Eater of Souls

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Lynda S. Robinson

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Pages: 288 (Mass Market Paperback)

ISBN: 0345395336

Pub: Ballantine Books

Pub date: 1998-03

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 265237

Reader Reviews:

The monster of the netherworld stalks Memphis (3/3 people found this helpful)

While this story doesn't give away the solution to MURDER AT THE FEAST OF REJOICING, it continues a major investigation begun at the end of that book, so to that extent, there are spoilers. Also, I'll assume that the reader has some familiarity with Lord Meren, his family, and their fellow members of the court of Tutankhamun. Robinson has made this a stand-alone book, but as part of a greater story arc, it's best appreciated in context.

In the 21st century, many serial killers with religious delusions believe themselves to be various instruments of divine retribution: God, the Archangel Michael, and so on. But in the Egyptian pantheon, when a soul fails to measure up in the Halls of Judgement, the demon Ammut, Eater of Souls, carries out the punishment: annihilation, consuming even the heart. (In ancient Egyptian parlance, the heart, rather than the brain, was considered the seat of thought.)

In the 5th year of the reign of Tutankhamun, Eater of Souls has been called forth from the Halls of Judgement to Memphis, pharaoh's capital, to punish those who have woundsssed the nameless 'favored one'. Since part of the narrative, including the very beginning of the story, is from Eater of Souls' viewpoint, I was worried at first that Robinson had broken one of the fundamental rules of detective stories - no supernatural explanations - but the character is within bounds: the killer is a divided personality, part of which believes it is Eater of Souls.

In this series Robinson often introduces supporting characters in one book, laying the groundwork for appearances in later books. EATER OF SOULS introduces the Caverns, the rough area around the docks of Memphis where Kysen goes undercover seeking information. Ese, the beautiful but embittered tavernkeeper of the Divine Lotus, has many connections, ranging from Tcha (a floorsweeper with a night job as a housebreaker) to Othrys (Mycenaean ship's captain and crimelord). Tcha found his partner's heartless corpse after a robbery, and in a panic got the news to both Othrys and Kysen. Since the first victims were ordinary people, the lazy chief watchman has refused to see any patterns, launch any investigation, or pass any distressing facts to his superiors - but Kysen in his public persona brings in Meren. Then to the tally of killings 'not of the city' is added a devastating victim: the Hittite ambassador.

Meren is greatly troubled; he fears that various events in his own past will find him wanting in life's final judgement, and like many others in Memphis, he's afraid that this may be the *real* Devourer, after the troubles the kingdom has had of late years. If that weren't enough, his younger daughters are back in Memphis after their training in estate management by his sister. Bener is perceptive, clever, and wants to participate in her father's investigations. (She has talents in that direction - watch her inquiry into some suspicious purchases on the household books.) Isis, the younger, is preoccupied with attracting suitors; worse luck, she's developing a mutual interest with the irritating Reshep. (The king ordered Meren to sponsor him to get him away from the royal princesses; his attraction for women is a deeper mystery to Meren than any murder.)

The Nefertiti investigation takes a back seat to the 'heart thefts' - not because it's less important, but because 1) the pharaoh and the vizier must be kept stable for the kingdom's sake, so they're kept in the dark, and 2) anyone who seems to know too much about the matter tends to come down with a serious case of death. The slow start is believable, but maddening. The various dissatisfied courtiers and half-brothers of pharaoh at court tended to blur together at first. Finally, for any fans of THE LOST QUEEN OF EGYPT out there, Ankhesenamun is not a sympathetic character from Meren's viewpoint; her strained relationship with the king has kept her mostly off-stage in the series until now. In this book, she begins attempting reconciliation with Tutankhamun, but he and Meren both doubt her motives.

Robinson barges on in with 'Eater of Souls'! (2/2 people found this helpful)

What is the Eyes and Ears of Pharaoh to do? A series of violent murders has gripped Memphis tightly and this capital city on the Nile finds that terror has unleashed its fury on the citizens in the form of The Devourer. Sent, the people fear, by the gods because of their own dissatisfaction of the mortals in this sacred kingdom, the retribution is dispersed without pity and the victims are left horribly disfigured. Their hearts have been slashed from their bodies and a white feather is left in their stead. Clearly the goddess Ammut the Devouress, the Eater of Souls, has come for vengeance. In Lynda S. Robinson's fourth installment of her highly successful Lord Meren series, readers are treated to great suspense when intrigue, politics, and Lord Meren's own personal life come into play in "Eater of Souls." The young pharaoh, King Tutankhamun has been on the throne for only a short time. In "Eater of Souls" the boy king displays wisdom far above the average 14-year-old and Robinson easily weaves this "wunderkind" into her novels as a believable character. In addition, she establishes the strong relationship so important to Meren (his title is the Eyes and Ears of Pharaoh), whose responsibility is to make certain that the pharaoh is protected under all circumstances, a chief of security, as it happens. He is also one of the king's most trusted and loyal supporters. As any student of Egyptian history knows, of course, Tut's short-lived reign was not without despair, which lends credence to Robinson's plots, intrigues, and sinister behind-the-back assassinations, real and figurative. Through this series the reader, naturally, is waiting for the inevitable, but Robinson has created such believable characters that the fiction overrides the reality. For centuries, the answers to what really happened to this dynasty has eluded us, although some very real--and very twentieth century--theories abound and the author is able cleverly to play on this. Her books include enough verisimilitude that serious Egyptologists can find her plots imaginable, believable, plausible. Dr. Robinson seems to know her Egypt, thus making the venture into this part of history, albeit a fictionalized one, an exciting ride. The Nile has never been so blue, yet never so complex. As Cleopatra might have said, this series is one you might want to barge on into, but beware of the asps. As Lord Meren knows, there's one around every corner.

Interesting Egyptology, Disappointing Story (1/1 people found this helpful)

As a fan of Lynda Robinson, I was very happy to find this book. Having read "Murder in the Place of Anubis," I looked forward to a solid, intriguing story with believable characters, set authentically in the days of the Pharoahs. Unfortunately, the story left much to be desired. I rather resented being led through the intricacies of a complex murder investigation only to find out that 1)it was not one mystery but two, and 2)the more interesting one is left unsolved! I understand and agree with the value of hooking readers on a long-term, multi-volume chase, but I felt that so many pages were devoted to it that the strength of the main story suffered.

Making Ancient Egypt Come Alive (0/0 people found this helpful)

This installment in the series is much concerned with Robinson's development of a theme that is obviously to be played out in future books - the unnatural death of the Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. Lord Meren, the "Eyes and Ears" of Pharaoh is a party to secrets surrounding the death of her husband, the hapless king Ankhenaten, and he has much to answer for in this book.

Robinson's ability to describe a world more than 3,000 years in the past is remarkable. It was interesting and exciting to read, and I highly recommend it.

Not her best work! (0/0 people found this helpful)

While I enjoyed reading this, the fourth book in the continuing saga of Lord Meren I did not feel that it was Lynda's best work. Maybe because, as a serious student of Egyptology I could not believe Ammut would leave the underworld to stalk and kill people, eating their hearts and leaving behind a feather (representing truth and justice). For one thing, who judged those chosen to die and found them to be evil? Ammut belongs to the underworld and is an instrument of justice against evil. This story portrayed Ammut as evil. Even though the ending of the story confirmed my belief, I still thought the story line was weak and not true to the actual mythology of the ancient Egyptians. However, I eagerly await the next Lord Meren mystery.

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