Golden Horus

About the Book

It is the privilege of the historical novelist to daydream, to try and imagine what life was like in the dim shadows of past times.  Susan Delkirk, a writer of historical romances, is in a museum doing just that.  Suddenly, her reverie is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger-- a stranger who turns out to be the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen.  He has been shot forwards through time as the result of an assassination attempt.  Now he must figure out how to get back to his own time.

He is helped by Susan, her friend John Marsh, and Dr. Zenger, a retired history professor.  Together they discuss how to get Tutankhamen back to his rightful time  and place.  In the meanwhile, the pharaoh must adjust to life in the modern world.  There are some things that take a little getting used to-- traffic, television, and rock music, for starters.

Just as Tutankhamen is becoming accustomed to his new life, he is kidnapped.  Saleh Rachad, an employee at the museum where Susan and Tutankhamen met, is a native Egyptian who grew up robbing tombs.  Now, he uses his archaeological training to identify valuable artifacts, which he steals from the museum.  When he learns about Tutankhamen, his greed gets the better of him.  He is punished for his effrontery by Pharaoh's divine wrath.

The power unwittingly released by Tutankhamen proves to be the key to getting him home.  He, John, and Susan take part in a ceremony that may get the pharaoh back to his proper time.  The ceremony works, but John and Susan are transported back to Tutankhamen's time with him.

A short while later, Susan's mentally unstable brother Bruce shows up at her house.  A conversation between the two of them earlier has set something off in his sick, demented brain.  He comes to the house to confront her, and ends up getting sucked back in time as well.

Tutankhamen, Susan, and John end up not in Egypt, but in Nubia.  They make their way to the fort at Napata, where they find that Tutankhamen's general, Horemheb, has taken troops down into Nubia without the pharaoh's orders.  This makes Tutankhamen uneasy.  They stay to fight a battle against the Nubians, a battle in which Bruce plays a minor part.  Then Tutankhamen, John, and Susan go back to Thebes, with the army following them.  Susan is reluctant to see Thebes, even though it means visiting more of Tutankhamen's Egypt.  The queen Ankhesenamen is also there, waiting for her husband to return.

When everyone returns to Thebes, John and Susan, being guests of Pharaoh, are treated like nobility.  Bruce, though, is quartered with the soldiers and shares their rough life.  He has been "befriended" by a soldier named Khaya.  Khaya takes Bruce to Pharaoh's harem and introduces him to one of Pharaoh's concubines, Tahesyt.  Khaya and Tahesyt both work for Horemheb, and are helping to plot an assassination.  Bruce is their unknowing pawn in this deadly game.

Tutankhamen is reunited with his queen.  He tells her about the fantastic adventures he had in the future.

John and Susan take part in a procession to the Temple of Amon at Karnak, where Horemheb is honored for his defeat of the Nubians.  Susan expresses her anxiety at being in the Temple of Amon.  In her time, Tutankhamen had explained to her that there had been friction between his brother, the heretic Akhenaten, and the priests of Amon.  Now, though, he reassures her that he has nothing to fear from the defenders of the old religion, now restored at his orders.

John accompanies Tutankhamen on a lion hunt.  That night, there is a feast at the palace.  John and Susan meet Ankhesenamen, Tutankhamen's wife.  Susan is upset by the sight of the couple together and rushes from the feast hall.  Tutankhamen follows her, and consoles her.

The next morning, John and Susan join a th

About the Author

Sylvia Shults has been fascinated with the culture of ancient Egypt for most of her life. She holds a Bachelor's in Classics and a Master's in History, with a concentration in Roman studies. She lives in Illinois with her husband Rob, a photographer. Her other hobbies include wine- and cordial-making, embroidery, and baking. She and her husband are both members of the Society for Creative Anachronism. She is hard at work on her next book, a historical romance set in ancient Rome and Roman Britain.