Tod am Nil

Huy the Scribe Egyptian Mystery #2

by Gill Anton Und Rainer Schmidt

251pages. poche. broché. A Thèbes, sous le règne du jeune pharaon Toutankhamon, le scribe Huy est frappé d'opprobre pour avoir adhéré au culte d'Aton, le Dieu unique. L'exercice de son métier lui étant désormais interdit, il ne doit qu'à ses pouvoirs de déduction et à son extraordinaire intuition de survivre en élucidant des énigmes. Or voilà que, dans la capitale du Sud, des jeunes filles issues du meilleur monde sont assassinées dans d'inexplicables circonstances. Doit-on y voir la main des dieux ou l'oeuvre d'un dément ? Quel lien y a-t-il entre cette série de meurtres et Sourérê, le forçat évadé qui avait, jadis, la confiance de la grande reine Néfertiti ? Tandis que les rumeurs grondent dans la cité, le policier Merymosé sollicite officieusement l'aide de Huy. Celui-ci devra déployer toute sa sagacité et son astuce afin d'amener la vérité au grand jour, même s'il lui faut, pour cela, affronter un spectre. -C. D. -

Genres: Mystery, Historical, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Detective, Fiction

Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Berengaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

short review for busy readers:
Book #2 in the mystery series featuring Huy the Scribe and set ancient Thebes during the reign of Tutankhamun.

in detail:
While there is nothing specifically wrong with this mystery, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading something set in Victorian London, not in Ancient Egypt.

Perhaps it was the nature of how the medjay were described -- as a newly and inexpertly formed police force -- or in how the narrative centred on the the brothel and sex trade. Both of those points are common facets of Victorian mysteries, but don't exactly mesh with Ancient Egyptian society.

The medjay were not police as we think of them, but more royal and city guards employed to keep "the king's peace". Although prostitution was certainly practised, extremely little is known about it because Egypt was not a prudish society at that time and 'red light districts' did not exist. It seems to have been more a casual thing than seedy established brothels (as you'd find in Victorian England).

Another point against the novel is that Gill goes to great pains to describe the southern Egyptian capital, its streets, harbour quarter, room interiors, private gardens and how people were dressed in great detail.

While there's nothing wrong with that per se, I got the feeling that not everything could be trusted simply due to the over-focus on the physical atmosphere. It was as if the narrative was trying too hard to be "historical".

The mystery itself...not exactly balanced as well as it could have been. The reveal of the murder is fairly abrupt, somewhat fumbled and cliche.

The best bits in the novel were the demonstrations of how ruthlessly Akhenaton’s reign and ideas were being stamped out, and how dangerous it was to have been associated with him or his government. That was well done!

[Aida L · Rating 3 out of 5]

"La ciudad de los sueños" es la segunda novela de la saga del detective Huy.
En este caso Huy se enfrenta a un nuevo caso en el que alguien esta asesinando a jovenes de alta cuna. La guardia, conocedora de sus dotes para la investigación, le solicita ayuda en el caso. Encontrandose tras cada esquina un nuevo sospechoso.
La trama nuevamente es similar al anterior libro. Sin demasiada emoción vemos como Huy va moviendose por la ciudad intentando encontrar alguna relación entre los asesinatos. Aunque contiene momentos donde su vida corre peligro y te mantiene atento, la mayor parte de la historia pasa sin que veas ni avances en la investigación ni grandes emociones.
El personaje nuevamente tiene poca evolución, encontrandose nuevamente abandonado por la mujer amada y encontrando nuevas emociones durante la investigación.
Un libro para pasar el rato y lectura rápida para desconectar del dia o para conocer nuevas culturas en ratos de espera o viajes

[Ted Tayler · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sweet dreams"

A thorough dissection of Egyptian history with an amazing degree of detail across all aspects of life in those far away times. If you like historical fiction with intrigue, murder and tangled relationships, then you will enjoy this. An A* for research.

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this. Huy, our protagonist, is a complex man; the author manages the neat trick of making him a man of his times and also relatable to a modern reader. All good historical fiction has to do this, but many attempts fall short. If I knew how it was done, I'd be writing these things myself.

Anyhow, I liked the historical setting, the political and religious turmoil, the disturbing mixture of fanaticism and corruption, that has been so sadly repeated countless times since, and I was intrigued with the characters. ( I was so disappointed at the death of Merymose; I had expected him to be a continuing character in the series) The mystery itself was pretty good, although I thought it a little lacking in suspense - it left too much to be revealed at the end.

Looking forward to the others in the series.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superior to City of the Horizon, in this 2nd of the series Huy has to investigate the murder of daughters of wealthy and powerful men who had served but survived the aftermath of Akhenaten’s reign. Merymose, a medjar helps, as does ex-client Taheb, who becomes his lover, as the parallel story of Surere, a former governor escaped from servitude, connects.
The ending is too rushed and unoriginal but the journey is worth the effort as Egyptian life, customs and the interesting political atmosphere make for a brief, engaging read

[La Maliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creo que este es uno de esos libros de misterio y aventuras que parecen todo menos eso: no me lo tomes a mal, es increíble, me parece muy bien planeado todo y que encaja perfectamente.. excepto el final, que me pareció fantoche y apresurado. Como un: "oh, se están acabando las páginas, debo descubrirlo aquí". Hay un gran salto donde me confunde un poco la manera en que deviene cada suceso.
Me pasó lo mismo con Mr Hyde.
A lo mejor soy yo que no estoy hecha para este tipo de novelas, sin embargo, aunque me costó trabajo familiarizarme con los espacios y las múltiples figuras del espacio, el desierto, el calor asfixiante, la indumentaria; cuando alcancé a verlo con mayor claridad, siempre encuentro mi punto de inflexión.

Al final me sentí una espectadora y no una partícipe. No sé si me gusta.

[Birgit · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was a very weird "whodunit". An investigator in old Egypt, during the reign of King Tut-Enk-Amun, sounded very interesting.
However, I could just not get into the narration style - it seemed a bit bland and boring at times, and although the author tried to use the equivalent of language from that time, there were the odd ones out, what I would call "breaks in style" (for example, I am sure another word for "fuck" could have been found?). Other times, I doubted that the wording used would have been used at that time.
The same doubts I had occasionally about the historical correctness of some passages, be it with events or behaviour, but I blame that on narrative freedom.
All in all, however, once I got used to the style, it was an interesting plot and a nice read, although a bit dark for my taste.

[Kurt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful

I couldn't get thru this book fast enough. If you enjoy run on sentences and horrible punctuation, then this book is for you. If you enjoy terribly confusing mid-chapter transitions, then this book is for you.

If you enjoy reading, then is book most certainly is NOT for you.

Absolutely terrible.