The River of Eternity, A Novel of Ancient Egypt
Book 1 of The Harem Conspiracy
Synopsis
The River of Eternity
1184 BCE. Ramesses III, the crown prince who will become the last of the great pharaohs, is returning home from battle. He will one day assume the throne of the vast Egyptian empire, but the plots against him and his children have already started.
Ray has been raised with the teenage children of Ramesses as their friend, but his own mysterious past exposes him to threats both inside and outside of the Egyptian court.
Ray hopes to become a comfortable bureaucrat, maybe even settling down with the princess Tentopet, but when one of the princes is killed inside the palace, Ray finds himself framed for the murder and forced to run to protect Bull, the oldest surviving son of Ramesses. So begins Ray’s dangerous journey from the snake pit of royal palace intrigue into a violent world of treachery and enemies that will take years to conquer if he can survive.
EVEN A GOD CAN DIE.
An Ancient Egyptian epic adventure thriller for fans of Wilbur Smith, Christian Jacq, Colin Falconer, Michelle Moran, and Robert Harris.
PROLOGUE
1153 BCE—Royal City of Thebes, Valley of the Kings
Year 32 of His Majesty, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, the Maat of Re is Strong, Beloved of Amun, Son of Re, Ruler of Heliopolis, Pharaoh Ramesses III, Third Month of Shomu (Season of Harvest), Day 15
Even a god can die.
Far below me, in the city of the dead, my ancestors dream of eternity in their royal tombs. I wait for them here, in my chair atop the weathered orange cliffs, at the edge of the great desert, knowing that they will rise with the sunset to stand beside their chambers of eternity and look east across the Nile to the living city. Their dry voices already whisper to me on the breeze that caresses the valley—the same breeze that carries the earthy scent of fertile croplands, fried fish, and baked bread. As the slanting rays of light from Amun-Re’s golden sun-boat glide across the Great Place, the glittering river turns silver, continuing its journey through rich black silt and emerald green fields beneath a crystal blue sky. On the east bank, hundreds of temple flagpoles glitter and flash where their golden tips catch the last rays of the dying day, their white pennants dancing in the wind. My sparkling city of Thebes stands proudly, the focus of a great empire rebuilt by my hand, defended by my armies from the Libu and the formidable Sea People. My great works are many, with new temples and monuments built to worship Amun-Re, Ptah, Mut, and Khonsu. I am the Living God; master of the greatest empire the world has ever known. When Anubis weighs my heart and my deeds, Osiris, the Ruler of Eternity, will welcome me as an equal, knowing that I defend Truth and hold back the chaos of Seth. As the voice of the gods in this world, I am the connection between heaven and earth, and my power is great.
But not great enough.
I am Ramesses III, Lord of the Two Lands, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, descendant of Ramesses the Great—and I am dying.