“The suspense of the story, aided by sly hints from the author, and the atmosphere of a dark, claustrophobic tomb work together to create a scary story. The characters’ fear invites the reader into the world to experience the fright themselves.” — Booklist Starred Review Deep inside the tomb exists a hidden world of wonder and terror. In 1935, British archaeologists vanished inside an Egyptian … archaeologists vanished inside an Egyptian cave. A year later, one man returned covered in mysterious scars.
Egyptologist Imogen Riley desperately wants to know what happened to the ill-fated expedition led by her grandfather. On a quest for answers, she joins a team of archeologists and soldiers in Egypt. Inside a mountain tomb, they’ve found a technologically advanced relic and a maze of tunnels. Dr. Nathan Trummel believes this tomb leads to the most guarded secrets of the pharaohs. When the explorers venture deep into the caves, they discover a hidden world of wonder and terror.
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TOMB OF GODS is the latest novel from author Brian Moreland. The events taking place are set in 1936, an archaeological expedition to the rumored tomb of Egyptian High Priest Nebenteru. The year prior, Dr. Harlan Riley was the sole surviver of his expedition, and came back . . . altered . . . insisting his team found what they were searching for.
“I have walked in the footsteps of the Pharaohs . . .”
Now, his accomplished niece, Imogen, will join Dr. Nathan Trummel on a second expedition for the British museum, hoping to find what her Uncle discovered.
A blending of Egyptian Mythology, horror, mystery, and historical fiction, this book had some fantastic elements.
“There’s always a way out . . . You just have to trust your instincts.”
I loved the build-up of the complex main characters. Even once we get to the tomb, Moreland continues to build them up, increasing our “attachment” and understanding of their motivations.
“There is a pattern of men disappearing in the caves . . . ”
The atmosphere drew me in immediately, and some of the scenes were firmly imprinted in my mind afterwards. The “logic” used here coincided very well within the narrative as a whole, and each revelation was believable in context as a result.
“. . . Maybe in this instance it would be better not to know.”
Overall, a novel that included some of my favorite elements with a fantastic setting. Moreland was able to take an Egyptian expedition and make it into something unique for readers. The only slight issue I had was that the pacing felt a bit uneven–slow, in places, and nonstop in others. This was a thoroughly fascinating novel that gave a new viewpoint to Egyptian horror!
“. . . Remarkable if art made from broken skeletons was your cup of tea . . . ”
Highly recommended.
I think I uploaded this to the Nook thinking along the lines of archeological thriller, but I believe it leans more towards horror. I liked it for the most part, but had issue with the main character, Imogen, but the way she acted may have been for historical veracity or what the author felt was how women must have acted like back in the day. She is smart in books but has growing up to do with her emotional self. Kept going back to the man who treated her rather callously and for his own selfish gains.
It is scary with the descriptions of each character going through their own past and self-loathing or self-justification for actions taken, orders followed, all that. The mind can play tricks or bring up things we have thought long buried or ignored into diminished value.
What was real and what was imagined. Descending into a treasure hunt or fact finding or the next big break and finding more than they bargained for.
If you like horror, this is a good choice.
Very inventive, but too many fantastic elements for my taste.
This book started out scary, but quickly got bogged down. The author apparently knows a lot about Egyptian views of the afterlife, but I thought it was slow going in the middle.
Was an ok read… not the greatest..
It started well, interesting concept and characters, but the ending went off the rails.
I enjoyed the beginning of the book. The characters were interesting and the story intriguing. It all seemed to fall apart once they went underground. It became trite, muddled, and boring. I finished it but regretted the time it took to read it.
Page turner!
Wow. I started reading this and couldn’t put it down. I’m always interested in books about archaeological adventures and this one had such a wicked title and mysterious description, I just knew it was gong to be fun.
There’s quite the cast of characters, and some had differing agendas. I had a feeling things were going to go sideways and they did.The author did a great job of filling in the background on his characters in just the right places in the story.
And there’s also something very strange about the dig. The deeper they go, the stranger and more dangerous it gets. So many things happened and I kept picturing them in my mind. Some times I had to stop and ponder what I would do too. It’s easy to think you’d be calm and cool, but I would probably be the ninny who goes running off screaming into the dark to meet a sticky end. LOL
I’ve enjoyed some of Brian’s other books and this was just as thrilling. And I’m still thinking about the ending. It’s a surprising twist.
It’s 1935 and a group of archaeologists vanish inside an Egyptian cave. A year later one man returns covered in mysterious scars. After his death his granddaughter joins an expedition that will try to follow in his footsteps. What they find is beyond understanding, a technologically advanced relic and a maze of tunnels.
They enter a realm that lies between the living and the dead. “It connects to all the continents through caves that contain secret portals. The Dark Realm contains an infinite number of levels and gates.” Puzzles must be solved to open these gates so they can proceed through the levels.
This one is exciting, riveting, action packed, and has Egyptian Gods! The expedition is besieged by creatures from different realms and the underworld! Who will make it to the final level and behold the creators of the tomb? I really enjoyed this story! It held me captive from the time I read the title “Tomb of Gods” to the last sentence! I need to read more from this author!
Brian Moreland has a reputation for great horror in historical settings. He’s in fine form with this latest offering.
What starts off as a standard mummy horror story set in the 1930s soon transforms into something much more surreal and interesting. The suspense never lets up and the dangers the explorers face as they move from level to level in the tomb are scary and creative. Someone needs to turn this into a video game.
Great characters and dialogue. Even the early victims have enough depth and back story that you hate to see them go.
If you liked Mr. Moreland’s Shadows in the Mist and The Devil’s Woods, you’ll devour this.