Heir of Ra
by Maciek Sasinowski
Book: Blood of Ra #1
Publisher: Kingsmill Press
Pub Date: August 12, 2018
Genre: YA
Format: eBook
Source: Author
In Heir of Ra, Alyssa Morgan, the sixteen-year-old daughter of a maverick archaeologist, discovers the world is not quite what it seems when an excavation of the fabled Hall of Records beneath the Sphinx unleashes an ancient disease that leaves her father fighting for his life. As Alyssa races to find a cure, she stumbles upon a haunting artifact—and trespasses into the mind of an Egyptian god. The story continues in two parallel timelines, providing the accounts of a pair of distinct, yet ultimately linked characters: Alyssa, as she unravels memories of an advanced race hidden within the relic; and a young boy, Horus, exiled from his island home of Atlantis who rises to become worshiped as the falcon-headed god. Alyssa evades ruthless adversaries set on conquering the power within the artifact, and she discovers the value of Horus’s hybrid blood and its connection to the ancient disease.
My Review: In this thrilling tale, a teenage-girl named Alyssa begins to unravel an ancient mystery in order to save her father, and potentially millions of others, from a mysterious disease unleashed from an Egyptian tomb during an archaeological dig. This journey takes her into the mind of an Egyptian God, Horus, where Alyssa learns about the horrors and magic of Ancient Egypt. But Alyssa is not the only one looking for answers; a secret society watches her every move and is eager to get their hands on this knowledge. It’s up to Alyssa and her friends to find a way to stop them and save the world.
The ‘Heir of Ra’ caught my attention as soon as I read the synopsis. I was transported back to middle school, when I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt and their mythology, and I was excited to find a novel that was going to explore that world with a badass female protagonist. The author, Maciek Sasinowski, managed to create a vibrant and unique world that was skilled at raising as many questions as it answered. The adventure was fun, like something fit for a movie, and it left a lot of room for growth in future books.
However, despite the intriguing premise and great world building, the writing left something to be desired. There were a lot of overused phrases in the book, the dialogue was unnatural at times, and it was difficult to suspend my disbelief for some of the situations. These issues were jarring at times but can be overlooked if you’re interested enough in the actual story-line.
The hardest thing to overlook though was the characterization. While I advocate for strong female characters, it’s frustrating to only see that strength in women who are essentially perfect. They have skill, brains, and beauty, and even their flaws are charming. Alyssa, the main character, suffers from this but the biggest culprit of this was Tasha, one of the villains in the novel. She is essentially Black Widow - a beautiful, redheaded Russian woman with deadly assassination skills. She, like many of the characters, didn’t have any compelling depth to them (aside from a tragic backstory) and that made it difficult for me to be emotionally invested in the story. Partially because of this, the novel didn’t manage to hold my attention very well. I found myself skimming at several points and, while I was interested in the mystery, it was a struggle to reach the end. I know this is only book one of the series, so maybe we get to explore the characters and mysteries more fully in the next novel, but the jury is out on if I will be reading it.
My Rating:
