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Lords of the Two Lands #1
Lord of the Two Lands
Ancient Egypt. A land divided. A nation plundered by usurping foreigners. And a family of true Egyptian blood determined to claim back their heritage. Seqenenra Tao, Prince of Weset, can trace his family's lineage back to the last true King of Egypt. When the Setiu usurper, King Apepa, demands that Seqenenra impoverishes his family, the Taos are forced to make a decision which will change their fates and Egypt's history forever. Choosing to fight rather than submit, Seqenenra raises an army and heads to a desperate battle on the plains of Egypt to reclaim his country. But battle is the least of the challenges he faces. From within his very own house, a traitor is waiting to strike.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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About the author
Pauline Gedge
85 books485 followersI was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on December 11, 1945, the first of three girls. Six years later my family emigrated to England where my father, an ex-policeman, wanted to study for the Anglican ministry. We lived in an ancient and very dilapidated cottage in the heart of the English Buckinghamshire woodland, and later in a small village in Oxfordshire called Great Haseley. I grew up surrounded by countryside that I observed, played in, and grew to know and love passionately, and I wrote lyrically of its many moods.
My father had his first parish in Oxford, so in 1956, having passed the eleven-plus exam, a torture now fortunately defunct, I attended what was then the Oxford Central School for Girls. I was a very good student in everything but mathematics. Any academic discipline that is expressed and interpreted through words I could conquer, but math was bewildering and foreign, a maze of numbers and ridiculous symbols with which I had nothing in common. I liked chemistry, because I was allowed to play with pretty crystals and chemicals that behaved as if they had magic in them. I studied the violin, an instrument I struggled over and gave up after two years, and the piano, which I enjoyed and continue to play, along with the recorders. Music has always been important to me.
Then in 1959 my father accepted a parish in Virden, Manitoba, and the family left for Canada. After three months at the local high school, I was sent to a boarding school in Saskatchewan. It was the most dehumanizing, miserable experience of my life. In 1961 I began one inglorious year at the University of Manitoba’s Brandon College. I did not work very hard, and just before final exams I was told that my sister Anne was dying. I lost all interest in passing.
Anne wanted to die in the country where she was born, so we all returned to New Zealand. She died a month after our arrival, and is buried in Auckland. The rest of us moved down to the tip of the South Island where my father had taken the parish of Riverton. For a year I worked as a substitute teacher in three rural schools. In ’64 I attended the Teachers’ Training College in Dunedin, South Island, where my writing output became prolific but again my studies suffered. I did not particularly want to be a teacher. All I wanted to do was stay home and read and write. I was eighteen, bored and restless. I met my first husband there.
In 1966 I married and returned to Canada, this time to Alberta, with my husband and my family. I found work at a day care in Edmonton. My husband and I returned to England the next year, and my first son, Simon, was born there in January ’68. In 1969 we came back to Edmonton, and my second son was born there in December 1970.
By 1972 I was divorced, and I moved east of Edmonton to the village of Edgerton. I wrote my first novel and entered it in the Alberta Search-for-a-New-Novelist Competition. It took fourth place out of ninety-eight entries, and though it received no prize, the comments from the judges and my family encouraged me to try again. The next year I entered my second attempt, a bad novel that sank out of sight. Finally in 1975 I wrote and submitted Child of the Morning, the story of Hatshepsut, an 18th Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh, which won the competition. With it came a publishing deal with Macmillan of Canada and the rest, as they say, is history.
My father had his first parish in Oxford, so in 1956, having passed the eleven-plus exam, a torture now fortunately defunct, I attended what was then the Oxford Central School for Girls. I was a very good student in everything but mathematics. Any academic discipline that is expressed and interpreted through words I could conquer, but math was bewildering and foreign, a maze of numbers and ridiculous symbols with which I had nothing in common. I liked chemistry, because I was allowed to play with pretty crystals and chemicals that behaved as if they had magic in them. I studied the violin, an instrument I struggled over and gave up after two years, and the piano, which I enjoyed and continue to play, along with the recorders. Music has always been important to me.
Then in 1959 my father accepted a parish in Virden, Manitoba, and the family left for Canada. After three months at the local high school, I was sent to a boarding school in Saskatchewan. It was the most dehumanizing, miserable experience of my life. In 1961 I began one inglorious year at the University of Manitoba’s Brandon College. I did not work very hard, and just before final exams I was told that my sister Anne was dying. I lost all interest in passing.
Anne wanted to die in the country where she was born, so we all returned to New Zealand. She died a month after our arrival, and is buried in Auckland. The rest of us moved down to the tip of the South Island where my father had taken the parish of Riverton. For a year I worked as a substitute teacher in three rural schools. In ’64 I attended the Teachers’ Training College in Dunedin, South Island, where my writing output became prolific but again my studies suffered. I did not particularly want to be a teacher. All I wanted to do was stay home and read and write. I was eighteen, bored and restless. I met my first husband there.
In 1966 I married and returned to Canada, this time to Alberta, with my husband and my family. I found work at a day care in Edmonton. My husband and I returned to England the next year, and my first son, Simon, was born there in January ’68. In 1969 we came back to Edmonton, and my second son was born there in December 1970.
By 1972 I was divorced, and I moved east of Edmonton to the village of Edgerton. I wrote my first novel and entered it in the Alberta Search-for-a-New-Novelist Competition. It took fourth place out of ninety-eight entries, and though it received no prize, the comments from the judges and my family encouraged me to try again. The next year I entered my second attempt, a bad novel that sank out of sight. Finally in 1975 I wrote and submitted Child of the Morning, the story of Hatshepsut, an 18th Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh, which won the competition. With it came a publishing deal with Macmillan of Canada and the rest, as they say, is history.
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March 10, 2017
I have heard many authors in the past decade being touted as ‘the Queen of Historical Fiction’; in fact there must be a civil war going on, I see it bandied around so often. I’m a lifelong history nut and voracious reader, and yet I can definitively state that no historical fiction author I have read to date can match up to the majesty of Pauline Gedge.
It is frankly criminal that this author is not better known. This is my third re-reading of Gedge’s trilogy about ancient Egypt’s 17th Dynasty, and there’s a reason why I keep coming back to it time and time again. Gedge is a gifted writer, there’s no other way for me to put it. Her knowledge of language is broad, and yet she never writes down with condescension, or conversely stuffs her text with obscure words repeatedly like other nameless authors who seem to open a thesaurus and then worry at a marvellous newly discovered word with all the persistency of a dog with favourite toy. Her prose has beautiful flow, never jarred by awkward phrasings or misjudged pacing. Her descriptions and imagery are vivid and engage all the senses, truly transporting you to historical places with remarkable intensity. Moreover, they are accurate! You would think the author had access to a time machine – and I say that as an academic in this field with a specialism in ancient Egypt. The writing is inventive and intriguing rather than pedestrian and prosaic, full of flair and finesse; a style that is exciting and stylish without being off-the-wall or frustrating.
p.51: “Spring ended and Weset sank into its summer somnolence. In the arbour the grapes formed and began to swell, green and hard. The crops began to lose their willowy brightness and stiffen to yellow. The crocodiles could often be seen basking immobile, with eyes closed, on the sandbanks of the rapidly shrinking Nile, and over all that self-contained, placid domain the sultry timelessness of Shemu exhaled its burning breath.”
p.163: “The Nile is beautiful by starlight; the water dark, and the ripples silver.”
p.184: “The sky faded to pearl. The stars went out. If he braved the spray of fine sand the horses kicked up and craned to the side, he could see ahead to where the Braves’ chariots were wheeling out onto the desert.”
Gedge’s character building is just as deft as her skill with scene-setting and turning a phrase. There are no stereotypes to be found here. Each and every character is a realistic Human being; subtle and complex. Each character is distinct, driven by their own experiences and agendas, and makes decisions that have a logic you can follow and empathise with even if you don’t agree with it – and yes, that applies to the antagonists too! This is really something we should demand and expect as a matter of course from historical fiction, but I have seen way too many flat characterisations and cheap stereotypes in my time. This kind of understanding and finesse in creation of characters is a real treasure! And Gedge marries this instinctive grasp of characters to a grounding in the social mores and values of their time, so that the characters are both instantly empathetic to the reader and completely in tune with historical attitudes. It’s an incredibly rare skill in a historical fiction author. Most of the time I read books where the characters either behave like 21st century people, or the characters behave seemingly irrationally and inscrutable stereotypes, often because the author has failed to understand their culture and the motivations behind their actions.
The level of research that goes into Gedge’s books is obvious. The care and thoroughness of it marks a genuine dedication to telling the story of these historical personages. The Egyptian and Setiu (Hyksos, in Greek) names, place names and idiomatic phrases are authentic. Culture, style, and the landscape of the country in this period has been highly researched. I will note that the accuracy isn’t 100% – Gedge did deliberately change a few minor details. If you don’t want spoilers, don’t click the link. The important thing about the changes Gedge makes is that they don’t overwhelm the history; it’s mostly a case of plausible gap-filling and some minor alterations that have very little impact on the long-term historical plot.
Pauline Gedge is in my estimation one of just three historical fiction authors of this high level of quality, the others being Mary Renault for ancient Greece, and Sharon Kay Penman for medieval Eurasia, in the brilliance of writing and the understanding of their respective time periods. Pauline Gedge is the true Mistress of the Two Lands.
10 out of 10
March 25, 2025
Ms. Gedge has an exquisite ability to paint Ancient Egypt to life in my brain by simply using her words. Great story and setting.
March 18, 2012
4.5 stars
Let me state, right off the bat, this is an excellent book. It is truly the standard by which all ancient Egyptian historical fiction novels should be measured...for the most part (I'll explain in a moment). The research is impeccable, thorough without being overwhelming and used appropriately (meaning that Gedge knows when to hold back and let the story take over and when to use her research to enhance/explain a scene). No info dumps here! The story itself moves along a brisk pace, the tension and action nicely balanced with more introspective, character-centered moments--it neither drags nor wears the reader out with never-ending action. The language is where Gedge truly shows her talent: the dialogue is beautiful, neither anachronistically modern (thus jarring the reader out of the book's ancient setting) nor so archaically formal that the reader is forced into multiple re-reads in order to decipher what was said; the narrative truly immerses the reader in the sights, sounds, and textures of ancient Egypt, to the point where I felt I could reach out and stroke the sweat-slicked flesh of the characters as they sat under Ra's implacable eye or smell the intoxicating scents of perfumed oil cones as they melted, the oil soaking the gauzy linen sheaths and kilts of the banqueters as they feasted in a stuffy, noisy dining hall. Certain hist. fiction authors who are currently the darlings of the publishing world, whom shall remain nameless here (although I will give out the initials P.G. and M.M.), should take note of Gedge's creative writing ability and follow her most excellent example.
Now to explain the "for the most part" bit from earlier. Bear with me as my one criticism- no, that's the wrong word. How about I say 'problem' instead? My one problem with the book is rather nebulous and difficult to explain. While all of what I've said in the previous paragraph is true, while Gedge brings to life these ancient peoples and places and personages to a degree that is to be envied and admired, the characters themselves, most especially those who are responsible for driving the story, still don't feel as fully fleshed as they could be, as though they're missing whatever it is that would make them jump off the pages and become real human beings. To contrast, Conn Iggulden, whose Genghis series I'm currently reading, has to deal with some of the same issues as Gedge in bringing his characters to life, i.e. taking an historical personage about whom more myth than reality is written/known and creating a real human being from the scraps of truth to be found in such myths and legends. Yet Conn's Temujin/Genghis doesn't just leap off the page, he smashes his way through the flimsy wood pulp and weak ink letters which hold him captive. And the same dynamism is true of all the other characters in Genghis's life: some are weak, some are cunning, some are utterly depraved and despicable, and some are brave, noble, conflicted, innocent, dependable--in other words they are human, with human foibles and human drives. With the characters in The Hippopotamus Marsh I don't get that same sense of reality. Yes, we are shown the motivations of Seqenenra and his son Kamose, their pride and sense of honor, as they chafe under the rule of the Setiu/Hyksos king Apepa; the conflicted outrage of Kamose's twin brother Si-Amun as he traps himself in a no-way-out situation; the wise resignation of Seqenenra's wife Aahotep, the haughty grandeur of Tetisheri, the matriarch of the family, and the lesser motivations of the rest of the family. Yet I never really got a sense of each character's depth beyond those surface impressions. And this is where the nebulousness comes in, as the depth of personality for each of these characters (which I'm sure will deepen as the series progresses) is perfectly adequate (and in comparison to some hist. fiction downright marvelous). Taken in combination with the rest of the elements of Gedge's writing, The Hippopotamus Marsh becomes a work of fiction which is quite astonishing and absolutely amazing to read. So why am I complaining? I guess because I want to go deeper, I want to know more about these characters--Kamose, Seqenenra, Tani, Ramose, Aahmes-Nefertari and the rest--I want them to break free of history's cobwebs, leap off the page and stand before me as they tell me their story, through Gedge's words, much as Conn Iggulden's Genghis Khan did. They seemed too tame, too calm, too remote for such dynamic history taking place around them.
One other quibble I have with the book, which ties in with the issue I pointed out above, is the action, compelling as it was, could've been more dynamic and more compelling to read. Once again, I need to refer to Iggulden as I've been spoiled by him and his depictions of battle, of blood and death, defeat and victory, depictions which are at once gruesome and engrossing. If I can smell the flood waters of the Nile, feel its life-giving mud slither through my fingers and the grit of the desert sand, then I should also be able to see the sweat and fear pouring off a soldier's face, hear the clashing of swords, the crash of shields, the twang of bowstrings, the hiss of blood as it sinks into the baking earth. Yet that never occurred. As with the personalities of the book's characters, the action is surface-level only: I saw the clash, I saw the tactics, the hope and fatigue of the soldiers, the humiliation of defeat, but I never felt the reality of the action taking place. Maybe it's simply due to a contrast in styles between a male and female author (and, god, I hate myself for even thinking that, let alone writing it, as I'm well aware of many female authors who can write kinetic and enthralling action scenes as well as, if not better than, male authors). Or perhaps it's simply that Gedge has so much territory to cover, she didn't feel the need to dwell on the battle scenes. Who knows?
What I do know is the issues I have with the novel are minor in comparison to The Hippopotamus Marsh's overall scope and readability. There may be a few (a very few) books out there which are better (and we all know "better" and "worse" are highly subjective adjectives), but there are certainly a great deal too many books which are worse--pieces of dreck which would have to climb onto extension ladders just to get close enough to reach out and aspire to Gedge's level of artistry.
Let me state, right off the bat, this is an excellent book. It is truly the standard by which all ancient Egyptian historical fiction novels should be measured...for the most part (I'll explain in a moment). The research is impeccable, thorough without being overwhelming and used appropriately (meaning that Gedge knows when to hold back and let the story take over and when to use her research to enhance/explain a scene). No info dumps here! The story itself moves along a brisk pace, the tension and action nicely balanced with more introspective, character-centered moments--it neither drags nor wears the reader out with never-ending action. The language is where Gedge truly shows her talent: the dialogue is beautiful, neither anachronistically modern (thus jarring the reader out of the book's ancient setting) nor so archaically formal that the reader is forced into multiple re-reads in order to decipher what was said; the narrative truly immerses the reader in the sights, sounds, and textures of ancient Egypt, to the point where I felt I could reach out and stroke the sweat-slicked flesh of the characters as they sat under Ra's implacable eye or smell the intoxicating scents of perfumed oil cones as they melted, the oil soaking the gauzy linen sheaths and kilts of the banqueters as they feasted in a stuffy, noisy dining hall. Certain hist. fiction authors who are currently the darlings of the publishing world, whom shall remain nameless here (although I will give out the initials P.G. and M.M.), should take note of Gedge's creative writing ability and follow her most excellent example.
