OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Scepter of Flint" by N.L. Holmes.]

Hani, the new master of the king’s stables, is sent on an assignment to represent King Nefer-khepru-ra on a visit to Djahy and Kharu to secure several commissioners' help for the king's forces. However, the assignment is modified when the information provided by two Djahite emissaries from Urusalim and Queden suggests that some Egyptian soldiers have been seen among the Hapiru, abetting them in attacking vassal cities. Hani now has to find out what some of these commissioners are up to as well as the origin of the troops that have defected to the Hapiru. Who are the Hapiru?

Meanwhile, Hani's family is delighted when Neferet, Hani's younger daughter and physician for the royal women, informs them of the king’s depreciating health. The family secretly wants Nefer-khepru-ra’s reign as king to come to an end so that the priests of Amen-Ra could carry out their plan to return the kingdom to worship of the Hidden One. However, Neferet's friend, the king’s daughter, plots her way to the throne, as she suspects that the king’s ‘supposed’ male son and heir to the throne does not have royal blood. With Neferet’s help, she secretly gets Hani to investigate.

Hani's work is further compounded when a Babylonian diplomat is murdered in Kumudi, one of the vassal cities. He must find and bring the perpetrator(s) to justice before the Babylonian king starts a war. How are all these events connected? Will Hani succeed in his quests? Find out in this third volume in the Lord Hani Mysteries series called Scepter Of Flint by N. L. Holmes.

I don’t think I’d read a better series book this year; Holmes is undoubtedly an exceptional writer. I enjoyed reading this novel for a lot of reasons, and I don’t think I can talk about them as exhaustively as I would like in this review. However, let me start by explaining how much I enjoyed the plot. Although this novel is the third book of the series, I was able to follow the sequence of events. Also, each scene was consistent and relevant to the storyline, which meant that there was always something to learn with each passing scene. Another thing I liked was the map that was included at the beginning of the book. As a result, I had a mental picture of the positions of different kingdoms relative to one another.

Additionally, the character development was excellent. I mean, considering the number of characters and the position of this novel in the series, one would expect some confusion when certain names are mentioned, but Holmes did a terrific job with characterization. In addition to the character list that was provided at the beginning of the book, the writer went further to explain each character when they came up in the story. Although they were numerous, I wasn’t confused at any point where any character was mentioned. I also liked that Holmes incorporated this story into real-life events. What I mean is that some of the things that were included in this book happened in the past. For example, Hani did receive the title of master of the king’s stables sometime in Egyptian history.

There were lots of great characters in the book, but my favorite was Neferet. I loved her personality. She is fearless and says what she thinks. Even though many other characters saw her as one with a leaky mouth, I thought she was just bold and acted her age. Also, I think she was calculative, especially with the way she manipulated Hani's boss, Lord Ptha-mes, into doing what she wanted.

There’s absolutely nothing to dislike about this read; I enjoyed every bit of it. Just when I thought I had been entertained, the writer wowed me with a thrilling end. I had my mouth wide open in surprise at the outcome of the story. I can’t wait to read the next book of the series. I have no reason to rate Scepter Of Flint any less than a comprehensive 4 out of 4 stars. The volume is flawlessly edited, as I found no grammatical or typographical errors throughout the text. I recommend this book to readers that are interested in historical fiction and mystery books.

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Scepter of Flint
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You make the book sound so enjoyable. I like that it has good character development. That’s the thing I admire the most in books. Will surely read this one

Judging from your review, it seems this book has a terrific storyline. One of the things I check before choosing a series is if the characters were well developed, as there are usually many characters in a series book. Nice work on the review.

I cannot imagine how it must be like when your own family delights at the news of your ill health. The story seems interesting and your review is well written.

This histrorical thriller sends chill down the spine . The genre changes when the secret reveals, It would have been even better if the backstory would be told properly in depth. All seems well with this I personally adore such books

From your review this book is terrific and it sure has good character development. I wouldn't want to miss the unravelling of such a mystery. It sure is a must read.

When I started to read the book sample I found myself immediately confused with all the names, so I'm very pleased to see in your review that the characters are so well written and described that it was easy to seperate them from each other. That's good news! I remember how much I enjoyed stories happening in ancient Egypt when I was young. This seems like a good reading to me! Thank you for your review.

The characterization of crafty priests and their hidden ambition to make the people of the kingdom worship the hidden one show the craftiness of this class.

I have been in love with books set in Egypt from the time I read Agatha Christie's Death Comes as the End. This book seems very interesting, though I hope the complicated names don't become an issue. I just want to know if I can directly start reading from the 3rd book or do I have to read the first 2 before reading this one.

Wow! Great review!! Thanks!

Well-written and edited, today's BOTD is a great read for fans of historical fiction and mysteries. The engaging storyline will pull readers in right from the start, and the well-developed characters and scenes will keep them turning pages! Thanks again for the recommendation and keep up the awesome work!

I love historical fiction, and the earlier the era, the better! This sounds like an intriguing read. Neferet sounds like the type of character that would be my favorite also! She sounds spunky. Thanks for the wonderful review!

Sounds really interesting, specially with Egypt history, I’m not into historical thrillers, but I think i will give this series a try.

I don't like to read the series out of order but it seems this one was a great read. It is always great when an author takes care of his character development. Great review.

I'm not particularly fond of Egyptian history, nor of reading a novel in the middle of a series, so I'll be passing on this one. However, the author has a wonderful style of writing and the sections that I read were very well done. Congratulations to the author on achieving BOTD.

Great review, I can really tell that you enjoyed it. The plot does sound very interesting, and I like that it is about egyptian royalty. Can’t wait to read it!