The Buried Pyramid

This "old-fashioned" novel by Jane Lindskold moves briskly from one scene and theme to another, but with rich detail. Its lead character, Jenny Benet, is an EDUCATED American wild west woman. She adventures with mostly Victorian British, yet key players are a British Muslim convert and a "quiet" Egyptian native. The scenes and themes are mostly Egyptian native, however. But there are other settings and players, including wild west American, Victorian Britain, Imperial German, Italian and Egyptian Coptic. So the scenes, themes and players flow in a rich, balanced diversity, with direct and subtle contrasts. [...] The plot twists and turns, with mysteries and puzzles along the way. I enjoyed breaking about half the coded messages on my own, and just went onward in any case, not wanting to lose momentum. Some of the scenes and players are very funny, and there are times when certain players get quite their just due. Egyptian tradition and speculation are woven into the whole saga and its scenes, themes, and players. The Way of the Old Gods interacts with the "modern" Christian and Muslim characters in a wonderful style. Amazing that "legalistic theology" can be such a natural story matrix. Before Indiana Jones there is Jenny Benet.

Ms. Lindskold's latest is a real tour de force! The interaction of some very real Victorian characters and the Egyptian pantheon is beautifully depicted. Every story twist is perfectly introduced and justified. I have come to expect good tales from Ms. Lindskold, her Athenor and Wolf books were great, but she has really outdone herself with The Buried Pyramid. I recommend this to anyone who loves "a ripping good yarn".

(. . . or the three women, or the boy, or the cat . . . .) Sorry, I won't explain the title of my review, but if you're a Jerome K. Jerome fan, you'll find yourself grinning about 3/4 of the way through this terrific story (which you should now purchase and enjoy, by the way). Ms. Klausner and Mr. Jordin have already done a superb job in recounting the essentials of this fun Jane Lindskold story, so I'll try not to repeat what they've already posted. The Buried Pyramid starts out like a pleasant Victorian historical novel (a la Cecille Holland), incorporates a bit of mystery (with nods to Poe and Doyle), and then roars off into pure Lindskold fantasy country. You can tell Lindskold has a doctorate in English, because it's all done just so . . . and you can tell she has a sense of humor because, well, while it's always a fun read, it's often a funny one. The Buried Pyramid's 399 pages flew by in a couple of days, very much brightening up a vacation weekend. The exciting story was told, as I've said, just so, and the ending could not have been more satisfying . . . however, I'll be very disappointed if I don't see some of these characters again (at least in a short story). While The Buried Pyramid doesn't leave you hanging on the limb for a sequel (remember Dan Simmons' first Hyperion release? Aaargh! I know it wasn't his fault, though.), I really enjoyed its main characters, and I'm not ready to part with them yet. This is not the darker Lindskold, The Buried Pyramid is more Lord Demon than it is Donnerjack. Frankly, that brighter feel was welcome on my vacation weekend. I eagerly bought Pyramid as soon as it hit the shelf, wanting a fix of this terrific author's work before Wolf Captured (Book 4 in the Firekeeper Saga) is released in Nov 2004, and it was money well-spent. Hopefully it will hold me until November!It seems evident that Tor is taking good care of their wise investment in Lindskold: I was pleased to see the great cover art for The Buried Pyramid and I felt the title page (I wanted to say "frontispiece," but that wouldn't be correct) and chapter heading illustrations by Edward Murr were breathtaking - much nicer than anything you usually see. The artwork is a wonderful entry into the book - it's nice to see Tor is making sure to draw the public's attention to its excellent authors. One other thing: I'm a gun nut and my undergrad degree was in history. I am one nit-picky individual when it comes to period pieces!!! I do not recall finding a single firearm or history error (they always drive me nuts - I hate it when ignorant writers have their heros screwing silencers on revolvers, etc.) in The Buried Pyramid. In fact, I was delighted to see that small firearms details were included correctly. Lindskold thanks her archeologist husband for the weaponry advice (I'm sure he assisted on the archeology details, too) - well, she evidently relies on the right guy. Well done!

