Product Description

Its 526 BC and the empire of the Pharaohs is dying, crumbling under the weight of its own antiquity. Corruption and decay cripple its cities, infects its leaders and cripples its armies, while across the great expanse of Sinai, like jackals drawn to carrion, the forces of the omnipotent king of Persia watch and wait...But all is not quite lost. For leading the fight to preserve the soul of Egypt is the Phoneician warrior, Hasdrubal Barca, the pharaoh's deadliest killer - possessor of a rage few men can fathom and fewer can withstand. But the defection of one of Egypt's most celebrated generals, the Greek mercenary Phanes, to the Persians triggers a savage war that will test Barca's military skills and his humanity to the limit. But Barca is changing - a girl who was once a slave but with a gift for healing - tends to his wounds, and as she does so, eases his tortured soul and teaches him how to be truly human again. From the political wastelands of Palestine and the searing deserts east of the Nile to the streets of the ancient city of Memphis, Barca and Phanes play a desperate and brutal game of cat-and-mouse that culminates in the bloodiest battle of Egypt's history. In the dusty hills east of Pelusium, a reckoning will unfold, for there over the dead of two nations, Hasdrabal Barca will face the same choice of as those great heroes of old: death and eternal fame, or long life and obscurity...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17488 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Synopsis
Its 526 BC and the empire of the Pharaohs is dying, crumbling under the weight of its own antiquity. Corruption and decay cripple its cities, infects its leaders and cripples its armies, while across the great expanse of Sinai, like jackals drawn to carrion, the forces of the omnipotent king of Persia watch and wait...But all is not quite lost. For leading the fight to preserve the soul of Egypt is the Phoneician warrior, Hasdrubal Barca, the pharaoh's deadliest killer - possessor of a rage few men can fathom and fewer can withstand. But the defection of one of Egypt's most celebrated generals, the Greek mercenary Phanes, to the Persians triggers a savage war that will test Barca's military skills and his humanity to the limit. But Barca is changing - a girl who was once a slave but with a gift for healing - tends to his wounds, and as she does so, eases his tortured soul and teaches him how to be truly human again. From the political wastelands of Palestine and the searing deserts east of the Nile to the streets of the ancient city of Memphis, Barca and Phanes play a desperate and brutal game of cat-and-mouse that culminates in the bloodiest battle of Egypt's history.

In the dusty hills east of Pelusium, a reckoning will unfold, for there over the dead of two nations, Hasdrabal Barca will face the same choice of as those great heroes of old: death and eternal fame, or long life and obscurity...

From the Back Cover
Egypt 526 B.C., and the kingdom of the pharaohs is dying, crumbling under the weight of its own antiquity. Across the expanse of Sinai, like jackals drawn to carrion, the forces of the king of Persia watch...and wait.

Yet all is not quite lost. Hasdrabal Barca, a Phoenician mercenary feared as much by his own men as by his enemies, has vowed to defend Egypt against invasion. But the treacherous defection to the Persians of one of the Pharoah’s most able commanders sparks a conflict that will test Barca’s military skills – and his humanity – to the limit.

From ancient Memphis to the parched wastelands of Palestine, Barca and his nemesis play a savage game of cat-and-mouse that will culminate in the bloodiest battle in Egypt’s history. And there, in the hills east of Pelusium amongst the fallen of two great armies, Barca will face the same choice as those legendary heroes of old: death and eternal fame – or long life and obscurity...

‘Profound and tragic...Oden’s masterful novel of bloody battles, political intrigues, betrayal and romance offers a gripping portrait of the collapse of an empire’ Publishers Weekly

About the Author
Scott Oden was born in Columbus, Indiana, in 1967. The youngest of five, he was raised in rural North Alabama, near Huntsville, where he still resides. Scott's fascination with Egypt and the ancient world began in 1976, when his third-grade teacher showed the class slides from the travelling Tutankhamun exhibit. He studied history and English at Calhoun College and the University of Alabama before pursuing the usual variety of odd jobs - from delivering pizza to working in the bindery of a printing company to clerking at a video store. Men of Bronze is his first novel.

Customer Reviews

Opportunity Missed.
Unusual period to choose, think it's the first time I've come across a story about Egypt in 526 BC. That in itself make the book interesting but,.... I found it boring, the characters and dialog are clichéd and very 2 dimensional. At only 30 or so pages in it was easy to guess what was going to happen and the various outcomes. No surprises at all, worth a read to pass a couple of hours I guess but personally I struggled to work up enough interest in the characters or story to finish it. Pity.

Not so sure
I am a big fan of books that are set around ancient Greece etc so when I saw that this book was set in Egypt I thought that it would be a lot more intresting than it was. The story line is simple, with a villain that is clearly the bad guy, unlike most novels of this sort where the enemy are just people on the other side, but not necceserily 'evil'.

The book tends to jump back and forth between storylines which started to get a bit annoying, how many cliff hangers was the author trying to squueze into this book???

All in all there is not too much to knock the book about, I liked the fact that it was set in Egypt, but it does lack a certain something, but the action made up for it. It reminds me a Hollywood action movie, not a great storyline, but deffinatly watchable.

Very good.
I am a keen reader of fiction history, Iggulden et al, and I am very happy to add Oden to the list on the strength of this fictional novel. This book is very readable and not too easy to put down. The characters are well developed and the pace of the book is excellent.