Tagged: ancient egypt
My Interview with Katie Hamstead
Katie Hamstead Teller is the author of Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh as well as an upcoming book called Branded. After seeing her tweet about my 5 star review of her book, we struck up a conversation and I asked to interview her via email. Below is the interview in which we discuss research, depictions of Akhenaten and how she fell in love with ancient Egypt.
1. What was your research process like for Kiya? Were you always interested in ancient Egypt or did you stumble across her story and then do the research?
As a young girl I loved reading about Egypt, Rome and Greece, (the big three!) and in high school I elected to study Ancient History to further this interest. It was during this time I developed my curiosity for the Amarna period. So, in a sense, I’ve been reading and learning about it for years.
Time passed and I decided to write the story. This meant a lot of research, even as I wrote. I pulled books from the library, and journals from universities and wove together the theories which best suited the story I wanted to create, and I filled in the gaps with my own personal interpretations. I’d also studied Hebrew culture a few years ago, so my understanding of the twelve tribes was much strong than it was as a teen, and again I pulled books and university journals about early Israel and somehow, using the later period theory of Israel in Egypt where the exodus was during the reign of Ramses II, I meshed the two clashing cultures together. Continue reading
Spotlight: Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh by Katie Hamstead
Spotlight is my weekly feature in which I highlight a book I’m really looking forward to or really enjoyed. This time around it’s a book I absolutely loved: Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh by Katie Hamstead.
When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…
The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.
Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood.
This is Katie Hamstead’s first book, but since she was writing about my favourite historical period (ancient Egypt) I had incredibly high expectations for her. It’s a testament to her writing that she exceeded them all.
There were some historically questionable theories, but most of it was either a plausible way to fill in gaps in the historical record or the actual events that were occurring at the time. Katie Hamstead had quite a bit of leeway here because very, very little is known about Kiya, who is supposedly the mother of the famous Tutankhamun. (To be truthful, we don’t even know that for sure.) Still, the details of ancient Egyptian life were correct and her portrayal of historical figures felt spot-on.
Part of what makes historical fiction so hard to write is the fact that you have to do so much research in order to tackle famous figures. You have to not only get the details of their lives right (or mostly right), you have to decide what angle to portray them from. For example, Akhenaten was not the usual unstable despot, but a very kind and loving, but slightly unstable man. Or take Horemheb, who is both ruthless and very compassionate toward Kiya’s plight. Katie Hamstead could have easily gone with the stone-cold army commander angle with Horemheb, but she chose to go deeper and make the man more complicated.
What really made Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh such a great book, however, was Kiya/Naomi herself. She carried the whole thing on her shoulders and had she been one of those horribly whiny narrators I would have beat my head against my desk. We’re trapped in her point of view for the entire story, but because Naomi is such a resourceful, compassionate young woman, that’s actually a good thing!
If you love history, romance and especially ancient Egypt, you will adore Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh.
Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh by Katie Hamstead
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…
The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.
Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
First off, please don’t judge Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh by the tacky cover. The story is so much better, I promise.
Since so little is known about the real Kiya (we don’t even know if she really was Tutankhamun’s mother), I’m willing to suspend my disbelief at the premise of her being Hebrew. Okay, fair enough. Most theories place her as Nubian, but they’re just theories and I thought the whole premise of Naomi offering herself to Akhenaten to save her sisters was just too good to pass up. After being presented with an Egyptian name, Naomi embarks upon a dangerous journey through the intrigues of a dysfunctional court and an even more dangerous harem.
Now, this great premise would have been ruined if Katie Hamstead’s characterization wasn’t as strong as it is. Naomi/Kiya carries the whole story on her shoulders as she learns to feel affection for and maybe even love Akhenaten, a man she was always taught was evil. She also makes friends and enemies in the harem, the most notable being her rival, Nefertiti. Or rather, Nefertiti considers Naomi her rival and the lengths she goes to in order to preserve her place as Great Royal Wife are incredible. Whenever I picture the real Nefertiti, I can’t help but imagine her as the vain, ridiculously beautiful, scheming woman Katie Hamstead has portrayed. Other notable characters of the time like the ruthless, but oddly considerate Horemheb feel spot-on to me. The characters don’t always appear to be consistent, but the big reveals throughout the story show that they were acting believably the whole time.
The details of ancient Egyptian life are generally accurate, although Katie Hamstead used the modern name of Amarna to refer to Akhetaten. But Akhenaten’s fits, the fact he discarded the old religion in favour of one god and his utter lack of desire to make war are well documented and I couldn’t spot any glaring factual errors. In writing about Akhenaten, Katie Hamstead had quite a bit of leeway as there are very, very few records from the time. Still, I can’t complain about the historical accuracy.
