Nefertiti

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.

May 1, 2007
It is the year 1351 BCE. The oldest son of Pharaoh has been fatally wounded in a chariot accident, and the younger, less popular prince, Akhenaton, takes his place as heir and ruler of lower Egypt. In an effort to control the unstable young prince, his mother marries him to her brother's oldest daughter, 15-year-old Nefertiti. To the detriment of Egypt, Nefertiti uses her influence and beauty to maximize her hold on her husband by encouraging him in his excesses. Equally spoiled, arrogant, and self-centered, the two young rulers bring Egypt to the point of destruction, as it is besieged by enemies from without and rebellion from within. Using Nefertiti's sister, Mutnodjmet, as narrator is a stroke of genius. Mutnodjmet desires nothing more than a simple life with her children and her beloved herbs, and her voice offers the reader an oasis of sanity amid courtly treachery, intrigue, and turmoil. Beautifully written and completely engrossing, this first novel should enjoy wide readership. Recommended. [Reading group guide available on CrownHistoricals.com and CrownReads.com.Ed.]Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs.

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