Out of the Black Land

PW Pick 2013

"Australian author Greenwood, having made a name for herself with the lighthearted Phryne Fisher series, succeeds brilliantly with this gripping thriller set in ancient Egypt." —Publishers Weekly STARRED review

Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt is peaceful and prosperous under the dual rule of the Pharaohs Amenhotep III and IV, until the younger Pharaoh begins to dream new and terrifying dreams.

Ptah-hotep, a young peasant boy studying to be a scribe, wants to live a simple life. But Amenhotep IV appoints him Great Royal Scribe, and he is soon surrounded by bitterly envious rivals and enemies.

The child-princess Mutnodjme sees her beautiful sister Nefertiti married off to the impotent young Amenhotep. But Nefertiti must bear royal children.

The Pharaoh’s shrinking army under the daring teenage General Horemheb guards the Land of the Nile from enemies on every border. But a far greater menace impends.

The newly renamed Akhnaten plans to suppress the worship of all other gods in the Black Land. His horrified court soon realize that the Pharaoh is not merely deformed, but irretrievably mad; and that the greatest danger to the Empire is in the royal palace itself.