As for the plot, it was quite fast-paced for historical fiction and kept me reading into the early hours of the morning, far past when I should have gone to bed. It was really that good. Naomi was just a fascinating character and her confusion about Malachi and Akhenaten, her hot-cold friendship with Horemheb and the constant threat of Nefertiti’s jealousy kept me on my toes the whole time. Some of the plot twists were predictable, but others (especially at the end) I didn’t see coming. Especially the big reveal at the end involving a certain male character.
It’s that big reveal that makes me want the next book this instant. Although we know generally what happens to Akhenaten and Naomi’s son Tutankhamun from history, I just can’t get enough of Naomi. She’s definitely one of my new favourite characters and I’ve just found a new author to watch because if Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh is any indicator, we can expect great things from Katie Hamstead.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice
(Cover picture courtesy of The Towering Pile.)
Ramses the Great lives…
Reawakened in opulent Edwardian London, he becomes Dr. Ramsey, expert in Egyptology and member of a group of jaded aristocrats with strange appetites to appease. But searing memories of his last reawakening, at the behest of Cleopatra, burn in his immortal soul. For he has drunk the elixir of life and is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell hungers that can never be satisfied. And his most intense longing of all, a great love undiminished by the centuries, will force him to commit an act of unspeakable horror….
I’ve read a lot of Anne Rice’s books, but The Mummy is my absolute favourite, no question about it. It has the perfect mix of tragedy, romance, history and emotion that Anne Rice pulls off so well, without any extra flab added to the story. Compared to her other novels, The Mummy is incredibly short, with my version only being 398 pages. Believe me, they read fast!
Maybe I’m a bit biased because I’ve always loved ancient Egypt and have been fascinated by Ramses the Great. I’m not necessarily an admirer of him, but he does play a significant role in history and did have an interesting life. Well, Anne Rice brings him to life in The Mummy and he is as charming, well-spoken and lecherous as one would expect. But he also has a soft side, which is what makes it so easy for Julie and readers to fall in love with him. Julie herself has a few too many modern sensibilities for the era, but she is an interesting character because she is so strong. She’s the perfect match for Ramses.
Anne Rice showcases exactly what it is that makes people want to devote their entire lives to the study of Egyptology. If you haven’t fallen in love with Egypt by the time you finish The Mummy, you likely never will. I didn’t even catch any glaring historical inaccuracies. Sure, some things were changed around if you believe in the traditional Cleopatra story, but Anne Rice presents a compelling alternative that makes sense in the context of the story. Her vivid descriptions reveal the passion she has for ancient Egypt and that enthusiasm continues throughout the entire novel.
Her later Vampire Chronicles works seemed to lack heart, but The Mummy certainly does not. It’s fresh, a fitting retelling of the very old, generally cliché shambling mummy coming back from the grave story. Of course it has fantastical elements, but I don’t think they’ll be overwhelming for people who don’t normally read fantasy. Anne Rice achieved perfect balance in The Mummy and it’s a book I would highly recommend to anyone.
Warning: This is an Anne Rice book. Of course there are explicit sex scenes and gore that could be offensive to young or sensitive readers. I would personally not recommend The Mummy for anyone under 14, but everyone matures at different rates. Use your common sense when buying books.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Awful Egyptians by Terry Deary
(Cover picture courtesy of Norfolk County Council.)
Horrible Histories
It’s history with the nasty bits left in!
Want to know:
- Why people worshipped a dung beetle?
- Which phunny pharaoh married her grandfather?
- What the “Shepherd of the Royal Backside” had to do?
Discover all the foul facts about the Awful Egyptians—all the gore and more!
The Horrible Histories series really is an amazing series for children to learn about history in a way that makes things interesting. Terry Deary’s writing style makes me suspect his history teachers bored him to tears. He has more hatred for the way history is taught in school than I do, which is really, truly saying something. The illustrations by Martin Brown bring home his points very well and they can be laugh-out-loud funny at times.
As for how accurate Awful Egyptians is, well, it’s not entirely accurate. Terry Deary describes the mummification process very well, but it may not have been how Egyptians really did their mummification. Part of the process was to “Soak the body in natron for seventy days till it is well pickled.” The Egyptian mourning period was only seventy days long and according to the modern mummification tests that have been performed by Egyptologist Bob Brier, covering the body in natron should only take 35 days. That way, the body still has enough moisture to position the limbs, but not so much that it will decay. The nitty-gritty of the process is still a contentious subject, but I tend to side with the man that actually assembled a team and made a modern mummy rather than sticking to old theories based mainly on Herodotus’ writings.
Still, Awful Egyptians is a great starting point for kids to learn about history in a fun way. Egyptian history is especially gory, so I definitely wouldn’t recommend this book for sensitive kids. But for those kids who were like me and loved to be grossed out, I would recommend it for ages 8-11. Terry Deary helped me love history and I, as well as my little sister, will be eternally grateful to him for making an impact on both of our lives.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
*Barnes and Noble has Terry Deary’s other Egyptian books, but not Awful Egyptians. Why this is, I have no idea.