Lights on the Nile

Donna Jo Napoli is the author of Bound, which I reviewed here already. I've also recently read part of Sirena by her, but chose not to finish the book, so it didn't get reviewed. I have another by her in my giant pile of books. She writes historical fiction and reimagined fairy tales, amongst other things.

Lights on the Nile of course intrigued me, because I've got a degree in Egyptology. As is typical of fiction authors, she made some odd choices, but overall, I really enjoyed the book. The tone is definitely modern, but you get used to it.

I don't want to say too much about it because spoilers, but I enjoyed all of it up until the sandstorm. After that, the ending becomes kind of rushed and convoluted. It was like Napoli knew where she wanted the characters to end up, but didn't quite get them there logically.

Still, it's worth a read if you're interested in ancient Egypt and this one has an ending you really won't expect, because it's something most people don't associate with Egypt.

Bonus points for Set being Kepi's patron god and him not being portrayed as OMG EVIL.

BOUND

When I read the back of this book, I thought it was going to be a tale about China:
"Bound to her late father's second wife and daughter. Bound to a life of servitude as a young girl in ancient China, where a woman is valued less than livestock. Bound to be alone, with no parents to arrange for a suitable husband. Xing Xing spends her days taking care of her half sister, Wei Ping, who cannot walk because of her foot bindings, the painful tradition for girls who are fit to be married. Even so, Xing Xing is content to practice her gift for poetry and calligraphy, and to dream of a life unbound by the laws of family and society. But all of this is about to change as Stepmother, who has spent nearly all of the family's money, grows desperate to find a husband for Wei Ping. Xing Xing soon realizes that this greed and desperation may threaten not only her memories of the past, but also her dreams for the future." It turns out that it's actually a fairy tale retelling! It's Cinderella, set during the Ming Dynasty. This book felt like reading one of the Once Upon a Time series. It has interesting characters and it draws you in, but it leaves you wanting more, especially the end. I feel there's a lot more that could have been done with it, but it's still an excellent read.