Cities of the Dead

The book though slow in parts is still a favorite of mine as it stars as it's lead "detective" my favorite Egyptologist -- Howard Carter! So -- read the Carter's accounts of the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1923 and then read this book.

Ok. I like this book, a lot. But it is very slow going -- like the others have said it contains a vast store of imagery and characterisation. This novella is for intelligent men/women with the patience and humility to soak up all the double meanings, sly moslem inferences and .. of course... the darling Maspero!The plot is driving and evocative, although a little predictable. This man, Paine, is a very gifted author! I'm totally suprised this book has been allowed to slide from print. Although... given the nature of the composition/editing, it wouldn't suprise me if the publishers went bust. They clearly massacred Cities of the Dead. I love to read works like this and would reccommend anyone let themselves be cast adrift in a time we all associate with conservatism, adventure and better manners! Still, it has a flaw which bumps it right off my top spot:The end. Having ploughed through 200 pages of wonderfully scripted re-animation and some of the finest characters I have ever read -- Paine ends the tale with a rather wet (and briefer than a teenager's first time!) ending. Boom. The roof falls in. Dah. Dah. Whaaaaat! I can't imagine Mr. Paine _ever_ intended that to be the end of this otherwise fantastic novel....I'm very, very saddened that the author wasn't allowed to shape his work into a sound and satisfying climax. None-the-less, thumbs up on this one!

I bought this book cheap at a discount shop and then didn'tread it until a year later! Couldn't put it down! Egyptologist HowardCarter finds himself playing detective when a number of unusual mummies come on the market. This book starts out as a pretty predictable who-dunnit but there is an intriguing twist in the story. This is a fantastic book with strong characterisation and vivid descriptions of the Egyptian landscape. Would make a great film.

I bought this book because I had nothing better to read at the time, and was in a really picky phase of reading. I read two, maybe three pages, then left it in my car for nearly a year. While visiting family I found the book in my car and began to read it that night. I stayed up the whole night finishing it. It's not so much horror as it is quietly disturbing supernatural fantasy. It involves the exploits of Howard Carter, an Egyptologist living in Cairo. Recently fired from his job he sets himself up as a tour guide of sorts, and is immediately hired by a young American who wants tours of the shrines and a German baron who wishes to come away from Egypt with a startling souvenir. The plot from there is tightly woven, leading Carter and his American charge through the shadier parts of Egypt and into a frightening conspiracy that to mention here would give away one of the nicest turns of plot in the story. Easily one of the best books I've ever read. I've yet to find anything else by this author, but when I do I shall undoubtedly snatch it up. Very highly recommended.