Nefertiti

The story of Nefertiti, Queen of Egypt, is told from the point of view of her step-sister, Mutnodjmet. Moran's account of the two women and their rise to power through marriage and political machinations is ably narrated by Cassandra Campbell. Campbell pronounces the litany of Egyptian names and locations with effortless skill. She creates believable voices for the men and women in the military and the court, from the haughty princes to the patient servants. Campbell's portrayal of Mutnodjment matches Moran's intent to give voice to an ancient civilization through the eyes of an intelligent, observant woman. Campbell reads detailed descriptions of life in Egypt with the same clarity and attention she gives to the passages of extended dialogue. R.F. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

April 16, 2007
This fictionalized life of the notorious queen is told from the point of view of her younger sister, Mutnodjmet. In 1351 B.C., Prince Amunhotep secretly kills his older brother and becomes next in line to Egypt's throne: he's 17, and the 15-year-old Nefertiti soon becomes his chief wife. He already has a wife, but Kiya's blood is not as royal, nor is she as bewitching as Nefertiti. As Mutnodjmet, two years younger than her sister, looks on (and falls in love), Amunhotep and the equally ambitious Nefertiti worship a different main god, displace the priests who control Egypt's wealth and begin building a city that boasts the royal likenesses chiseled in stone. Things get tense when Kiya has sons and the popular Nefertiti has only daughters, and they come to a boil when the army is used to build temples to the pharaoh and his queen instead of protecting Egypt's borders. Though sometimes big events are telegraphed, Moran, who lives in California and is making her U.S. debut, gets the details just right, and there are still plenty of surprises in an epic that brings an ancient world to life.