assassin who will stop at nothing to solve an ancient mystery and a man about to enjoy a long-awaited Egyptian vacation, there's intrigue at every step and mystery woven into history from the first page onward.
As a cast of characters from different countries and with different interests come on board, the novel rides smoothly through the roller-coaster ups and downs of danger and confrontations at nearly every turn. Alexander Marmer is a master at building suspense and taking seemingly-obvious paths and giving them quick twists so that they lead to entirely unexpected directions.
It would have been all too easy to have a confusing story line given the expanding characters, special interests and events, but Marmer cultivates an exquisite ability to create a realistic, historically accurate mystery that creates much intrigue with no confusion. What skills could a software engineer bring to the table of an ancient mystery that has confounded historians and archaeologists for millennia? That's just one of the many delightful questions in Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu, which is anything but predictable.
This powerful read will delight fans of historical mysteries and Egyptian settings; especially those who have absorbed enough of the latter to believe there're few approaches left to surprise them. Look again!
The known facts about the Great Pyramid of Giza are delicately woven into a thriller that weaves romance and intrigue into its historical mystery. An opening explanation of three known facts about the pyramid, Pharaoh Cheops, and the Medjay (desert tribesmen turned professional warriors) set the stage for events to follow and clarify facts from fiction.
How can an under-thirty-year-old software engineer with no previous archaeological or historical experience in Egypt accomplish what no other before him has achieved? As events move back and forth between a Medjay assassin who will stop at nothing to solve an ancient mystery and a man about to enjoy a long-awaited Egyptian vacation, there's intrigue at every step and mystery woven into history from the first page onward.
As a cast of characters from different countries and with different interests come on board, the novel rides smoothly through the roller-coaster ups and downs of danger and confrontations at nearly every turn. Alexander Marmer is a master at building suspense and taking seemingly-obvious paths and giving them quick twists so that they lead to entirely unexpected directions.
It would have been all too easy to have a confusing story line given the expanding characters, special interests and events, but Marmer cultivates an exquisite ability to create a realistic, historically accurate mystery that creates much intrigue with no confusion. What skills could a software engineer bring to the table of an ancient mystery that has confounded historians and archaeologists for millennia? That's just one of the many delightful questions in Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu, which is anything but predictable.
This powerful read will delight fans of historical mysteries and Egyptian settings; especially those who have absorbed enough of the latter to believe there're few approaches left to surprise them. Look again!
February 4, 2016
Pharaoh Khufu, called Cheops by the Greeks, was the second ruler of Egypt’s fourth dynasty of pharaohs, and the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza. For centuries this structure has been shrouded in mystery, and its secrets guarded by an ancient tribe of Nubia, the Medjay.
When a German engineer is suspected of stealing one of the pyramid’s most sacred relics he is killed by a Medjay warrior, but the relic is still missing. The quest to retrieve it pulls American software engineer Michael Doyle, on vacation in Egypt to see the pyramids, into a deadly cycle of murder and intrigue as he and the dead engineer’s daughter, Anna Schulze flee a relentless pursuit from Egypt to Germany to Russia, and to a final confrontation in Egypt, as they try to solve the pyramid’s mystery, and stay alive in the process.
Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu by Alexander Marmer is a compelling story that weaves ancient Egyptian history with a modern mystery as Michael and Anna engage in a race against time to find the stolen artifact and redeem Anna’s late father’s reputation. Though the action is fast-paced, the story gets bogged down in places when the author narrates interesting, though not always necessary, historical facts. At times, because the timeline switches back and forth between the two main characters and their Medjay pursuer, it gets a bit confusing, but in the end, patience is rewarded as the story comes to a logical and satisfying conclusion.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. I give the concept five stars, but must detract a few points for the execution—too much telling rather than showing, with a final rating of 3.7 stars overall.
When a German engineer is suspected of stealing one of the pyramid’s most sacred relics he is killed by a Medjay warrior, but the relic is still missing. The quest to retrieve it pulls American software engineer Michael Doyle, on vacation in Egypt to see the pyramids, into a deadly cycle of murder and intrigue as he and the dead engineer’s daughter, Anna Schulze flee a relentless pursuit from Egypt to Germany to Russia, and to a final confrontation in Egypt, as they try to solve the pyramid’s mystery, and stay alive in the process.
Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu by Alexander Marmer is a compelling story that weaves ancient Egyptian history with a modern mystery as Michael and Anna engage in a race against time to find the stolen artifact and redeem Anna’s late father’s reputation. Though the action is fast-paced, the story gets bogged down in places when the author narrates interesting, though not always necessary, historical facts. At times, because the timeline switches back and forth between the two main characters and their Medjay pursuer, it gets a bit confusing, but in the end, patience is rewarded as the story comes to a logical and satisfying conclusion.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. I give the concept five stars, but must detract a few points for the execution—too much telling rather than showing, with a final rating of 3.7 stars overall.
January 5, 2016
This story is intriguing from the get go. You are drawn in to the main character Michael Doyle and can feel his experiences as he goes along. Even when the narrating voice changes, you can see yourself as part of the scenes which combine history, cultural differences, sorry and some humor in a gripping tale from start to end. The historical details are so well placed that you can find yourself searching just as they are and feeling the varying sentiments of anger, pride, frustration and even fear not just of Michael but of Anna and many of the other lesser characters. For a first novel by this author the story truly leave you waiting impatiently for the next one. I can see Michael and Anna becoming household names with the likes of James Patterson's "Alex Cross", Vince Flynn's "Mitch Rapp" and many other protagonists that have been immortalized with both their human flaws and extraordinary personalities in the stories they bring to life. Well done Alexander Marmer!
January 1, 2016
Four Ways to Pharoah Kufu is an intense read that keeps you in total suspense from the moment you begin to read the introduction! I really like how complex one characters, Michael, is. Marmer definitely has a great talent for writing descriptively about scenes and giving characters personalities. The format of the book is very interesting, too. More than one story is occurring, and at the start of each chapter, the setting, date and time are given. It helps the reader keep track of what’s going on; but it also makes the book all the more interesting. You learn a lot of cultural and historical facts. What I found interesting is that in Egypt, you have to lick the stamp in order to place it in a passport. Anyone who enjoys historical, adventurous novels will definitely want to read this!!
January 17, 2016
I read this novel so fast it left me reeling from the concepts that were brought to light. Its hard to imagine where this five series will lead given the authors ability to maintain a level of mystery and most certainly surprise in every chapter. I’m officially a fan. If you are looking for a fantastic read - this is it. The scenes were very similar to watching "Raiders of The Lost Ark." It was just that good. Especially when the ancient warriors figured out what Michael and Anna were trying to discover, it seems like all of these things were done to protect the ancient structure and sacred secrets. Collectively, it was a wonderful book that I wish was a bit longer but overall ...Incredible Story !!!
January 3, 2016
This is an excellent explanation about how the pyramids was made. The author gave four different ways in which this could have been made possible.
This is a very easy to read book. It pulls you in from the beginning and command your attention to the end, your imagination will go on a fascinating ride. The characters, Michael and Anna are well developed with descriptive details.
The author did an exceptional research in writing this story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you are an adventurous thrill seeker, you will definitely love this book.
This is a very easy to read book. It pulls you in from the beginning and command your attention to the end, your imagination will go on a fascinating ride. The characters, Michael and Anna are well developed with descriptive details.
The author did an exceptional research in writing this story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you are an adventurous thrill seeker, you will definitely love this book.
January 15, 2016
This book was awesome. A fictional historical novel absolutely chock full of historical facts. It even managed to tell me some things about Australia that I wasn't aware of - and I'm Australian! Egypt's past and the present are blended seamlessly into a really well constructed mystery, and the pace doesn't stop until you put the book down. The characters are rounded and believable, and I found myself rooting for Michael, and very involved in his situations. I learned a lot from reading this, as well as enjoying an excellent story. Thoroughly recommended!
January 2, 2016
Four ways to Pharaoh Kufu is a page turner. A book that will not only hold your attention it will also draw you into the book. You will not want to put the book down until you have gotten to the end but you will want to read the book again. The story can mix some history with a good story. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking to read a story that is complex and interesting. I am going to make sure that I tell everyone I know about this book.
January 16, 2016
Incredible relentlessness to capture Michael Doyle and Anna kept the adrenalin racing all through this book. As I read how the factions wanted these two dead, I couldn’t put this book down because sometimes it seemed surreal. I felt like I knew that there end was near early on..It seemed like the more Mr. Doyle pressed forward to discover the hidden secrets, his efforts were met with unimaginable consequences at best. Wonderful Book With A plot that made me feel like I was watching a movie.
May 8, 2016
Great book
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews