Napoleon's Pyramids ~ by William Dietrich

Napoleon's Pyramids ~ by William Dietrich, 2007, fiction

A little bit Indiana Jones, a little bit da Vinci code, a little bit history of the French invasion of Egypt, a little bit love story. Not a perfect blend, but enough of a thriller to make me want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

Napoleon takes savants along with his troops, wanting to learn the secrets and mysteries of exotic Egypt. Our hero, Ethan Gage, though not exactly knowledgeable of his subject, is one of them. It all begins with a trinket he wins in a card game, which everyone seems to want. That's a picture of it on the front cover.

See the tiny dots on the top half? Holes that allow light through, like stars. See the zig-zag rows just below center? Waves of water, but what water? Barely visible are hatch marks at the bottom; what do they mean? They resemble a pyramid. Oh yes, pyramids, the real ones. Crawl through dark tunnels with Napoleon and Ethan Gage, going nowhere or finding empty "tomb" areas inside the largest pyramid.

Sometimes our hero wears this medallion hidden under his shirt, refusing to let anyone look at it; sometimes he leaves it with strangers, trusting them because ... because ... well, I don't know why. Did I mention that Ethan Gage is an American? Yes, any number of people wonder why he's there with the French army (and navy), consorting with both Bonaparte, the little Corsican, and Admiral Nelson of England. I guess you'll just have to read the book to find out what happened. Rated 8/10, a very good book.