Sunday, March 25, 2012

Conspiracies taking their impetus from ancient Egypt *****5 stars, Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars "Excellent read on all levels"

"I finished your book a few days ago and have the sequel in my hot little Kindle. I loved the book - you are such a great writer! It really fulfilled all my requirements for a great read. Your knowledge of Egypt is astounding." (Shazartist, a female reader.)



See the range in Kindle edition:


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

My Egyptologist fiction hero Anson Hunter negotiates an ancient Egyptian underworld

The Map of Two Ways, British Museum


The others crowded inside and their lights revealed two paths painted on the floor and winding into darkness. One was an empty path, the other filled with blue wavy lines representing a river and in between the two paths, a fiery area of red and yellow.
“What do we do?”
“It’s a cosmography of the underworld, usually painted on the inside base of coffins. A map if you like. It comes from a tract called the ‘Book of Two Ways’ or the ‘Guide to the Ways of Rosetau’, said to have been discovered by the Egyptians ‘under the flanks of the Thoth'. One is a river. It travels from the rising sun in the east to the setting sun in the west and the other is a road that travels the opposite way.”
“So we take the road, I guess,” Thompson Rush said. Anson heard his heavy tread shifting towards it.
“Normally you’d expect to. In the Book of the Dead, the soul travels from the setting sun in the west to the east. But, as I recall, the Book of Two Ways is different. We must go from east to the west, which means taking the river.”
“What’s that red painted area in between the paths?” she said to him.
“That’s the ‘Lake of Flame’ that lies between the two roads. No one can survive falling into it, according to the Book of Two Ways.”
“But it’s just a painting.”
“I think this section is filled with psychological danger, an internal journey of the mind…” He broke off. “Do you hear that?”
“What?”
“Wailing.” It was faint, yet it sounded like the far-off wailing of millions, ineffably sad and draining to the spirit.
They listened.
“Nothing.”
Couldn’t they hear it and feel the waves of sorrow?

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The enduring adventure and romance of ancient Egypt

The fallen mighty - Rameses ll, Wadi-es-Sebua, Nubia

Fifty metres away from the temple, a statue of Rameses lay half buried in the red sand in fallen grandeur, as though cast out of the precinct, while the inner temple showed an image of Rameses worshipping himself as a god.

(The Ibis Apocalypse) 

NOTE: 

Egypt endures - that's what Egypt does best.  

In spite of the current disarray, the revolution is just a blip in its long history.

A comforting thought for ancient Egypt lovers.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

THIS IS IT. The novel that introduced the renegade Egyptologist quartet

Start the Egypt adventure series here.

The murder of an Egyptologist rings alarm bells with the US Department of Homeland Security. Before he knows it they co-opt his son, renegade British Egyptologist Anson Hunter, into an investigation that has stunning implications for US security.

Yet soon their search attracts the attention of radical Islamists as well as the Egyptian authorities. Dark suspicions surface, suspicions that Anson's father found evidence of a secret that will shake the foundations of every major world religion.

Soon, whichever way they turn, Anson and his team find themselves trapped in a labyrinth of intrigue and menace that becomes all too hideously real.

Anson Hunter's special knowledge as an alternative Egyptologist, theorist and phenomenologist may be the key to stopping a catastrophe.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

4 investigations into ancient Egypt's forbidden secrets

An unusual alternative Egyptologist fiction hero, ancient Egyptian dangers and modern conspiracy

‘I finished your book (The Smiting Texts) a few days ago and have the sequel in my hot little Kindle. I loved the book - you are such a great writer! It really fulfilled all my requirements for a great read. Your knowledge of Egypt is astounding. I found the book to be extremely engaging on all levels. I loved the intrigue without horror and it was full of interesting twists and turns. I also really enjoyed the characters and their development. It was very well written and for a book so full of information it kept you on your toes. I am so glad it is a series, and will be purchasing the others’ - Amazon reader.

Follow renegade Egyptologist Anson Hunter's investigative adventures into the dangers of the ancient past 

UPDATE. NEW
The fifth Anson Hunter adventure is now out in Kindle edition.






Wednesday, March 7, 2012

UPDATE: Elephants in ancient Egypt



Elephant in stone, Lake Nasser



There are more than rescued temples sitting on the edges of Lake Nasser... also images of Egypt and Nubia's early African wildlife, including an elephant, giraffe and more.


