The Lost Army of Cambyses - Hardcover

Sussman, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312301537 ISBN 13: 9780312301538

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2003

Synopsis

An adrenaline-packed thriller and archaeological adventure by and outstanding new storyteller

In 523 BC, the Persian emperor Cambyses dispatched an army across Egypt’s western desert to destroy the oracle of Amun at Siwa. Legend has it that somewhere in the middle of the Great Sand Sea, his army was overwhelmed by a sandstorm and destroyed. Fifth thousand men were lost.

At first, the incidents appear unconnected. Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor police is suspicious, however. And so too is the archaeologist’s daughter, Tara Mullray. As each seeks to uncover the truth, they find themselves thrown together in a desperate race for survival—one that forces them to confront not only present-day adversaries but also ghosts from their own pasts.

From a mysterious fragment of ancient hieroglyphic text to rumors of a fabulous lost tomb in the Theban Hills, from the shimmering waters of the Nile to the dusty back streets of Cairo, Khalifa and Mullray are drawn ever deeper into a labyrinth of violence, intrigue, and betrayal. It is a path that will eventually lead them into the forbidding, barren heart of the western desert, and the answer to one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world.

At once an adrenaline-packed thriller and a wonderfully evocative archaeological adventure, The Lost Army of Cambyses marks the debut of an outstanding new storyteller.

About this title

About the Author:

Paul Sussman’s two great passions have always been writing and archaeology. He fulfills the former by working as a freelance journalist and the latter by spending two months of each year excavating in Egypt, most noticeably with the Amarna Royal Tombs Project in the Valley of the Kings. He lives in London with his wife. The Lost Army of Cambyses is his first novel.

From Publishers Weekly:

Sussman's accomplished first thriller mixes an ancient legend of an invading Persian army swallowed up by a sandstorm in the Egyptian desert with the explosive politics of modern Egypt. London zoologist Tara Mullray comes to the pyramids at Saqqara to visit her father, a prominent archeologist. She finds him slumped dead in his apartment, apparently of natural causes. He has left his daughter an ancient, much-coveted wall fragment that he discovered, covered with hieroglyphics that may reveal the long-concealed site where the lost Persian army perished. The site would be not only an archeological gold mine but an incredibly valuable store of ancient treasure. Many shady characters are after the wall fragment, and Tara is caught up in a swirl of intrigue involving a malevolent Islamic fundamentalist leader, Sayf-al-Tha'r, who wants an Egypt freed of foreigners, and his associate, Dr. Dravic, a greedy, unscrupulous German professor. Helping her navigate the shadowy local politics is Daniel Lecage, an archeologist and former lover who left her for his other love, Egypt. She's also aided by Yusuf Khalifa, a thoughtful police inspector whose beloved older brother joined Sayf-al-Tha'r's radicals and was eventually killed by them. Sussman, who works on excavations in Egypt, has created a textured, well-researched and expertly paced debut. As the murders and thrills accumulate, the story veers toward melodrama, but the truly inventive plot twists come along at such a fast clip that readers won't mind.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0312301537
• ISBN 13: 9780312301538
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384