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The Sekhmet Bed: A Novel of Ancient Egypt (The She-King Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Libbie Hawker (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 3,842 ratings

Book 1 of 4: The She-King

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Don't miss the second book in this series, The Crook and Flail, at a special price for a limited time!

Is Ahmose's divine gift a blessing or a curse? The second daughter of the Pharaoh, Ahmose has always dreamed of a quiet life as a priestess, serving Egypt's gods, ministering to the people of the Two Lands. But when the Pharaoh dies without an heir, she is given instead as Great Royal Wife to the new king – a soldier of common birth. For Ahmose is god-chosen, gifted with the ability to read dreams, and it is her connection to the gods which ensures the new Pharaoh his right to rule. Ahmose's elder sister Mutnofret has been raised to expect the privileged station of Great Royal Wife; her rage at being displaced cannot be soothed. As Ahmose fights the currents of Egypt's politics and Mutnofret's vengeful anger, her youth and inexperience carry her beyond her depth and into the realm of sacrilege. To right her wrongs and save Egypt from the gods' wrath, Ahmose must face her most visceral fear: bearing an heir. But the gods of Egypt are exacting, and even her sacrifice may not be enough to restore the Two Lands to safety. The Sekhmet Bed is the first volume of Libbie Hawker's series The She-King, a family saga of the Thutmosides, one of ancient Egypt's most fascinating royal families. Don't miss Book 2: The Crook and Flail Note: This ebook edition contains a preview chapter of Libbie Hawker's new ancient Egyptian series, The Book of Coming Forth by Day.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005EHR1EW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Running Rabbit Press; 3rd edition (September 21, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 21, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1862 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 355 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #14,516 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Historical African Fiction
- #3 in Ancient Historical Fiction
- #25 in Women's Historical Fiction

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4.2 3,842 ratings

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L. M. Ironside
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L. M. Ironside is passionate about history. She began devouring adult historical novels right off her mother's bookshelf at age eight and never looked back. In high school, her history teacher assigned her Hatshepsut as the subject of a report. The report turned into a meticulously crafted scale paper model of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, and Ironside's fate was sealed: she was a confirmed Egypt nut from then on.
The Sekhmet Bed, which chronicles the early life of Hatshepsut's mother, was her first novel. When publishers passed on it, she joined the growing ranks of indie authors and released it herself. Reader reaction to The Sekhmet Bed surprised even the author, and she committed to a full series of novels depicting the reign of Egypt's first female Pharaoh. The series continued with The Crook and Flail and Sovereign of Stars, and will conclude with The Bull of Min in the winter of 2014.
When she is not writing, L. M. can be found with a pack on her back, long-distance hiking through the incomparable landscape of the place she calls home, Washington State. Her best ideas for new stories come to her while she is on the trail, so she tries to make time for hiking whenever possible, and always keeps a notebook and a pen in her pack so she is prepared when inspiration strikes.
She lives near Seattle with her fiance (also crazy about history), her two ill-behaved cats, and a thriving assembly of carnivorous plants.
L. M. (you can call her Libbie) loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her via her web site: libbiehawker.com
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Libbie Hawker
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Libbie Hawker writes historical and literary fiction featuring complex characters and rich details of time and place. She lives in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, but has previously lived in Seattle; Bellingham, WA; Tacoma, WA; and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Although the majority of her books are self-published, she also partners with Lake Union Publishing on select titles.
She has held a broad and bizarre range of "day jobs" while pursuing a career as a novelist. Included among these are zoo keeper, show dog handler, bookseller, and yarn dyer.
Libbie's writerly influences are varied, and include Hilary Mantel, Vladimir Nabokov, Annie Dillard, Michael Ondaatje, George R. R. Martin, songwriter Neko Case, and mixed-media storyteller Chris Onstad, among others.
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4.2 out of 5

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Aderyn

Ancient Egypt brought to life

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2015

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4.5 Stars

The Sekhmet Bed takes us deep into ancient Egypt, and I relished the way Hawker brought that elusive part of humanity's journey to life. The story centers on life at court, and is told through the eyes of Ahmose – a Royal second daughter who unexpectedly becomes Pharaoh's first wife, a position, according to custom, her elder sister, Mutnofret, should have attained.

Ahmose is 'God-chosen' and her special connection to the great Gods of Egypt was one of my favourite threads in the story. I'm a fantasy fiction fan, so this 'supernatural' element was right up my alley. The gods would talk to Ahmose in her dreams, and she would interpret their messages. Her predictions were eerily true.

Much of the tension in the story, particularly in the first half of the book, came from the turbulent relationship between Ahmose and her sister. This made for riveting reading, although at times I felt as though more backstory, and perhaps attention to their younger days would have made Mutnofret's and Ahmose's motivations more understandable – but this is a small quibble.

The story is highly focused on the inner life of Ahmose, while secondary focus is given to her sister and the husband they share, the Pharaoh Thutmose. While I enjoyed the development of their characters and their relationships, I would have liked to have seen more detail on other elements of Egyptian royal life. The role of sitting on the throne in judgement in the Egyptian royal court was referred to many times, and Ahmose's frustrations about her shared rule with her sister made for great tension, however we were only allowed a 'close up' view of what court entailed once. I would have appreciated a wider view of the process. In short, the story has an incredibly 'up close' view of Ahmose, but other things in the royal court are sacrificed because of it, and I felt curious about them, but my curiosity about these wider elements was not really satisfied.

One thing I loved about Hawker's writing was the way she introduced us to many unusual terms (for those of us not overly familiar with Egyptology) in such a natural way. She didn't hit us on the head with explanations of what they mean in modern day terms, rather she let the context and the story do the work for us. I had no idea what 'Maat' meant when I started reading, and not once did I look it up. But, now I feel like I probably have a better understanding than if I had looked it up, as Hawker shows us what it meant to Egyptians rather than telling us. I really enjoyed such natural context setting in the story.

Overall, this is a well researched historical novel with fully fleshed characters, outstanding writing and a sweeping plot. An excellent read!

2 people found this helpful

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Chelsea Heidt

falls in love with the general Thutmose upon their first meeting and ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2014

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One of my first thoughts about this book was that it had insta-love. The protagonist, Ahmose, falls in love with the general Thutmose upon their first meeting and marries him shortly after. Fortunately, however, romance was not the focus of the book, and it was actually a much richer narrative than I expected from that not-so-lofty beginning.

Ahmose is the second, younger daughter of a pharaoh who left no heirs upon his death. Thutmose is named pharaoh by Ahmose's mother, the queen, and her grandmother, who occupies a lofty, powerful position called the God's Wife. Ahmose, who is thought to be god-chosen and can interpret dreams and omens, is wed to Thutmose as the Great Royal Wife in order to help give legitimacy to his reign. Her older sister Mutnofret, the woman who was always supposed to be Great Royal Wife, is wed to Thutmose as his second wife. The story follows this family, particularly Ahmose, as they struggle through a difficult time in Egypt. Mutnofret is a viper, and terrifies Ahmose with violent stories of sex so Ahmose will refuse to lie with Thutmose, so she will not bear any children and Mutnofret will be able to oust her from her position. Thutmose is gone most of the time, and Ahmose is left alone to deal with Mutnofret and with the struggles of ruling Egypt in her husband's absence. There is romance, but it is not the focus of the story; rather, the story focuses on Ahmose's struggles both politically and personally, and her maturation is easily seen through the progression of the book.

I'm not an expert on ancient Egypt, but it seems like Ironside (a penname, I presume) has done her research. She does include a little section at the end which details the areas in which she has speculated on history or deviated from known history, and that's quite admirable. Her writing is very rich and detailed, giving her Egypt a beautiful life on the page. All of her characters were multi-dimensional, not just Ahmose; even one of Mutnofret's maids, a very minor character, has multiple dimensions. The only real complaint I have is that there is an episode in which Thutmose turns downright abusive toward Ahmose, and yet there are not any real consequences for his actions. I mean, I guess you could say there are divine consequences, but I would have liked to see some backlash from Ahmose herself, rather than her remaining a relatively complacent wife. While the incident doesn't exactly glorify abusive relationships, it doesn't exactly frown upon them, either, being as Ahmose instantly forgives Thutmose for his actions. Literally instantly. On the same page as the abuse.

With that in mind, however, this was a great read, and I'll probably return to the other books in the series.

3 people found this helpful

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Jennie goguen

Tut

Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2020

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I liked this book very much as the author took us back in time l found the story interesting with a good ending l gave it five stars as it covered a lot of details I hope that the story will carry on as his daughter rules

Hafiz Naviwala

Captivating

Reviewed in India on October 21, 2019

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Once I started reading this book,it was difficult and to leave it halfway. Did finished reading in three days. A must read

Kindle Customer

A strange tale of Ancient Egypt

Reviewed in Australia on August 30, 2021

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Travel back in time with Libbie,s characters . They are so very well crafted. A very human story though controlled by ancient gods, the Characters find peace in doing the God,s will..

A. Schneider

Spannend

Reviewed in Germany on November 27, 2014

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Mir hat das Buch richtig gut gefallen. Ein "Making of Hatshepsut". Ich habe viele Bücher über die aegypische Historie gelesen und dieses ist durchaus eine Story, wie es gewesen sein könnte.

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Riccohb

Flawless

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2013

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This is my favourite book set in ancient Egypt. Ironside is an indie author, but that should not colour your judgement about her abilities. Many indie books are, I know, of very poor quality. Not so this one. I would challenge anyone to tell the difference in writing quality between The Sekhmet Bed and any book of the genre published by a major publisher. I have read books in this genre by such luminaries as Christian Jacq and Wilbur Smith. Ironside is better than both of them, and by a country mile.

This is a book of real people. I could tell that Ironside had really thought about the characters who would inhabit the world of The Sekhmet Bed. There are far too many books out there with good guys and bad guys where the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad and never the twain shall meet. Real people aren't like that. Good people do bad things, and vice versa. This is how it is with the people in The Sekhmet Bed. These people are historically real - there really was an Ahmose and Hatshepsut and all the rest - but beyond very fragmentary history we know nothing of the personalities of the historical people. These characteristics come from Ironside's imagination, and she has taken the opportunity to fill the book with genuine personalities. Ahmose herself makes some questionable decisions, sometimes with questionable motives, but the reader can sympathise all the more with her because of it.

There is also an authenticity to the world that Ironside paints that is missing - or at least not so evident - with other writers of the genre. She walks a difficult tightrope - she has done her research and certainly knows her stuff, but the research doesn't show. I mean that in a good way. It's very easy for a writer to research something to such a degree that they can't bear to not show you what they know. The joy of The Sekhmet Bed is that the research is so seamlessly woven into the scenery that the reader barely notices that it's there.

This leads me to perhaps my only criticism. I wanted to be able to read the book without having to refer to Google to find out what Ironside was writing about. I've made that sound worse than it is. Those unfamiliar with ancient Egypt probably won't know what 'ka' and 'maat' are, for example, but Ironside is good enough of a writer to write about them without ever explaining them (to do so would break with the character of the rest of the book) and the reader instinctively knows what they mean. But there are other things, like referring to well-known places and gods by their original Egyptian names which - while it is yet another example of flawless historical authenticity - broke my concentration and had me reaching for my laptop to look them up.

But this is a minor complaint, and one that I suspect the majority of the genre's fans would heartily disagree with. It doesn't take away from the fact that this is a great book. It started strong and didn't let up until the epilogue left me reaching for the laptop once again, this time to order the sequel, The Crook and Flail (The She-King) .

Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.