THE CRUISEBOAT stopped along the way at clusters of temples that had been rescued and rebuilt on higher ground at the time of the construction of the new Aswan High Dam.
The rescued structures now sat like sublime flotsam and jetsam washed up high on the shores of the lake.
Kalabsha, Kiosk of Qertassi, Beit al-Wali, Wadi es Sebua, Dakka, Maharraqa, Qasr Ibrim, Derr, Amada...

(From "The Ibis Apocalypse" - a cruise on Lake Nasser with renegade Egyptologist Anson Hunter in the company of a mysterious female Mossad agent.) UPDATE: "FATHER AFRICA, MOTHER NILE" Still on the topic of elephants. Not Egypt this time, but Africa, which is of course the same thing... A new author's biography and somethi8ng more. On Amazon Kindle
Africa... and ancient Egypt. What was the connection between Africa and Egypt for a writer of mystery? The Nile runs through it. In a sense, we are all making a search for a metaphorical source of the Nile in Africa. It’s the heart’s hunger for the mysterious. This book is a unique revelation of the source of creative inspiration for writers and lovers of mystery. "Father Africa, Mother Nile: A Fiction Writer's Search for the Source of Mystery" has appeal to a wide range of readers. Fans of historical fiction, mystery, and autobiography genres will all find something to enjoy in this book. Drawing on his own touching experiences growing up in Africa, Roy Lester Pond weaves together an autobiographical narrative with a rich exploration of the mythology and legends that surround the Nile. It takes readers on a fascinating journey through his personal history and the inspiration behind his work, including references to beloved authors Rider Haggard and Mika Waltari. At the heart of the book is his exploration of the role of mystery in his writing. Through his reflections on the themes that have inspired him to pen the largest span of ancient Egypt fiction titles in the world, he offers readers a unique glimpse into the creative process of a master storyteller. "Father Africa, Mother Nile" is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of history, culture, and fiction, and for all those who love a good mystery. AMAZON KINDLE

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

#3 The women in my Egypt fiction and their reaction to my hero

In an inset tale, we meet the beguiling Se-she-shet



(Sesheshet is the mysterious young female that the young hunter Kha finds crawling in the reeds during the rampage of the female lioness of destruction, Sekhmet-Hathor.)

