The Empire of Darkness (Queen of Freedom Trilogy)
Empire of Darkness
Set in C17th B.C., Volume One in the stunning new QUEEN OF FREEDOM trilogy, from the bestselling author of RAMSES. Egypt is a shadow of its former self.
An army of barbarians, mounted on horse-drawn chariots, has swept through the Empire, destroying everything in its path. Known as the Hyksos, the 'leaders from foreign lands', they have reduced the land of the pharaohs to slavery. Only one city resists: Thebes, where the widow of the last pharaoh, Teti the Small, still reigns.
But Teti knows it's only a matter of time before her men succumb to the barbarities of the cruel Hyksos. She has an 18-year-old daughter, however: Ahotep. Fierce, beautiful and courageous, Ahotep will never accept defeat. And so she decides to re-ignite the flame of Egyptian resistance All by herself.
Review
I give the Empire of darkness by Christian Jacq five stars. It was an all-round great book! It gives just enough historical information about 17th century B.C. Egypt while instantly throwing you into a world filled with love, hope, despair, over taxation and death by gruesome torture.
With such hard rulers almost like slaver drivers one would think what hope have the Egyptians but all is not lost the Hyksos have forgotten the small city of Thebes the last free land of Egypt and the hope Egypt has comes in the form of an eighteen year old girl princess Ahotep.
I would recommend this book to anyone it kept me glued to my seat and I’m sure it will do the same for you.
External References
The War of the Crowns (Queen of Freedom Trilogy)
The War of the Crowns
Second volume in the magnificent QUEEN OF FREEDOM trilogy 17th century B.C. The barbaric Hyksos have taken possession of the whole of Egypt, imposing their harsh rule with unimaginable cruelty. Only Queen Ahhotep has yet to succumb.
Not far from Thebes, the only city which retains its independence, she has established a secret military base to train the soliders who will one day set her country free. And even when, during an initial skirmish, her husband is killed, the Queen refuses to give in, turning instead to her eldest son, Kames, who must learn to take his father's place and become pharaoh in his turn.
Heading an increasingly powerful army, Ahhotep steals victory after victory, despite the treacherous behaviour of a handful of 'collaborators'. From south to north, the Egyptians begin to re-group, becoming stronger by the day - and the occupying forces no longer seem quite so invincible. Unless Queen Ahhotep and her followers are being lured into the most elaborate of traps...
External Resources
The Flaming Sword (Queen of Freedom Trilogy)
The Flaming Sword
Egypt, 17th century B.C. In the north, the barbaric Hyksos still rule with unimaginable brutality. Queen Ahhotep, meanwhile, has recaptured much of the south - but at a terrible price: her husband killed in combat and her elder son, Kames, mysteriously poisoned.
Ahhotep refuses to be crowned pharaoh and prepares instead her second son, young Amose, to take power. But it's thanks to her that the Egyptians are now ready for the final battle. They lay siege to Avaris, the Hyksos capital - and once the city is taken, nothing further can stop them.
After 100 years of occupation and thousands of violent deaths, it looks as though at last the Egyptian empire will rise again from the ashes - all thanks to the courage and determination of a woman.
