The Egyptian

The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

Hubby and I literally just finished listening to this book. The first adjective that comes to mind when trying to describe this book is LONG (20 CDs!). It seems like we've be listening to it forever, but that's also because we could only listen to it when we were together.
Overall, good book. An epic tale of one man's life is the best way for me to describe it.

Book description:
A full-bodied re-creation of a largely forgotten era in the world's history: the Egypt of the 14th century B.C.E., when pharaohs and gods contended with the near-collapse of history's greatest empire. This epic tale encompasses the whole of the then-known world, from Babylon to Crete, from Thebes to Jerusalem, while centering around one unforgettable figure: Sinuhe, a man of mysterious origins who rises from the depths of degradation to become personal physician to Pharaoh Akhnaton.

The best part about the book is definitely its scope. It also seems to be really well researched. Waltari does a wonderful job describing the ancient world. He brings Egypt (and the rest of the places to which Sinuhe travels) to life for his readers.

Of course the book isn't perfect.
Sinuhe is "a complete imbecile" (quoting hubby here). In all honestly, though, it's hard to relate to the protagonist because keeps doing the stupidest things. That being said, his life is a fascinating one.
My only other complaint is about audio version (by Audio Connoisseur, available at audible.com) in particular. Charlton Griffin, the reader, gives the book's female characters (as well as Sinuhe's slave/friend Kaptah) the most annoying voices, voices that grate on the nerves.


You will not believe what I found in the store this weekend...
A brand new (copyright 2006) game called Aton!

The whole of Egypt is in uproar – Akhnaton, who has just acceded to the throne, wants to ban the old deity Amon from the temples of the land. Aton is to be worshipped as the new God.
But the priests of the land are not willing to give up their temples without resistance so the 4 largest temples are fiercely disputed.
The players are adversaries and fight out this battle of the Gods between them. Both have the same starting position, but who will be able to make better use of his abilities and help his God to victory?

After reading this book, we just have to get it (we play alot of euro board games). I put it on our wishlist as soon as we got home. ;)