Age of Ra

Carl Jung believed firmly in the ancient expression, "as above, so below," from the alchemical text, The Emerald Tablet. For the follower of ancient hermeticism this expression holds the key to all the mysteries of the universe. Jung used the formula to explain the relationship between the unconscious and conscious mind, whereas Hermes Trismegistus, the author of The Emerald Tablet, saw it as a key to open the magic inherent in the world. The ultimate meaning of the adage is that the macrocosmos is mirrored in the microcosmos and that God is the same as man. James Lovegrove uses this formula as the organizing principle of his tightly-crafted novel, The Age of Ra, to create two worlds: earth far in the future, where the Egyptian gods have defeated all other gods and divided the earth into warring factions, each aligned with a god from the pantheon; and the pantheon itself, with all its petty struggles and jealousies. Lovegrove, therefore, tells four tales with four parallel arcs within this format: (1) the story of the gods and their movement in the pantheon; (2) the personal tale of the godly struggle between Set, Osiris, Isis and, Set's wife, Nephthys; (3) the war between the worldly factions and their struggle for dominance; and (4) the personal struggle between Lieutenant David Westwynter, a British soldier, and his younger brother Steven. Ultimately, the novel is about fratricide and sibling rivalry, both on earth and in heaven. The novel begins as military science fiction. David Westwynter and his paratroop unit drop behind enemy lines in the Arabian desert to rendezvous with an American unit. The British Commandos, commanded by Westwynter worship Osiris, whereas their American counterparts follow Horus. Together the two factions are waging a secret war against the Nephthysians. Lovegrove is a good writer and he immediately establishes the rules. The novel is told from the point of view of David Westwynter; it is a tightly-constructed narrative with a no-nonsense prose style. The British commandos are an elite fighting group and we are on solid military science ground here, following the team to the rendezvous point. However, Lovegrove quickly lets us know that he is not writing a standard military science fiction novel. Our first clue is that the men carry Ba weapons and the battle locations are ancient locations, re-animated to a future context. And by the end of the chapter, the mummies arrive. Even though Lovegrove clearly employs elements of myth, horror, and science fiction, the novel doesn't feel like a post-modernist romp. Instead, it reminds me of the movies and novels I liked as a kid. More particularly, the story of David Westwynter and his brother Steven is reminiscent of films like "Beau Geste," "The Charge of the Light Brigade," and "The Four Feathers." The difference here, of course, is the blending of three speculative tropes with the traditional British romantic novel of the early twentieth century: military science f

*SPOILER* (See Opinion for quick summary) For fans of ancient Egypt, the cover of the Age of Ra was enough to intrigue me. Appearing to have war-like action with a science fiction background, James's new novel seemed worth a try, especially since he is new to me. -Arriving via plane, David Westwynter leads a platoon of men to its capital. He is met by a Captain "Wilkins" who turns out to be a leader of Nephthysians, Captain Maradi. After a bloody fight, the survivors are captured and interrogated. During Dave's session, an aerial bombing envelopes the cave-side, and David kills his captors as he escapes. He embarks with two survivors and a ba rod, priest imbued blast rod, across the desert. Heat and delirium claim his comrades, and David is captured by a Bedouin caravan. Within captivity, a night raid takes place, freeing him of his bonds. -He learns of his saviors; the female leader's name is Zafirah. They are known as the Liberators of Luxor, a freelance military faction of Freegypt. Zafirah informs him they are making for the Valley of the Kings, now ruled by the notorious Lightbringer after re-supplying in Luxor. David witnesses an oration by the Lightbringer, clad in all white robes obscuring all visible skin. The Lightbringer preaches they people need to take back their lives while not groveling in the god's favor. He is backed by the Liberators of Luxor. Afterwards, David's audience is requested by the Lightbringer. Within his divine quarters, he has casks of amulets, holy relics instilling invisibility to prying priest's eyes. David meets him, plays him in a few games of senet. During the game, David realizes a horrific truth: his long thought dead brother Steve is the Lightbringer. -Steve relays his past leading to his current status. He began in the Navy aboard a carrier. A desperate battle ensued, leaving his ship a flaming, exploding wreck; he floated at sea until washing ashore an Island. Burned and disfigured, he survived until a lone merchant granted him passage until arriving in Luxor. He quickly learned the dialect and became influential with speech. He realized Freegypt needed a new voice to quell the discontent masses. He quickly adapted the figure of Lightbringer while uniting the disbanded factions into a cohesive unit. -Meanwhile amongst the realm of Gods, disquiet skulks amongst Ra's family ranks. His two nephews, Set and Osiris, have been at each other's throats for eons, thus causing unrest among the mortals on earth: war, plague, famine, etc... Ra must quiet the discontent without endangering his ruling as high god. He seeks aid from the First Family, only to receive laughter and doubt regarding calming the turmoil amongst mortals. -Steve and Dave head to a homestead outside of Luxor; Steve shows Dave a large weapons cache for the upcoming revolt against the gods. A squad of about twenty head to Libya to systematically wipe out all deity representing edifices. Their exploits win attention from the local militia, el

I picked this up because the whole idea of the Egyptian Pantheon ruling the Earth through a theocracy interesting. This book didn't disappoint in that arena, it starts off with a bang and the author does a great job weaving in the "backstory" without slowing the pace. A rare treat and one that was very appreciated. This book reads fast and holds your attention. One thing I liked about this was how the Gods are influencing world events, similar to the Greek myths. It was a cool addition to the story. I won't spoil plot details but to say that the back cover copy is spot on the mark with this book, and if you like action, a good story, good characters, and good writing in an alternate reality, then this is the book for you.