Title: TUT REBORN
Author: Cyci Cade
Publisher: CC Books
Pages: 432
Genre: Fantasy

In 1323 BC, Egypt’s youngest King died at age 19 after 10 years on the throne. But, what if the story has not ended?

You know the story of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and ancient Egypt. Are you ready for a new fantastical twist?

When Akhenaton is killed, Tutankhamun becomes the new pharaoh. The boy king has to face many enemies and struggle to prove that he is capable of ruling Egypt. He fights uncountable enemies, but he can´t fight the one that is in his palace.

A woman seems to have the power to change his life; he is in love for the first time in his life. However, he has to decide if he´ll pick love over his duties as Pharaoh. Will he do that?

Tutankhamun has to make difficult decisions and sacrifice his happiness to protect Egypt. He realizes that love and power are incompatible things.

When Khufu, a cruel pharaoh and the embodiment of the god of chaos, is resurrected, he must fight fantastical deities against unimaginable odds. Facing defeat, Tut calls on the gods Horus, Thoth, Ra and Anhur to help him defeat Khufu to save Maya and the people of his kingdom.

Excerpt

Thebes, 1325 B.C.

Still in movement, I wield my sword and jump off the chariot. I run toward the enemies; my soldiers follow me. The steel clanks when the blades touch, blocking the blows of the enemies and attacking them. My body moves fast or as fast as it´s able to due to its disabilities. I found a way to overcome my disabilities, and I became a good warrior. It took me years, but I´m here now. I´ve survived many battles.

It looks like a dance, if you know the right moment to move the arms, legs and body, you´ll be successful.

After killing a soldier, I run to the next one. Blood covers the exposed parts of my body, my blood and the enemies´ blood. Stepping forward I stab the stomach of my opponent. I move to the next one.

It´s too fast. It´s impossible to count how many men I´ve fought and killed. It´s just possible to say that the battle is far from the end. We have a good strategy. I´m a good warrior, but I´m much better strategist.

“Protect the flanks!” I yell when I notice that the enemies are regrouping and changing their strategy. “To the left!” I show the way with my sword and run again.

My plan is working. As I predicted, the enemies are retreating. We´ll corner them. I wield the sword. The sound of the battle grows louder; clanks, screams, shouts, horses…

A chariot passes next to me. I run and jump inside it. The chariot carries me to the other side of the battle, to the right flank where the fight is more intense.

“Follow me!” I shout another order. My throat burns. I´m thirsty, the dust of the desert makes my tongue glue on the roof of my mouth.

I jump off the chariot again. This time, I don´t move so fast. I´m tired; the sword is heavy as well the armor. My disabilities start to disturb me. My back hurts and my left foot doesn´t move properly. It´s time to finish this battle. It´s time to go home.

With fury, I lift the sword and attack the enemy; my blows don´t have the same impact, my arms don´t have the same strength. Many soldiers fall in a battle due to exhaustion. I defeat one, two, three, and many others still run toward me.

My sword falls on the ground, and I drop my gaze. My soldiers continue to fight while I remain in the same place keeping an eye on the sword and the other on the battle. Any soldier attacks me. The battle becomes distant.

Forgetting the battle for a moment, I turn to the side where a boat starts to gain form in front of my eyes. It´s gold, large, curved, with white sheets from a side to another, a mast in the center and ropes keep the sheets stretched. There are inscriptions carved on the lateral of the boat, hieroglyphs. There are no oars or crew, just a sailor at the stern, at the helm.

“Meseket,” I whisper.

I wonder what the boat of Aken is doing here. It´s obvious since this is a battle, many died and Meseket is supposed to carry the dead ones into the underworld.

The light coming from the boat hurt my eyes, and I have to protect them with my arm. The battle becomes more distant; more bodies cover the ground. I step aside looking to that scene as if I´m not part of it, examining it as an observer, waiting for the ones who will enter the boat and go to the underworld.

Nothing happens, nobody moves to the boat. I wonder why it´s too long. Silence envelopes me. The soldiers become more distant, and I can´t distinguish them anymore. I don´t know who are my soldiers, who are the enemies. The battlefield fades until it disappears completely. Torment possesses me.

“It´s time, Tutankhamun.” A soft voice like a breeze brings peace to my disturbed soul.

I look to the boat again. Mahaf, the ferryman, is waiting. This time, it´s shine doesn´t hurt my eyes. I can see the details, the hieroglyphs carved on its lateral: an eye-shaped figure with six parts that symbolizes the eye of Horus, a bird that symbolizes the gold falcon, a bearded man holding the flail and crook that symbolizes a pharaoh, waves that symbolize water, a circle with a line underneath that symbolizes eternity…

Turning to the sides, I don´t understand what´s happening; therefore, I ask, “Where are the others? Why am I here?”

“Aken has announced your arrival to Ra. You´re the Pharaoh; this boat is for you,” he says. “It´s time, Tutankhamun. You must get on immediately or you´ll be lost forever.”

I rush to the boat wondering how I´ll get on it since I don´t find any entrance to the boat. As I approach it, my body levitates and I float in the air as if powerful hands carry me inside the boat. Landing, I ask, “Am I dead?”

Mahaf opens his mouth, but I can´t hear him. He starts to fade in front of me; the boat and everything else, including me, start to disintegrate. I don´t feel anything. When I was fighting, I didn´t feel the pain of my wounds either. I open and close my eyes; I rub them trying to keep the image vivid in front of me.

“What will happen to me?” I scream, but there´s no sound.

I open, close, and open the eyes again; darkness involves me. This is it? This is the end? Little by little, the light of the flames reveals a piece of the place. Candles illuminate part of the chamber. My chamber.

Review

This book is a twist on the story of King Tut and what would happen if he came back to life, so definitely a fantasy!

This book has many interweaving stories from the Pharoh and his life from battles to reigning over Egypt to his wives and concubines. I don’t normally read books in this time period, but I always enjoy learning more about the time and how things differ than they do today (primarily due to advances in technology).

I felt like the story stayed true to actual events and the beliefs of that time – that the gods could bring a person back to life and would call upon the gods to give them strength or healing depending on the situation. The language seemed off from how we would speak today, but I felt that gave it a bit more credibility that this is how they would have spoken at that time.

Overall this was an enjoyable story and if you like this time period and fantasy, you will probably really enjoy the book.

We give it 3 paws up.

About the Author

Cyci Cade is writer and blogger; she has a Marketing degree. She´s the author of Tut Reborn and short stories as Perhaps Love, Son of Egypt, and The boys and the Dragon.

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