Now to explain the "for the most part" bit from earlier. Bear with me as my one criticism- no, that's the wrong word. How about I say 'problem' instead? My one problem with the book is rather nebulous and difficult to explain. While all of what I've said in the previous paragraph is true, while Gedge brings to life these ancient peoples and places and personages to a degree that is to be envied and admired, the characters themselves, most especially those who are responsible for driving the story, still don't feel as fully fleshed as they could be, as though they're missing whatever it is that would make them jump off the pages and become real human beings. To contrast, Conn Iggulden, whose Genghis series I'm currently reading, has to deal with some of the same issues as Gedge in bringing his characters to life, i.e. taking an historical personage about whom more myth than reality is written/known and creating a real human being from the scraps of truth to be found in such myths and legends. Yet Conn's Temujin/Genghis doesn't just leap off the page, he smashes his way through the flimsy wood pulp and weak ink letters which hold him captive. And the same dynamism is true of all the other characters in Genghis's life: some are weak, some are cunning, some are utterly depraved and despicable, and some are brave, noble, conflicted, innocent, dependable--in other words they are human, with human foibles and human drives. With the characters in The Hippopotamus Marsh I don't get that same sense of reality. Yes, we are shown the motivations of Seqenenra and his son Kamose, their pride and sense of honor, as they chafe under the rule of the Setiu/Hyksos king Apepa; the conflicted outrage of Kamose's twin brother Si-Amun as he traps himself in a no-way-out situation; the wise resignation of Seqenenra's wife Aahotep, the haughty grandeur of Tetisheri, the matriarch of the family, and the lesser motivations of the rest of the family. Yet I never really got a sense of each character's depth beyond those surface impressions. And this is where the nebulousness comes in, as the depth of personality for each of these characters (which I'm sure will deepen as the series progresses) is perfectly adequate (and in comparison to some hist. fiction downright marvelous). Taken in combination with the rest of the elements of Gedge's writing, The Hippopotamus Marsh becomes a work of fiction which is quite astonishing and absolutely amazing to read. So why am I complaining? I guess because I want to go deeper, I want to know more about these characters--Kamose, Seqenenra, Tani, Ramose, Aahmes-Nefertari and the rest--I want them to break free of history's cobwebs, leap off the page and stand before me as they tell me their story, through Gedge's words, much as Conn Iggulden's Genghis Khan did. They seemed too tame, too calm, too remote for such dynamic history taking place around them.
One other quibble I have with the book, which ties in with the issue I pointed out above, is the action, compelling as it was, could've been more dynamic and more compelling to read. Once again, I need to refer to Iggulden as I've been spoiled by him and his depictions of battle, of blood and death, defeat and victory, depictions which are at once gruesome and engrossing. If I can smell the flood waters of the Nile, feel its life-giving mud slither through my fingers and the grit of the desert sand, then I should also be able to see the sweat and fear pouring off a soldier's face, hear the clashing of swords, the crash of shields, the twang of bowstrings, the hiss of blood as it sinks into the baking earth. Yet that never occurred. As with the personalities of the book's characters, the action is surface-level only: I saw the clash, I saw the tactics, the hope and fatigue of the soldiers, the humiliation of defeat, but I never felt the reality of the action taking place. Maybe it's simply due to a contrast in styles between a male and female author (and, god, I hate myself for even thinking that, let alone writing it, as I'm well aware of many female authors who can write kinetic and enthralling action scenes as well as, if not better than, male authors). Or perhaps it's simply that Gedge has so much territory to cover, she didn't feel the need to dwell on the battle scenes. Who knows?
What I do know is the issues I have with the novel are minor in comparison to The Hippopotamus Marsh's overall scope and readability. There may be a few (a very few) books out there which are better (and we all know "better" and "worse" are highly subjective adjectives), but there are certainly a great deal too many books which are worse--pieces of dreck which would have to climb onto extension ladders just to get close enough to reach out and aspire to Gedge's level of artistry.
February 18, 2021
The Hixos have taken over the rulership in Egypt, but the family of Seqenenra cannot accept the change; he should be pharaoh. Family pride and belief in his own divinity move him to lead a hopeless rebellion when the upstart king plots to bankrupt the family's land.
Read
October 27, 2016Could not get into this, gave it a good 200 pages, maybe pick it up again in like 50 years!!!
March 14, 2017
Bullet Review:
Let's have a history lesson to put things into perspective.
The last time I rated anything I read 5-stars: February 24, 2017
The last non-fiction book I rated 5-stars: January 13, 2017
The last fiction book I rated 5-stars: March 31, 2015 (and to be honest, the only reason I think it should get 5-stars is from its good message; I'm actually going to go right now to that review and revise to 4-stars)
The last fiction book I rated 5-stars that makes me want to reread it RIGHT NOW: April 16, 2014
I do NOT pass out 5-stars willy nilly. And I have NOT read a fiction book decent enough to rate 5 stars in nearly TWO YEARS, and not one that made me excited to reread or gave me fond memories in nearly THREE. Hell, the last fiction read that I gave 4-stars was back in November of last year.
This book is fabulous. I've been effing needing a book like this to remind me how much I love to read FOR EFFING YEARS.
Full Review:
Seqenenra Tao is a Prince of Weset and one of the last of the royal house of Egypt. He lives rather peaceably there, minding his own business but King Apepa, ruler of the Two Lands from the Horus Throne in Het-Uart, is not content with letting that be. He makes demands of Seqenenra until finally Seqenenra has had enough and amasses an army to go to war. This is the novel of that uprising.
This book was awesome and the first fiction book I've loved in 2 - 3 years (depending how you reckon it). Read it.
Bye, I'm on book 2!
Oh wait...did you want more of a review than this??? Well, I suppose I can accommodate. After all, this IS the FIRST fiction book I've rated 5-stars since 2015.
Yes, you read that right - the last fiction book I rated 5-stars was Anna Godbersen's "The Lucky Ones" in January of 2015 (Sara Zarr's "Story of a Girl" was 5-stars until yesterday, when I realized it was more of a 4-star read). That means in 2 years, I've read nearly 300 books and comics, 87 books (fiction and nonfiction) without a single 5-stars fiction read.
I mention all this to emphasize: I don't pass out 5-stars willy nilly. I'm not one of those readers who 4- and 5-stars everything. I'm also one of those readers who picks out the worst books for herself - ones she hopes she will like but ends up hating or just feeling meh about.
This changes TODAY (actually yesterday) because I finally broke my 2 year dry spell of fiction and found something that makes me all happy and tingly inside because it is SO GOOD.
My dear friend, Iset, was the one who gave me this book some years back. Due to our various schedules, we haven't had the chance to buddy read until this year. When discussing what book we should buddy read, we settled on this one. Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite periods to read about - I like to get away from the overdone eras (Tudors, Regency, Edwardian, etc.) and really explore what it was like a long time ago in a world so much different from ours. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous because it's part of a trilogy and the books are big, and I'm a slow reader. But I finished this book in about a month (and that was with a brief break in the middle and switching from this and a few other books I finally cleared off my currently reading shelf), and I cannot WAIT to move onto "The Oasis".
Why do I like a book? So much of the answer is just how the author executes the book itself, but I like to boil it into discrete categories: Characters (who are they: are they unique real people or are they caricatures and stereotypes?), story (what is the point of the novel itself?), flow (does the story move fluidly from beginning to end or does it start and stop?), writing (does the author use her skill to create a beautiful, well-thought out world...or does she write the absolute bare minimum with the most basic of English skills?) and other (this could be things like historical or scientific facts, overall message or theme of the book, or perhaps something really noteworthy that the author did). I don't think it's too much to ask to have a book rank highly in these areas (aren't these the absolute basics of novels>) - but according to my track record, it is.
How does "The Hippopotamus Marsh" rate?
Characters - 10 stars out of 5. The characters are well-developed, unique individuals. When I think of their names - Seqenenra, Tetisheri, Ahmose, Si-Amun, Kamose, Tani - I can think of more than one adjective to describe them, detail more than one thing about their character than just their one reason for existing in this world. Even the villains - Apepa, Pezedkhu, the spy, the traitor(s) - are real people with actual motivations behind their actions that are beyond "ZOMG, I am so evulz muahahahhaah!"
Story - 5 stars. Perhaps this is your "standard" uprising story, though none of it feels "standard" to me. We see Seqenenra have to deal with Apepa's taunting and teasing, how challenging it is, how demeaning for someone of royal blood. These early scenes are not superfluous - in fact, there is not a point in the book that comes across as extraneous or only added for padding or to read a certain page/word count.
