Pillar of Fire - Hardcover

Judith Tarr is the author of more than twenty widely praised novels, including The Throne of Isis, White Mare's Daughter, and Queen of Swords, as well as five previous volumes in the Avaryan Chronicles: The Hall of the Mountain King, The Lady of Han-Gilen and A Fall of Princes (collected in one volume as Avaryan Rising), Arrows of the Sun, and Spear of Heaven. A graduate of Yale and Cambridge University, Judith Tarr holds degrees in ancient and medieval history, and breeds Lipizzan horses at Dancing Horse Farm, her home in Vail, Arizona.

Nofret, an intelligent and forthright Hittite slave of an Egyptian princess, is at the center of this rich novel of life in ancient Egypt. The story fictionalizes the biblical scholar Ahmed Osman's theory of the origins of Moses and the Exodus story. Anna Fields's narration is consistently fresh, bringing immediacy to the novel's events, while at the same time creating personas for a large cast of characters who develop and grow as they gain age and experience. The many unfamiliar names, which could grow tedious to the reader, flow gracefully through the story, and Fields's portrayal of a main character's stammering sounds absolutely natural. This is a well-produced, intriguing story that makes the hours fly by. M.A.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine