By CAITLIN HOFEN, Features Editor
Take a step back in time to Edwardian England and learn of an ancient power that renders its victims immortal.
A curse to some and a savior to others, the ancient Egyptian pharaohs can’t seem to escape.
In the book, “Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra,” by mother-son duo Anne and Christopher Rice, readers are submerged in an ancient Egyptian scandal.
Ramses the Great, ruler of the Egyptian throne for 64 years has awakened from centuries of sleep.
Before his slumber, Ramses craved power and immortality, going so far to drink a cursed elixir to grant him his wishes.
He shared this elixir with his love, Cleopatra, cursing them both to immortal life.
The novel begins in 1914, with Ramses portraying as Reginald Ramsey, taking his fiancé Julie Stratford on a tour through England.
While this may be the case to the public eye, Ramses is on the hunt for the elixir to learn to control it.
Cleopatra has been shipped through continents as a corpse for centuries while Ramses slept.
When awoken, her sole ambition is to spite her former lover, making him pay for taking away her mortality. She wants the elixir for herself.
While she was intent on revenge, Cleopatra’s soul was reincarnated into Sybil Parker, an American writer of historical romances that are patterned unconsciously on events from the lives of the immortal she once was.
The hunt for the elixir is on. The characters face impossible obstacles and go against powers even older than themselves. Who are they to play against fate?
“Ramses the Damned” is considered a historical horror novel, but the storyline is captivating.
I’m not a fan of horror at all, but this story kept me wanting more.
It wasn’t until I researched backgrounfor this review that I found it is actually a sequel to another novel by Anne Rice called “The Mummy.” I can’t wait to read it.
Overall, the story is well-paced, and action packed.
The characters drive the story as they work against each other to find the original formula for the elixir.
Adventure, suspense and history are woven within the plot to keep the reader in its toes. Given that the afterlife is so important in ancient Egyptian culture, it was brilliant to play with the idea of the immortality of pharaohs.
A philosophical question comes to mind when reading this novel, what would happen if everyone were immortal?
How would society be affected and how would resources last?
While this novel can’t answer these questions outright, it does make one wonder about the loaded questions of morality.
Horror fans and history buffs alike would enjoy this novel.
The right amount of romance and gore to satisfy any fantasy reader, and enough suspense to crave more.
By the end of the novel, the ultimate question is this: be cursed to wander the earth forever, alone? Or feel the kiss of death?