Flow - 5 stars. Hell maybe 6 stars in light of the wordy books I've recently had to read *cough*Dreams of Gods & Monsters*cough*. Every bit of the novel is necessary to further the plot - there is not one moment that you go, "Okay, so I just finished reading 4 chapters of that - what was the point?"
Writing - 10 stars out of 5. Gedge is a master craftsperson, able to form sentences and paragraphs and chapters that perform the dual function of being beautiful withOUT bogging the story down in purple prose. There were numerous passages that detailed the beauty of this exotic world and time, without hampering the flow, derailing from the story, or detracting from the character study. Too many times and especially in this day and age of the Hunger Games, authors have gone for the stripped-down, pedestrian style that makes reading ugly and clunky. Or alternatively, authors get so purply with their prose, you can't find the story through the words. Not so with Gedge.
Other - 5 stars. Gedge made Egypt come alive for me. She described this amazing world so well, that while I was reading, I felt I was there. THIS is the reader's high. THIS is what a reader dreams of reaching - the "runner's zone" of reading. Where you forget the world around you, you live in the book, and when you are done, you look around and sigh despairingly, "Oh, right...that was a book, not reality."
For many years, I despaired that I didn't love to read anymore. I went to authors I once loved and books I thought were my favorites and was disappointed by them. I read so many books from book clubs and Goodread reviewers and friends who said, "OMG, this is the best ever!" and came away feeling like I am on a totally different planet - a planet where I was the sole person who disliked/wasn't wowed/hated a book everyone else loved. As I went through the copious books I bought, culling the ones I didn't want to read anymore, I wondered despondently if I should just purge all the books in my personal library and just not try to read anymore - to abandon a hobby I've had since I was a wee one, reading Boxcar Children Books in 2nd grade.
But finally...finally!...I have found that Holy Grail that readers the world over look for - a 5-star read that I gobbled up enthusiastically and cannot wait to dive head-first into the sequel. I am trying to keep my hopes for book 2 modest, so as not to be disappointed, but given how masterfully Gedge wrote "The Hippopotamus Marsh", I have no doubt that she will wow me once again in "The Oasis".
Thank you, Pauline Gedge, for helping me rediscover my love of reading! And thank you to my dear friend, Iset, for giving me this book - without it, I would still be looking for that White Elephant, that Unicorn of a 5-star read.
Let's have a history lesson to put things into perspective.
The last time I rated anything I read 5-stars: February 24, 2017
The last non-fiction book I rated 5-stars: January 13, 2017
The last fiction book I rated 5-stars: March 31, 2015 (and to be honest, the only reason I think it should get 5-stars is from its good message; I'm actually going to go right now to that review and revise to 4-stars)
The last fiction book I rated 5-stars that makes me want to reread it RIGHT NOW: April 16, 2014
I do NOT pass out 5-stars willy nilly. And I have NOT read a fiction book decent enough to rate 5 stars in nearly TWO YEARS, and not one that made me excited to reread or gave me fond memories in nearly THREE. Hell, the last fiction read that I gave 4-stars was back in November of last year.
This book is fabulous. I've been effing needing a book like this to remind me how much I love to read FOR EFFING YEARS.
Full Review:
Seqenenra Tao is a Prince of Weset and one of the last of the royal house of Egypt. He lives rather peaceably there, minding his own business but King Apepa, ruler of the Two Lands from the Horus Throne in Het-Uart, is not content with letting that be. He makes demands of Seqenenra until finally Seqenenra has had enough and amasses an army to go to war. This is the novel of that uprising.
This book was awesome and the first fiction book I've loved in 2 - 3 years (depending how you reckon it). Read it.
Bye, I'm on book 2!
Oh wait...did you want more of a review than this??? Well, I suppose I can accommodate. After all, this IS the FIRST fiction book I've rated 5-stars since 2015.
Yes, you read that right - the last fiction book I rated 5-stars was Anna Godbersen's "The Lucky Ones" in January of 2015 (Sara Zarr's "Story of a Girl" was 5-stars until yesterday, when I realized it was more of a 4-star read). That means in 2 years, I've read nearly 300 books and comics, 87 books (fiction and nonfiction) without a single 5-stars fiction read.
I mention all this to emphasize: I don't pass out 5-stars willy nilly. I'm not one of those readers who 4- and 5-stars everything. I'm also one of those readers who picks out the worst books for herself - ones she hopes she will like but ends up hating or just feeling meh about.
This changes TODAY (actually yesterday) because I finally broke my 2 year dry spell of fiction and found something that makes me all happy and tingly inside because it is SO GOOD.
My dear friend, Iset, was the one who gave me this book some years back. Due to our various schedules, we haven't had the chance to buddy read until this year. When discussing what book we should buddy read, we settled on this one. Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite periods to read about - I like to get away from the overdone eras (Tudors, Regency, Edwardian, etc.) and really explore what it was like a long time ago in a world so much different from ours. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous because it's part of a trilogy and the books are big, and I'm a slow reader. But I finished this book in about a month (and that was with a brief break in the middle and switching from this and a few other books I finally cleared off my currently reading shelf), and I cannot WAIT to move onto "The Oasis".
Why do I like a book? So much of the answer is just how the author executes the book itself, but I like to boil it into discrete categories: Characters (who are they: are they unique real people or are they caricatures and stereotypes?), story (what is the point of the novel itself?), flow (does the story move fluidly from beginning to end or does it start and stop?), writing (does the author use her skill to create a beautiful, well-thought out world...or does she write the absolute bare minimum with the most basic of English skills?) and other (this could be things like historical or scientific facts, overall message or theme of the book, or perhaps something really noteworthy that the author did). I don't think it's too much to ask to have a book rank highly in these areas (aren't these the absolute basics of novels>) - but according to my track record, it is.
How does "The Hippopotamus Marsh" rate?
Characters - 10 stars out of 5. The characters are well-developed, unique individuals. When I think of their names - Seqenenra, Tetisheri, Ahmose, Si-Amun, Kamose, Tani - I can think of more than one adjective to describe them, detail more than one thing about their character than just their one reason for existing in this world. Even the villains - Apepa, Pezedkhu, the spy, the traitor(s) - are real people with actual motivations behind their actions that are beyond "ZOMG, I am so evulz muahahahhaah!"
Story - 5 stars. Perhaps this is your "standard" uprising story, though none of it feels "standard" to me. We see Seqenenra have to deal with Apepa's taunting and teasing, how challenging it is, how demeaning for someone of royal blood. These early scenes are not superfluous - in fact, there is not a point in the book that comes across as extraneous or only added for padding or to read a certain page/word count.
Flow - 5 stars. Hell maybe 6 stars in light of the wordy books I've recently had to read *cough*Dreams of Gods & Monsters*cough*. Every bit of the novel is necessary to further the plot - there is not one moment that you go, "Okay, so I just finished reading 4 chapters of that - what was the point?"
Writing - 10 stars out of 5. Gedge is a master craftsperson, able to form sentences and paragraphs and chapters that perform the dual function of being beautiful withOUT bogging the story down in purple prose. There were numerous passages that detailed the beauty of this exotic world and time, without hampering the flow, derailing from the story, or detracting from the character study. Too many times and especially in this day and age of the Hunger Games, authors have gone for the stripped-down, pedestrian style that makes reading ugly and clunky. Or alternatively, authors get so purply with their prose, you can't find the story through the words. Not so with Gedge.
Other - 5 stars. Gedge made Egypt come alive for me. She described this amazing world so well, that while I was reading, I felt I was there. THIS is the reader's high. THIS is what a reader dreams of reaching - the "runner's zone" of reading. Where you forget the world around you, you live in the book, and when you are done, you look around and sigh despairingly, "Oh, right...that was a book, not reality."
For many years, I despaired that I didn't love to read anymore. I went to authors I once loved and books I thought were my favorites and was disappointed by them. I read so many books from book clubs and Goodread reviewers and friends who said, "OMG, this is the best ever!" and came away feeling like I am on a totally different planet - a planet where I was the sole person who disliked/wasn't wowed/hated a book everyone else loved. As I went through the copious books I bought, culling the ones I didn't want to read anymore, I wondered despondently if I should just purge all the books in my personal library and just not try to read anymore - to abandon a hobby I've had since I was a wee one, reading Boxcar Children Books in 2nd grade.
But finally...finally!...I have found that Holy Grail that readers the world over look for - a 5-star read that I gobbled up enthusiastically and cannot wait to dive head-first into the sequel. I am trying to keep my hopes for book 2 modest, so as not to be disappointed, but given how masterfully Gedge wrote "The Hippopotamus Marsh", I have no doubt that she will wow me once again in "The Oasis".
Thank you, Pauline Gedge, for helping me rediscover my love of reading! And thank you to my dear friend, Iset, for giving me this book - without it, I would still be looking for that White Elephant, that Unicorn of a 5-star read.
March 13, 2012
Oh my god.
If you gave me one word, just one, to sum this book up, it would be: epic.
In The Hippopotamus Marsh, Pauline Gedge tackles (with all of her considerable skill and talent) one of the most defining moments of Ancient Egyptian history: the expulsion of the Hyksos, which led to the golden age of the Egyptian empire: the New Kingdom.
It's a period I've long been interested in, but not one I've read a lot about as most of the books I've come across talk about the Hyskos as a short prologue to introduce Egypt's New Kingdom. So it's incredible to see this time, and the pharaohs Seqenenra Tao, Kamose and Ahmose given the attention they more than deserve.
These pharaohs, and the rest of their family, are examples of Gedge's superb characterisations. She doesn't bash us over the head with how deserving they are of the Horus throne, but instead allows them to become figures that the readers can find believable, and admirable, attractive or at the least, understandable. . This lends a sense of pathos to the story, and when beloved characters were in some way harmed or killed, I felt their pain and/or loss keenly.
If I had to pick a flaw, I would say that there could have been a little bit of time spent with Ahmose, but he'll probably come into his own in the next instalments. Despite this, he was one of my (many) favourite characters.
I adore that Gedge also used the Ancient Egyptian names for locations rather than the modern names (i.e. Weset instead of Thebes). It might be a bit off-putting for less knowledgeable readers, but I found it refreshing, not least because it makes the story feel more authentic to its setting.
I have to say that I was surprised to hear that others thought this book 'slow' – I thought it was anything but. It was a real page-turner for me, and I regretted not being able to really sit down and devour it in one go. As I write this review, I'm restraining myself from racing off to order the rest ofGedge's bibliography the trilogy because it's that good.
In short, it's an amazing, epic read, the beginning of a "lush, sweeping epic", if you'd like, and Pauline Gedge remains, in my head at least, the undisputed Queen of Ancient Egyptian historical fiction.
If you gave me one word, just one, to sum this book up, it would be: epic.
In The Hippopotamus Marsh, Pauline Gedge tackles (with all of her considerable skill and talent) one of the most defining moments of Ancient Egyptian history: the expulsion of the Hyksos, which led to the golden age of the Egyptian empire: the New Kingdom.
It's a period I've long been interested in, but not one I've read a lot about as most of the books I've come across talk about the Hyskos as a short prologue to introduce Egypt's New Kingdom. So it's incredible to see this time, and the pharaohs Seqenenra Tao, Kamose and Ahmose given the attention they more than deserve.
These pharaohs, and the rest of their family, are examples of Gedge's superb characterisations. She doesn't bash us over the head with how deserving they are of the Horus throne, but instead allows them to become figures that the readers can find believable, and admirable, attractive or at the least, understandable. . This lends a sense of pathos to the story, and when beloved characters were in some way harmed or killed, I felt their pain and/or loss keenly.
If I had to pick a flaw, I would say that there could have been a little bit of time spent with Ahmose, but he'll probably come into his own in the next instalments. Despite this, he was one of my (many) favourite characters.
I adore that Gedge also used the Ancient Egyptian names for locations rather than the modern names (i.e. Weset instead of Thebes). It might be a bit off-putting for less knowledgeable readers, but I found it refreshing, not least because it makes the story feel more authentic to its setting.
I have to say that I was surprised to hear that others thought this book 'slow' – I thought it was anything but. It was a real page-turner for me, and I regretted not being able to really sit down and devour it in one go. As I write this review, I'm restraining myself from racing off to order the rest of
In short, it's an amazing, epic read, the beginning of a "lush, sweeping epic", if you'd like, and Pauline Gedge remains, in my head at least, the undisputed Queen of Ancient Egyptian historical fiction.
March 22, 2015
My seemingly never ending quest to find a really good historical fiction story set in Ancient Egypt led me to this series. To my disappointment it was another dud.
It did have potential as a story. It is a good period of history and stories of oppression and uprisings make for good reads.
I thought the plot was a little lacking, there was a very long set up period and it could be said that the entire book is a preamble to the real story coming in the rest of the series, which I found to make the read very tedious.
I also thought that there should have been fewer characters that we spent more time with and that got fleshed out better, rather than such a big cast and trying to incorporate them all, leaving me with half created personalities.
I shall have to continue my quest elsewhere.
It did have potential as a story. It is a good period of history and stories of oppression and uprisings make for good reads.
I thought the plot was a little lacking, there was a very long set up period and it could be said that the entire book is a preamble to the real story coming in the rest of the series, which I found to make the read very tedious.
I also thought that there should have been fewer characters that we spent more time with and that got fleshed out better, rather than such a big cast and trying to incorporate them all, leaving me with half created personalities.
I shall have to continue my quest elsewhere.
October 14, 2009
I randomly found Pauline Gedge while searching the Goodreads list of Egyptian books. Hippopotamus Marsh was the only book my library had by her. I enjoyed this book, she brings Ancient Egypt alive during the time when the Hyskos are ruling egypt and the Tao family decides they want their birthright as the real Kings of Egypt back. For the first part of the book I didn't know if I was going to like it, then the things started hopping and by the end of the book I became entrenched with the characters Kamose and Hor-Ah. I'm now eagerly awaiting getting my hands on the next in this series.
January 9, 2022
Me da mucha pena, pero esta vez no he visto en Gedge lo que vi en otras ocasiones.
October 26, 2017
Historical Fiction set in Ancient Egypt like Child of the Morning. This one focuses on a family descended directly from former Pharaohs who have been displaced by conquerors. A monarch never rests easy around someone else who has a legitimate claim on power, so the story asks: what do you do when you're not a credible threat to the powers that be, but too much of a threat to be left alone?
I again appreciated the historical education in terms of ancient Egyptian culture. It's not a typical setting, so I feel like it's more worth reading for that alone. And months later I can still remember the story and care enough that I'll be reading the two sequels.
I again appreciated the historical education in terms of ancient Egyptian culture. It's not a typical setting, so I feel like it's more worth reading for that alone. And months later I can still remember the story and care enough that I'll be reading the two sequels.
January 7, 2017
I am a fan of Pauline Gedge's book. I am waiting with baited breathe for her last instalment in the King's Man trilogy to come out in mass market, but I must admit I was rather dissapointed in this book, the first of her Lord of the Two Lands trilogy.
Now don't get me wrong I did enjoy it, but it was not my favorite of her works. It was rather dry , and the characters were for the most part whiny. Constantly bemoning their bad luck, disgrace, and fall from grace.
It's a lot of repetition in the actions of the characters and the reactions of the world around them. I wound up skimming several pages.
It is still beautifully written, the characters are colorful, and the breathless and timeless beauty of Egypt springs forth as it does in all her other books, but the plot and the story just didn't seem as well put together as the other books I read by her.
Now don't get me wrong I did enjoy it, but it was not my favorite of her works. It was rather dry , and the characters were for the most part whiny. Constantly bemoning their bad luck, disgrace, and fall from grace.
It's a lot of repetition in the actions of the characters and the reactions of the world around them. I wound up skimming several pages.
It is still beautifully written, the characters are colorful, and the breathless and timeless beauty of Egypt springs forth as it does in all her other books, but the plot and the story just didn't seem as well put together as the other books I read by her.
March 7, 2023
Read in anticipation of Middle East travels. I'm ready to see some ancient Egypt now :)
April 12, 2025
Ah, dieses Buch hat mich bewegt. Die deutsche Übersetzung von Dorothee Asendorf fand ich anfangs etwas steif, doch fand dann heraus, dass dieser feierliche Ton für mich genau die richtige Stimmung in dieser mitreißenden Familiensaga trifft. Das alte Ägypten finde ich ja ohnehin faszinierend wie kaum eine Epoche der Geschichte. Es regt wunderbar zum Träumen und Grübeln an.
Mir hat auch die Interpretation der Autorin persönlich gut gefallen. Es gibt bezaubernde ZDF info Dokus zum Thema antikes Ägypten, in denen die entsprechenden wissenschaftlich nachweisbaren Fakten zur tatsächlichen Geschichte differenziert dargestellt werden.
Hier eine Zusammenfassung meiner Eindrücke und Schlussfolgerungen, was die Einbettung in den Roman betrifft:
Ob der Charakter Si-Amun wirklich existiert hat, scheint nicht nachweisbar. Von dem, was ich online so lesen konnte, scheint es eine Besonderheit des sogenannten Ahmosiden-Clans zu sein, dass die Familienverhältnisse so schlecht dokumentiert sind: Mutter, Ehefrau, Schwester, Cousine; Gottessohn, Bruder, Mann oder doch ein entfernter Verwandter - alles eins.
Meisterhaft fand ich die Idee, Si-Amun als Spannungselement in die Erzählung einzuführen. Seine Persönlichkeits- und Gefühlsentwicklung hat dem Roman Tiefe gegeben, seinen Charakter fand ich ungemein menschlich und nachvollziehbar.
Aahmes-nofretari ist ein von den historischen Quellen leicht abgewandelter Name - hat mich anfangs ein bisschen gestört. Die Frauencharaktere, ihr Innenleben und ihre Beweggründe finden leider generell wenig Aufmerksamkeit. Gerade bei Ahmose Nefertari, wie man sonst von ihr liest, fand ich das schade, weil sie ja die erste offizielle "Gottesgemahlin des Amun" sein soll - aber vielleicht kommt da ja noch mehr, wenn sie das dann hoffentlich im Laufe dieser Trilogie auch noch wird.
So wenig ich mir die Aahmes-nofretari aus der Erzählung vorstellen kann, so neugierig war ich doch auf zwei weibliche Charaktere, die kurzweilig gerade so lange beleuchtet werden, dass sie als Nebencharaktere eine gewisse Eigenständigkeit entwickeln und Eindruck hinterlassen: die stolze und ehrhafte Großmutter Tetischeri und ihre Enkelin, die stürmische und impulsiv-eigenwillige Tani. Über Tanis reale Existenz in der Geschichte der Menschheit konnte ich nichts finden. Sie ist noch ein Kind, als wir sie im Roman kennenlernen, und wächst zu einer gefestigten und meinungsstarken jungen Frau heran, Großartige Übersetzungsleistung von Asendorf.
Zu der Sache mit den Hyksos. Ich kann verstehen, warum eine Einzelperson wie Kamose (und vor ihm Sequenenre) im Kontext ihrer Zeit die Hyksos (oder Setius, wie sie im Roman auch genannt werden) diffamiert und herabwürdigt. Zudem kommen starke religiöse Motive. Im Buch wird erwähnt, die Hyksos hätten durch Vernachlässigung (Tempel) und Entfremdung (eventuell Sprache und Sitten) erreicht, was keine militärische Unterdrückung hätte schaffen können: ein schleichender gesellschaftlicher Wandel mit Aussicht auf Nachhaltigkeit. Auch alles, was ich sonst in wissenschaftlicher Literatur und Dokus finden konnte, deutet darauf hin, dass die Hyksos vielleicht gar nicht so unbeliebt als Herrscher in Ägypten waren und nur von späteren ägyptischen Pharaonen so dargestellt wurden, um den eigenen Herrschaftsanspruch zu festigen - macht schon Sinn.
Für mich ein absolut großartiges Buch, allein schon wegen seiner Tiefe und Vielschichtigkeit. Es gibt einen klaren roten Faden, der sich nun mal historisch an den belegten und uns gegebenenfalls bereits bekannten Fakten der Geschichte orientiert. Dennoch fand ich die Erzählung spannend, mitreißend und stellenweise verblüffend. Fast alle auftretenden Charaktere bringen ihre spezielle Note mit. Ihr Innenleben ist faszinierend, anregend und verleiht dem Roman seine kunstfertige Mehrdimensionalität, die für mich einem guten Buch Leben einhaucht.
Sehr schnell las sich die Geschichte für mich, als würde ich im Kino mit gebanntem Blick einen Blockbuster sehen - nein, eintauchen, zu gespannt, um nebenbei noch Popcorn zu mampfen. Ich meinte, ich hätte sogar die passende szenische Musik in meinem Kopf abgespielt, wilde Trommeln bei Kampf und Verrat, mystische Zupfklänge antiker, lang vergessener Instrumente in den intimen Gesprächsszenen, deren Ästhetik ich mir bildgewaltig vorstellen konnte. Band 2, bitte, sofort, sofort!
Mir hat auch die Interpretation der Autorin persönlich gut gefallen. Es gibt bezaubernde ZDF info Dokus zum Thema antikes Ägypten, in denen die entsprechenden wissenschaftlich nachweisbaren Fakten zur tatsächlichen Geschichte differenziert dargestellt werden.
Hier eine Zusammenfassung meiner Eindrücke und Schlussfolgerungen, was die Einbettung in den Roman betrifft:
Ob der Charakter Si-Amun wirklich existiert hat, scheint nicht nachweisbar. Von dem, was ich online so lesen konnte, scheint es eine Besonderheit des sogenannten Ahmosiden-Clans zu sein, dass die Familienverhältnisse so schlecht dokumentiert sind: Mutter, Ehefrau, Schwester, Cousine; Gottessohn, Bruder, Mann oder doch ein entfernter Verwandter - alles eins.
Meisterhaft fand ich die Idee, Si-Amun als Spannungselement in die Erzählung einzuführen. Seine Persönlichkeits- und Gefühlsentwicklung hat dem Roman Tiefe gegeben, seinen Charakter fand ich ungemein menschlich und nachvollziehbar.
Aahmes-nofretari ist ein von den historischen Quellen leicht abgewandelter Name - hat mich anfangs ein bisschen gestört. Die Frauencharaktere, ihr Innenleben und ihre Beweggründe finden leider generell wenig Aufmerksamkeit. Gerade bei Ahmose Nefertari, wie man sonst von ihr liest, fand ich das schade, weil sie ja die erste offizielle "Gottesgemahlin des Amun" sein soll - aber vielleicht kommt da ja noch mehr, wenn sie das dann hoffentlich im Laufe dieser Trilogie auch noch wird.
So wenig ich mir die Aahmes-nofretari aus der Erzählung vorstellen kann, so neugierig war ich doch auf zwei weibliche Charaktere, die kurzweilig gerade so lange beleuchtet werden, dass sie als Nebencharaktere eine gewisse Eigenständigkeit entwickeln und Eindruck hinterlassen: die stolze und ehrhafte Großmutter Tetischeri und ihre Enkelin, die stürmische und impulsiv-eigenwillige Tani. Über Tanis reale Existenz in der Geschichte der Menschheit konnte ich nichts finden. Sie ist noch ein Kind, als wir sie im Roman kennenlernen, und wächst zu einer gefestigten und meinungsstarken jungen Frau heran, Großartige Übersetzungsleistung von Asendorf.
Zu der Sache mit den Hyksos. Ich kann verstehen, warum eine Einzelperson wie Kamose (und vor ihm Sequenenre) im Kontext ihrer Zeit die Hyksos (oder Setius, wie sie im Roman auch genannt werden) diffamiert und herabwürdigt. Zudem kommen starke religiöse Motive. Im Buch wird erwähnt, die Hyksos hätten durch Vernachlässigung (Tempel) und Entfremdung (eventuell Sprache und Sitten) erreicht, was keine militärische Unterdrückung hätte schaffen können: ein schleichender gesellschaftlicher Wandel mit Aussicht auf Nachhaltigkeit. Auch alles, was ich sonst in wissenschaftlicher Literatur und Dokus finden konnte, deutet darauf hin, dass die Hyksos vielleicht gar nicht so unbeliebt als Herrscher in Ägypten waren und nur von späteren ägyptischen Pharaonen so dargestellt wurden, um den eigenen Herrschaftsanspruch zu festigen - macht schon Sinn.
Für mich ein absolut großartiges Buch, allein schon wegen seiner Tiefe und Vielschichtigkeit. Es gibt einen klaren roten Faden, der sich nun mal historisch an den belegten und uns gegebenenfalls bereits bekannten Fakten der Geschichte orientiert. Dennoch fand ich die Erzählung spannend, mitreißend und stellenweise verblüffend. Fast alle auftretenden Charaktere bringen ihre spezielle Note mit. Ihr Innenleben ist faszinierend, anregend und verleiht dem Roman seine kunstfertige Mehrdimensionalität, die für mich einem guten Buch Leben einhaucht.
Sehr schnell las sich die Geschichte für mich, als würde ich im Kino mit gebanntem Blick einen Blockbuster sehen - nein, eintauchen, zu gespannt, um nebenbei noch Popcorn zu mampfen. Ich meinte, ich hätte sogar die passende szenische Musik in meinem Kopf abgespielt, wilde Trommeln bei Kampf und Verrat, mystische Zupfklänge antiker, lang vergessener Instrumente in den intimen Gesprächsszenen, deren Ästhetik ich mir bildgewaltig vorstellen konnte. Band 2, bitte, sofort, sofort!
October 8, 2019
"The Hippopotamus Marsh" by Pauline Gedge is an engaging historical fiction that raises to life the Ancient Egypt in which it's characters lived. Gedge's prose is on point with the time period she depicts. All aspects of the novel combine to craft a beautiful story.
Set during an Egypt in transition--not at its height nor during its final days as an empire-- "The Hippopotamus Marsh" gives an interesting, unique perspective on the majestic civilization.
Some reviewers have said the novel moved too slowly at times but, in my opinion, the pacing is done very well and reflects the pace of the life of the characters. There are, indeed, times when the pace is slower but these slacks in the plot allows for a glimpse of the characters away from the influence of the conflict. The reader is afforded a chance to get to know the players as they are--without them having to make difficult choices or deal with challenging situations.
The characters of the novel are well-formed. They are all very likable and they undergo visible growth as the plot progresses. The consistency of the characterization allows for the reader to grow an attached to them; the reader grows with the characters and becomes greatly invested in them.
With such a wonderful cast of characters it is easy to bypass the background in which their stories take place but to do so would be to neglect to give Gedge the credit she deserves. The setting is vividly created. Gedge does an excellent job of transporting the readers to Ancient Egypt. The atmosphere is palpable throughout the novel--I believe the novel is worth reading just for Gedge's construction of life on the ancient banks of the Nile.
This is a satisfying read and I will definitely be reading the next in the series!
Set during an Egypt in transition--not at its height nor during its final days as an empire-- "The Hippopotamus Marsh" gives an interesting, unique perspective on the majestic civilization.
Some reviewers have said the novel moved too slowly at times but, in my opinion, the pacing is done very well and reflects the pace of the life of the characters. There are, indeed, times when the pace is slower but these slacks in the plot allows for a glimpse of the characters away from the influence of the conflict. The reader is afforded a chance to get to know the players as they are--without them having to make difficult choices or deal with challenging situations.
The characters of the novel are well-formed. They are all very likable and they undergo visible growth as the plot progresses. The consistency of the characterization allows for the reader to grow an attached to them; the reader grows with the characters and becomes greatly invested in them.
With such a wonderful cast of characters it is easy to bypass the background in which their stories take place but to do so would be to neglect to give Gedge the credit she deserves. The setting is vividly created. Gedge does an excellent job of transporting the readers to Ancient Egypt. The atmosphere is palpable throughout the novel--I believe the novel is worth reading just for Gedge's construction of life on the ancient banks of the Nile.
This is a satisfying read and I will definitely be reading the next in the series!
January 17, 2018
4,5 stars - English hardcover - Thanks Amy to let me read this book. History at his best ( in a novel). It is long ago I did read this novel. My neighbours in Maastricht gave it to me to read. I noted the reating in my agenda but there was no entery of remarks about the book. That is a shame I think, but at the time I Just had a little baby with who I totaly adore. Amy went home to the states and I live in Venlo now. I still hope to get a chance to read this books again! They realy are good! 🌸🌷🌸
August 13, 2008
Excellent book! Historical fiction of Ancient Egypt. This follows the beginnings of the rise of the Tao family, who fought against the Hyksos pharoahs who had usurped the Egyptian throne. Fascinating portraits of life in Ancient Egypt and fully alive characters who drive the story.
December 5, 2016
This was fine, but didn't exactly bring ancient Egypt to life. It did pique my interest enough for me to find out more about the events depicted, but not enough to read the next in the series.
March 6, 2021
“The Hippopotamus Marsh” is my first read book authored by Pauline Gedge. This book is a fictionalization of the events during the late Second Intermediate period (1640-1540 BC) around some known historical characters.
Ancient Egypt had glorious Pharaonic rule from 2686 to 304 BC, but there were periods when Egypt was occupied by foreigners ruled Egypt. During Second Intermediate period kings from Lebanon/Syria concurred Egypt (called Hyksos or Setiu or Heqa Khasut) with superior military power by use of chariots, compound arrow and bronze weapons. However, dethroned Egyptian kings continued to resist them and finally overthrew them during the New Kingdom.
This book is during period when Hyksos ruler Apepa ruled Egypt from the North, while in South in present day Luxor (Waset) dethroned Egyptian Pharaoh descendant Seqenenra Tao was serving Governor of Waset. The story centers around Seqenenra, his wife Aahotep, mother Tetisheri, sons Si-Amun, Kamose, Ahmose, daughter Aahmes Nefertari, and Tani. King of the land Apepa. Keeps humiliating Seqenenra, like he wants to kill the hippopotamus’s loved by Seqenenra, wants to establish a temple of foreign God, etc, etc. Eventually he decides to rebel, raises an army and plans attack Apepa’s kingdom without enough preparation or military power. Infiltrator Mersu tries to assassinate Seqenenra but he survives with great injury and soon goes for the planned military campaign and gets defeated and killed in war. His sons survive and come back, Si-Amun kills Mersu but commits suicide as he knew Mersu’s identity. Furious Apepa visits his Governorate of Waset and gives various punishments to each member of the family for treason against the king but pardons execution. He gives four months for the punishments to start and keeps them under watch of General Dudu and his small army. Kamose decides to take his chance to rebel, manages to kill Dudu and his army and again like his father plans attach against Apepa but this time with much planning.
Pauline has nicely knit this story, though the book is quite long, he keeps the reader immersed in ancient Egyptian way of living, conspiracies, their Gods, etc and makes the reader hungry for the Next book where Kamose leads the military campaign. He has kept the key historical characters intact. Seqenenra’s tomb has been recovered in recent times, X-ray/CT Scan of his mummy has established that he dies around forty years with serious head injury by sharp bronze weapon and Kamose is recorded as ruler during 1552-1550 BC during Second Intermediate period. Being a fiction book Pauline has given a large no of references over which he built this historical fiction.
I recommend this book to any lover of ancient Egyptian history.
Ancient Egypt had glorious Pharaonic rule from 2686 to 304 BC, but there were periods when Egypt was occupied by foreigners ruled Egypt. During Second Intermediate period kings from Lebanon/Syria concurred Egypt (called Hyksos or Setiu or Heqa Khasut) with superior military power by use of chariots, compound arrow and bronze weapons. However, dethroned Egyptian kings continued to resist them and finally overthrew them during the New Kingdom.
