Book Review: Masks of the Lost Kings

The Book Masks of the Lost Kings is an adventure into the ancient ruins of Egypt and the mysterious temples of the Mayans. There’s a romantic twist however, one that reminds me of the mummy movies. A beautiful librarian archaeologist named Suzy is snatched from Oxford University and thrust into a series of dangerous adventures and intrigue. All of this is happening after Ben Sanders, a treasure hunter (like Brandon Frasier) disappears in Mexico.


It’s a daring adventure book filled with imaginative far off places, renegades, assassins, and an ancient evil, which is a staple in these types of stories. Suzy joins forces with an astrophysicist named Tom Brooking, who together investigate the dark secrets of Tutankhamun’s tomb, the Holy Sepulchre and the mysterious Mayan Temple of Inscriptions.

Teaser

“Try 66.6 degrees,”

Frowning, Tom began gently shifting the transparencies. Suddenly a new image emerged, a clear picture of a green jade snake. It had friendly eyes and two feathers sprouted from its head.

“Oh my God,” Suzy said. “It’s a feathered snake.” “Yes. My father discovered it first in other Mayan sculptures. And the jade death mask is another of these Mayan transformers, as you can see, it’s like a doorway to a hidden image. I’m not sure my father worked out that the angle must be exactly 66.6 degrees though.”

My Opinion

Overall, Masks of the Lost Kings was an enjoyable read. The only inaccuracy, and this is a pretty big one, is the mention of the reversal of magnetic fields. If Suzy and Tom were taking this information into account when trying to unlock the Mayan code, then their information would be inaccurate. Reversals occur on average, every 250,000 years to 50 million year, not every 5 years. I was provided this information by a geology professor with a Ph.D whose husband works for NASA as an astrophysicist. I realize that this book is not a textbook, but I failed to see the accuracies of the solar numbers as well as the harsh solar winds, and when they actually occurred and on what timescale.

Consequently, the book does have many accurate astronomic and mathematical details that are accurate.

“Occasionally the earth’s magnetic field is not strong enough to resist the solar wind at a solar maximum or a big solar storm and that’s when we experience blackouts and satellite damage”. This is when we see the aurora borealis from many locals, instead of centralized, but it is very occasional, and very rare.

I think the field of archaeology has actually jaded my opinion, because the field is nothing like this book. I wish it were. I wish we all could have adventures while out digging ditches or postholes, but that’s why we have books. Either way, I think this book represents something deeper than just a love story based in the sun soaked desert sands. There’s a general desire to prove the legends and secrets of the Egyptians and Mayans were actually factual events and predictions. Several years of archaeology and anthropology classes, with professor who have spent their lives proving the entire Mayan 2012 end of the world synopsis is a big fat scam, has caused me to question every event that ever occurred thousands of years ago, unless I can actually hold something concrete in my hands.

My general opinion then is this: Archaeologists, historians, and even astrophysicists will question the details of the book instead of enjoying the very nature and storyline; students who actually take the time to read instead of text will get lost in words like “unlock”, “code”, “secrets”, and “double meanings”, and book lovers will appreciate the amount of details and research that went into telling such a fluid and fascinating tale.

I’m a mix of all of these I believe.

Author Bio

Tom Bane grew up in England. He studied physical chemistry at University and went on to work in the energy industry before becoming a writer. The son of an engineer and a school teacher, he has always had a fascination for the interplay between science and beliefs, and these themes provide the backdrop to his novels. He had the idea for the Suzy da Silva series one day in 2008 whilst out walking with his dog in Cornwall near Tintagel Castle. His first novel “Masks of the Lost Kings” took him over two years to write and research, visiting the ancient ruins of Egypt and South and Central America. His first novel was published in 2012, and has exceeded all expectations. Since then, he has been busy on his second novel in the Suzy da Silva series, with more novels in the series already in the pipeline. Tom appears regularly in the media and is highly rated by fans and booklovers alike. He spends his time living and writing in the USA, UK and Thailand.

Disclosure: Ancient Digger (that’s me) received Masks of the Lost Kings to review at my discretion. I was not compensating monetarily for the information provided.

Book Review: Histories of Peirene By Betsey Robinson

I was thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to review the Histories of Peirene by Betsey A. Robinson. I was given this honor by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens several months ago, and due to my hectic schedule, I have now been able to relax with the book and digest the contents. It took me some time to form my opinion of this exquisitely composed academic guide.

The Histories of Peirene by Betsey A Robinson is anything but an average coffee table accessory. At first glance it appears that you’ll be embarking on a rousing adventure of the classical waterways of Greece. But it's so much more that this. The illustrations allow the reader to envision the site in its former glory.

The chapters focus on the organics of the architecture, Roman equivalents, and the biological makeup of the water running in the spring at the Peirene site. You’ll notice, however, that the Peirene Corinthian Fountain and the stringent scientific approach that the author takes to describe it, deviates from the average readers’ ability to dissect, or even understand, an archaeological site. This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if your academic mind can wrap itself around the in-depth information presented by Robinson.

The cataloguing process in which Robinson uses to organize the site features was impressive, at least in my opinion it was. She further explains these features in the beginning of the chapter in the Illustrations and Tables section. An archaeological student or scholar could understand why Robinson termed the fountain sections and features the way she did, but the average reader might not. Nevertheless, organization of the Peirene Fountain features and artifacts in the books is cleanly and excellently laid out well, thus creating a foundation for further study of the site.

What can you hope to learn from the Histories of Pierene?

• The mythical background of Peirene. Where Bellerophon tamed the Pegasus.
• Information about the features and artifacts excavated at the site.
• The significance of the Faux Marbles and Piscina Paintings.
• The architecture of the fountain and why it built the way it was.
• The organic makeup of the waterways.

Rufus B. Richardson, the first excavator of the site, believes that The Peirene Fountain is “the most famous fountain of Greece.” I can certainly understand the appeal, and furthermore, I can now understand why Robinson approached her book in such a scholarly fashion. She was essentially trying to prove the significance of the Peirene Fountain, and as an archaeology student, I admire her conviction in making this site more visible to the public.

If you'd like to order your copy of the Histories of Peirene, you can do so at ascsa.edu.