Paneb the Ardent (The Stone of Light, Volume III) - Softcover

Jacq, Christian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743403487 ISBN 13: 9780743403481

Publisher: Pocket Books, 2001

Synopsis

The bestselling author of the international triumph Ramses returns to the passion and mystery of ancient Egypt in this third volume of the Stone of Light saga.

Inside a forbidden village deep in the mountainous desert, Nefer the Silent crosses paths with Paneb, a farmer's son who harbors the lofty dream of entering the fabled Place of Truth. Can these fledgling young heroes save the Pharaoh from a murderous plot?

About this title

About the Author

Christian Jacq, who holds a doctorate in Egyptology, is the author or numerous bestsellers, including Ramses, which has sold more than eleven million copies. He lives in Switzerland.

Reviews

Corrupt officials, vengeful Libyans, assassination attempts, threats of civil war and the contemplated separation of North and South American history? Not here. Welcome to the colorful, ancient world of Upper Egypt as depicted by Egyptologist Jacq in his second series to cover the sandy region, after his five-volume Ramses project. In this third installment in a projected four-volume set, he focuses on the strife between Seti II and his son Amenmessu as each sets himself up as pharaoh. Painted against a backdrop of power struggles, women who poison the water supply out of boredom, hot desert sex, herbal medicine and superstition, Jacq's tale involves a little-known art society: the Brotherhood, made up of craftsmen of the Place of Truth, who create the magnificent tombs of the pharaohs in the sacred Valley of the Kings. It is their mission to guard the precious Stone of Light, the invaluable tool that enables them to fashion items of incomparable beauty. There is a traitor in their midst, however. Will this traitor discover the hiding place of the Stone of Light, and will he somehow threaten all of the good work of the most superior craftsman of all, the eponymous Paneb? Readers of Jacq's previous series as well as those who are familiar with the earlier two in this one will undoubtedly find satisfaction in this offering. However, there is an important murder left unresolved at the end, which works fine as a cliffhanger for loyal readers, but not for those picking this up as a stand-alone item.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Jacq continues his popular Stone of Light series with another suspenseful installment chronicling the lives and adventures of a select group of gifted craftspeople responsible for designing, building, and decorating the magnificent monuments of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens in ancient Egypt. As in Nefer the Silent and The Wise Woman, an insidious plot threatens the sanctity of the hidden village dubbed the Place of Truth and the security of the sacred Stone of Light. Resentful that Nefer was appointed master of the Brotherhood, an unidentified traitor lurks in the Place of Truth, nursing a rapidly escalating grudge. When the opportunity arises, he conspires with outsiders to betray and destroy his own community. It remains the task of Paneb the Ardent, the adopted son of the Wise Woman and Nefer the Silent, to protect the forbidden village, his family, and the Brotherhood's most precious treasure from a cunning adversary. Like Jacq's best-selling Ramses quintet, this exciting narrative is set against the backdrop of nationwide political intrigue and turmoil. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743403487
• ISBN 13: 9780743403481
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 392