This book is during period when Hyksos ruler Apepa ruled Egypt from the North, while in South in present day Luxor (Waset) dethroned Egyptian Pharaoh descendant Seqenenra Tao was serving Governor of Waset. The story centers around Seqenenra, his wife Aahotep, mother Tetisheri, sons Si-Amun, Kamose, Ahmose, daughter Aahmes Nefertari, and Tani. King of the land Apepa. Keeps humiliating Seqenenra, like he wants to kill the hippopotamus’s loved by Seqenenra, wants to establish a temple of foreign God, etc, etc. Eventually he decides to rebel, raises an army and plans attack Apepa’s kingdom without enough preparation or military power. Infiltrator Mersu tries to assassinate Seqenenra but he survives with great injury and soon goes for the planned military campaign and gets defeated and killed in war. His sons survive and come back, Si-Amun kills Mersu but commits suicide as he knew Mersu’s identity. Furious Apepa visits his Governorate of Waset and gives various punishments to each member of the family for treason against the king but pardons execution. He gives four months for the punishments to start and keeps them under watch of General Dudu and his small army. Kamose decides to take his chance to rebel, manages to kill Dudu and his army and again like his father plans attach against Apepa but this time with much planning.
Pauline has nicely knit this story, though the book is quite long, he keeps the reader immersed in ancient Egyptian way of living, conspiracies, their Gods, etc and makes the reader hungry for the Next book where Kamose leads the military campaign. He has kept the key historical characters intact. Seqenenra’s tomb has been recovered in recent times, X-ray/CT Scan of his mummy has established that he dies around forty years with serious head injury by sharp bronze weapon and Kamose is recorded as ruler during 1552-1550 BC during Second Intermediate period. Being a fiction book Pauline has given a large no of references over which he built this historical fiction.
I recommend this book to any lover of ancient Egyptian history.
May 13, 2021
Spoiler Free
The Hippopotamus Marsh primarily sets the stage for an upcoming war. The Tao family ruled Egypt until they were defeated by the Hyksos. Two hundred years after the family’s defeat, Seqenenra Tao has had enough of bowing to foreign rulers. He begins a revolt that unfortunately ends in tragedy but in spite of this, the Tao family refuses to give up their battle for the throne.
One of the things I love most about Gedge’s writing is her ability to bring figures from history to life. She captures the human essence perfectly. The ancient Egyptians were real people with hopes and dreams but it’s easy to forget that because they lived so long ago. Gedge paints a well researched picture of what these people might have really been like and it just pulls you into the story.
I didn’t know anything about this period of Egyptian history until reading this book. I did a little research on it once I was finished and there isn’t much information available; which makes this story even more impressive. Gedge took a small amount of known info and spun it into a fully detailed book.
The only complaint I truly have with this novel is it felt overly long and dull at certain points. It was A LOT of slower paced politics and I prefer my stories to be more drama heavy and fast paced. I hope that the next two books have more romance, drama and all of the other stuff that keeps me hooked. Other than that, this book was an immersive and entertaining read.
For other reviews, go to https://thebookandbeautyblog.com/
The Hippopotamus Marsh primarily sets the stage for an upcoming war. The Tao family ruled Egypt until they were defeated by the Hyksos. Two hundred years after the family’s defeat, Seqenenra Tao has had enough of bowing to foreign rulers. He begins a revolt that unfortunately ends in tragedy but in spite of this, the Tao family refuses to give up their battle for the throne.
One of the things I love most about Gedge’s writing is her ability to bring figures from history to life. She captures the human essence perfectly. The ancient Egyptians were real people with hopes and dreams but it’s easy to forget that because they lived so long ago. Gedge paints a well researched picture of what these people might have really been like and it just pulls you into the story.
I didn’t know anything about this period of Egyptian history until reading this book. I did a little research on it once I was finished and there isn’t much information available; which makes this story even more impressive. Gedge took a small amount of known info and spun it into a fully detailed book.
The only complaint I truly have with this novel is it felt overly long and dull at certain points. It was A LOT of slower paced politics and I prefer my stories to be more drama heavy and fast paced. I hope that the next two books have more romance, drama and all of the other stuff that keeps me hooked. Other than that, this book was an immersive and entertaining read.
For other reviews, go to https://thebookandbeautyblog.com/
November 4, 2018
I was a bit disappointed by this book. One of my favorite Goodreads reviewers reread the series a few months ago, and had very good things to say about it. I immediately purchased the book on Amazon after seeing that the author had also written Child of the Morning, which I read a few years ago and enjoyed very much. The Hippopotamus Marsh is about an incredibly exciting time in Egypt's history, when the Theban royal house rebelled against the Hyksos, invaders who ruled in Lower Egypt. The first half of the book focuses on Seqenenra, who led the first rebellion, and the second half focuses on his son, the future Pharaoh Ahmose I. Pauline Gedge understandably takes some liberties with the historical details in order to shape her story, and adds some insight to the unknowns that have been lost to history. However, my overall impression is that the book is too long. The plot drags quite a bit and I am unsure if i will be reading the rest of the series.
June 3, 2019
Another book that took a bit to sink my teeth into but I am glad I persevered! It took me a minute to get used to the tone and pace-- but I believe that both are more era-appropriate than some other ancient historical fiction I have read. It's not so... stodgy or formal that it is difficult to read, but it definitely serves to immerse you in a completely different time and place.
I love how Gedge shifts perspective throughout the novel. Everything about her characters feels real and believable. This is such a difficult time period to write about because what we don't know vastly outweighs what we do know-- about every aspect of ancient Egyptian life. Any author writing about this time period would have to fill in the gaps and Gedge does so absolutely seamlessly.
Books 2 & 3 should arrive in the mail today and I can't wait to see what happens with Kamose and his family!
I love how Gedge shifts perspective throughout the novel. Everything about her characters feels real and believable. This is such a difficult time period to write about because what we don't know vastly outweighs what we do know-- about every aspect of ancient Egyptian life. Any author writing about this time period would have to fill in the gaps and Gedge does so absolutely seamlessly.
Books 2 & 3 should arrive in the mail today and I can't wait to see what happens with Kamose and his family!
December 21, 2017
Oh my, such a fantastic read! The author weaves words with such flourish, that every time I read a sentence, it blends into a wonderful, dream-like narrative. I can imagine Ancient Egypt with the way she writes.
First, it hurts that Seqenenre Tao was killed in battle. Second, Si-Amun's suicide is inevitable, but a sad reality during that time. Third, I like Kamose's grit. He never wavers on the path of righteous vengeance. Fourth, I have learned little bits of historical knowledge from this book that I have never encountered in other books, which makes it a fantastic read.
Overall, I love reading this book, it builds a suspense, from Seqenenre's rebellion to Kamose's vengeance. I can hardly wait to read the second book! For a trilogy, this first book is a success!!
First, it hurts that Seqenenre Tao was killed in battle. Second, Si-Amun's suicide is inevitable, but a sad reality during that time. Third, I like Kamose's grit. He never wavers on the path of righteous vengeance. Fourth, I have learned little bits of historical knowledge from this book that I have never encountered in other books, which makes it a fantastic read.
Overall, I love reading this book, it builds a suspense, from Seqenenre's rebellion to Kamose's vengeance. I can hardly wait to read the second book! For a trilogy, this first book is a success!!
June 4, 2025
When I picked up this book I didn’t expect such a wild turn of events and the switching to different narrators. About a third of the way in the visual imagery language caught up to me and I suddenly felt I was seeing all that I read, not only seeing but smelling the grains of incense smoking in a temple or the wet soil from a flood, and feeling the dry heat in the season of Shemu or the humidity in Ahket.
May 27, 2018
Years since I read Gedge. Book was slow to grab me but once I got into it, the story got me. Gedge’s characters are engaging. Might pick up the sequel in the thrift store where I found this one. Her book Eagle and Raven was one of my all time faves
April 27, 2019
Me encanta Pauline Gedge y todo lo que escribe. Este libro no ha sido una excepción: personajes ricos, descripciones embelesadoras sin ser demasiado extensas. Maravilloso libro que te lleva necesariamente a leer el siguiente.
March 19, 2020
Really well done historical fiction about a period in Egyptian history which is one I was not familiar with because it is not one of the more commonly well-know eras. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
July 1, 2025
This is a novel of historical fiction, which I love, and I learned much about ancient Egyptian history and culture. Yet the premise is one royal family seeking to return to the throne, by waging war, and war isn't my favorite, so sadly my Egyptian adventure stops here with volume one.
August 14, 2017
een serie over het begin van mijn meest favoriete periode: de 18de dynastie
February 13, 2018
great book...look forward to reading the next in the series....
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