Summer

22 January 2012

NAPOLEON'S PYRAMIDS: An Ethan Gage Adventure - William Dietrich

What mystical secrets lie beneath the Great Pyramids?
The world changes for Ethan Gage—one-time assistant to the renowned Ben Franklin—on a night in post-revolutionary Paris, when he wins a mysterious medallion in a card game. Framed soon after for the murder of a prostitute and facing the grim prospect of either prison or death, the young expatriate American barely escapes France with his life—choosing instead to accompany the new emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, on his glorious mission to conquer Egypt. With Lord Nelson's fleet following close behind, Gage sets out on the adventure of a lifetime. And in a land of ancient wonder and mystery, with the help of a beautiful Macedonian slave, he will come to realize that the unusual prize he won at the gaming table may be the key to solving one of history's greatest and most perilous riddles: who built the Great Pyramids . . . and why?

****************************

While trying to build up the stack of books to give my dad his next visit, I came across this adventure thriller set back in the time of Ben Franklin. Ethan Gage is an American in Paris...an American in trouble in Paris and he has to get out of Dodge (euphemistically speaking) or go to prison for murder. A murder he didn't commit, but the fingers are pointing.

So off he goes with a group of savants as the scientists and thinkers are called who accompany Napoleon to Egypt. It's definitely not glamourous, in fact it's rather torturous to all and Ethan finds himself wondering if it might not have been better taking his chances back Paris or head back to America.

He gets a lot of help along the way, all because of the medallion he carries. There are many who feel it holds secrets to great power and these many are willing to do anything to get this.


I had fun reading this Indiana Jones/Dirk Pitt style adventure. I did better when I could read in a quiet place. It's a busy book, plenty of action and dialogue and characters to follow, so reading with distractions of a television or people chatting was an issue at times.
I am already looking forward to reading the next in the series, THE ROSETTA KEY. The series is a history lesson as much as an adventure.

You can visit William Dietrich here: http://williamdietrich.com/

Four adventure in history beans.....



2 comments:

Aurian said...

Hmm this sounds like something I really loved reading 20 years ago. I still love my Clive Cussler books though.

Vickie said...

Aurian: Yep, I like Clive Cussler, too. Adventure stories are fun from time to time. And this one is neat since it's set in the way past.