As a captain in the English army Neville Hawthorne was stationed in Egypt where he developed a passion for archeology. A cousin of Prince Albert told him about the legend of the Valley of the Dust, the burial place of the pharaoh Neferankhotep, beloved of the gods who protect the chamber from grave robbers. Neville almost found the pharaoh's burial place but the Protectors of the Pharaoh stopped him. However, he managed to get directions to the pharaoh's resting place.Years later he mounts an expedition to find the Valley of the Dust accompanied by his niece. His guide, Eddie an Englishmen who served with him in the army and stayed to marry an Islamic woman, gets them to the location after dealing with rival archeologists and a dangerous Bedouin tribe. When they enter the valley, they are sealed in by the Protectors of the Pharaoh. They befriend an Egyptian deity and are judged by the Pharaoh as well as other deities in the Egyptian Parthenon. If they pass they can stay in paradise or return to their own world but if they fail, they suffer the Pharaoh's punishment.The pantheon of the gods of ancient Egypt are alive and thriving in the tomb of Neferankhotep but they are deities who understand the foibles of humanity and are merciful even to those who don't deserve it. The characters, even the villains, are changed by their ordeal and become better people. THE BURIED PYRAMID starts off as a Lara Croft movie and then transforms into a fantasy novel. Jane Lindskold has written an exciting and enjoyable stand alone work with characters that are heroically flawed.Harriet Klausner

The Buried Pyramid is a singleton fantasy novel. In the late 1860's, Egypt under the hegemony of the British Empire had been transformed into an exotic vacation spot for Europeans. First class hotels had been built in Alexandria and Cairo and the Egyptian tombs and monuments had become popular stopping places for Cooks Tours. Archaeologists were still digging in the Valley of Kings and elsewhere, discovering more about the ancient Egyptian civilization.Captain Neville Hawthorne had served in Egypt and participated in such archaeological expeditions. One such excursion involved a long buried pyramid of the Good King, Pharoah Neferankhotep, beloved of the gods and his people. Neville accompanied the German Alphonse Liebermann into the desert following a journal entry by an explorer who stumbled over a valley in the desert that matched the description of the buried pyramid. During their trek, they came across the Hawk Rock mentioned in the journal, but were attacked by desert tribesmen. After a forced battle among the old ruins, they frightened away the tribesmen and escaped back to the Nile. Neville tried later to search for the buried pyramid, but was once more attacked by tribesmen and severely injured, resulting in his disability retirement from the service.In this novel, Neville Hawthorne was added to the honors list upon retirement and is now Sir Neville. He is also a moderately wealthy man, has remained interested in Egyptian affairs, and is acquainted with many of the Egyptologists in England. Sir Neville has put off trying again to discover the buried pyramid, but the death of his sister Alice reminds him not to wait too long.Sir Neville has just about completed his preparations to leave for Egypt when he finds himself with a newly arrived niece on his hands. Genevieve Benet became an orphan with the death of her mother and father and Sir Neville is now her closest relative and guardian. Upon learning his plans, Jenny becomes determined to accompany him on the expedition.Jenny Benet is a child of the American frontier, equally proficient with guns and knives as well as the manners of high society. She is also a trained medical assistant, spending many years studying under her father in his practice. She is quite competent at treating gunshot wounds.In this story, Sir Neville and Jenny travel to Egypt with Steven David Holboe, a noted scholar of Egyptian matters. On the boat, they encounter another party lead by Lady Audrey Cheshire, the widow of one of Sir Neville's Egyptologist friends. Somehow, Lady Cheshire continues to cross their path throughout the journey.From the beginning of their journey, they have been receiving encoded notes from someone calling themselves the Sphinx. The warnings are rather vague, but ominous. Later, Jenny and Steven begin to think that they are being warned about Lady Cheshire.In Cairo, Sir Neville contacts Eddie Bryce, one of his former subordinates and a fellow veteran of the Liebermann exp