River God

Two thousand years before Christ, the ancient heartland of the Nile Kings stands torn and bleeding from the constant passage of civil war. Drained of gold and of the blood of its young men, the legacy of eleven sovereign Pharaohs is thrown to the winds of the desert as weak men inherit the crown. On the eve of the Festival of Osiris, the loyal subjects of the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt gather in Thebes to pay homage to their leader. Among them is Taita - eunuch slave to the Lord Intef and a being blessed with extraordinary gifts. While others salute the triumphal passage of the royal barge, Taita, clever and scheming, can see only the icon of a kingdom's fading glory. Beside him stand his proteges: Lostris, the Lord Intef's daughter, beautiful beyond her fourteen years; and Tanus, proud young army officer, who has vowed to avenge his father's death and seize Lostris as his prize. From Thebes to the mountains of Abyssinia, from the legend of the Blue Sword to the epic battle against the mighty Hyksos army, comes the magnificent, richly detailed saga of their triumphs and their destinies. Exploding with all the passion and rage of a bygone time, River God is a masterpiece of historical writing, a compulsively readable story, and a certain international bestseller.