They ate. She ate lustily, like one fighting to regain her strength. He wondered if she brought the same amiable appetite to all her pleasures. She drained her cup twice and refilled it and filled it again. She drank that too and offered him more, but he covered the mouth of his cup.
 She looked disappointed.
“Does the good bowman not unstring his bow at night to relax it?”
“I must stay alert,” he said.
“Do you hunt at night?”
“Sometimes. But I must always take care I am not the hunted one.”
“What is it that you hunt, beautiful man? Other than poor helpless girls in the reeds who cannot hide their nakedness."
“I'm hunting for the cat of destruction,” he said. “I am here to end her rampage.”
“You - hunting a goddess?” She was astonished. “With a bow and arrow? You come to hunt a goddess and you ended up bagging me. Don't be disappointed though. Maybe you found her after all. Maybe I am the goddess. Who knows what she looks like? Who has seen her and lived?” She gave a playful growl, pretending to be Sekhmet Hathor.
She was tiddly, strong beer acting on an empty stomach, he guessed.
“Don't joke about the cat of destruction.”
“Lighten your heart, Kha. It's time to be mirthful. We are young and alive. Can’t I pretend to be cat instead of woman if I want to?”
“You are more kitten than cat.”
“Do you suppose there is a kitten in Sekhmet-Hathor?”
“No, she is a merciless bitch-cat.”
“Would you really kill Sekhmet-Hathor if you found out she were just a kitten like me?” She poured herself more beer. Her eyes were steady in spite of the drink.
“I would have to kill her, whatever form she took.”
“Shall I dance for you Kha?”
“Don't be foolish. You are weak as a kitten and must rest.”
“Don't think about destruction now. Besides it is well known that the cat does not strike at night. She sleeps after her daily orgy of killing.”
“How did you survive?” he asked her, trying to deflect her from her wanton inclinations, brought on by the beer. “You had the fever?”
“Fever? Yes, I expect that was it. The blood boiled in my veins, I saw a haze of red before my eyes and people running and screaming and a roar like the sun filled my ears, then darkness. I don’t know how I came to the river. I was weakened and needed its coolness in my throat. More drink?”
“No, and you must rest.”
“Tell me a diverting story, Kha.”
“I am in no mood to tell stories.”
“Or a clever riddle.”
“You are a riddle. Who are you, really? Don't you remember? Who is your family? Are you a priestess as I suspect?”
“A Pure One, yes. I am certainly that.”
“In whose temple do you serve?”
“My own of course,” she said enigmatically.
“You worship in your own temple?”
“We must all, Kha. Haven't you learnt that to your cost?”
“Tell me.”
“The temple of Sekhmet-Hathor.”
What a twist. He was hunting the very goddess this young woman served. Maybe it explained why she had survived. She had been spared. It also explained her fondness for drink. Intoxication was a part of the goddess Hathor's temple ritual, the priests and priestesses believing that it led the devout to the attainment of higher planes of existence. Mostly it brought them spewing into the streets. But Hathor's Feast of the Good Union was the most popular occasion of all on Egypt's crowded calendar of festivities.
“Where is your temple?”
“Never mind. All is gone.”
“Do you have family?”
“Not a soul on earth.”
Kha remembered the old maxim: Beware the girl from other parts, whose town and family is not known. Do not stare at her when she passes by. Her heart is deep water whose windings one does not know, a whirlpool with unpredictable eddies.
But he said: “You must come with us. I won't leave you here among the dead.”
“You seem to have taken a protective interest in me. I am exceedingly charmed by it, being more used to conferring protection than receiving it. How sweet!”
“Just get well.”
“Why are you doing this for me? Why are you taking such pity on a stranger?”
“Because it is a universe without pity,” he said. “And I make this one stand to defy it. You are the flesh of Egypt. You are Egypt. And so you are holy to me in a way that means more than old gods on crumbling thrones.”
“I know what your heart is feeling, Kha. The gods have tried to destroy me too and failed. I am one with you, even though I have just met you. And you are right in everything you feel and say.” She touched his hand in sympathy.
Memories of death and destruction flew from his mind…

(inset tale in The Smiting Texts)

Monday, March 5, 2012

A cruise into danger in "The Ibis Apocalypse" - Egypt adventure fiction

Sublime flotsam and jetsam, Lake Nasser



THE CRUISEBOAT stopped along the way at clusters of temples that had been rescued and rebuilt on higher ground at the time of the construction of the new Aswan High Dam.
The rescued structures now sat like sublime flotsam and jetsam washed up high on the shores of the lake.
Kalabsha, Kiosk of Qertassi, Beit al-Wali, Wadi es Sebua, Dakka, Maharraqa, Qasr Ibrim, Derr, Amada...

(From "The Ibis Apocalypse" - a cruise on Lake Nasser with renegade Egyptologist Anson Hunter in the company of a mysterious female Mossad agent.)

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Ancient Egypt Gallery of Gods & Goddesses in my adventure fiction novels

Were Egypt's gods & goddesses the ancient superheroes?



There is a roll call of Egypt's gods and goddesses in my adventure fiction - including Sobek, Heka, Seshat, Ra, Hathor, Ptah, Horus, Thoth, Osiris, Nut, Anubis and more.
But who were these enigmatic beings? 

Were they the ancient world's original 'Marvel' superheroes? (Perhaps the young hawk-god Horus, avenging the murder of his father Osiris, was the archetype of the costumed superheroes in 'The Avengers' movie and others.)

 
The Palermo Stone - a recorded Canon of Kings - and other testaments of the ancient Egyptians speak of divine beings and demigods who ruled Egypt for thousands of years before the first human kings, beginning with Menes, also known as Narmer.
A character asks in The Smiting Texts:
“And these gods, represented by idols - who do you think they were in the cosmological scheme?”
The Coptic priest shrugged. “I do not profess to know where they fit into creation. I often wonder. Were they the fallen Elohim? God’s fallen council? Intriguingly, Genesis mentions early sons of god who walked the earth: Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. There were giants on the earth in those days, the Bible relates, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.


 Dangers from the ancient past in the Egypt fiction collection