Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

The Buried Pyramid by Jane Lindskold
Publication: Tor Books (May 1, 2004), ebook
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Rating:
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First sentence: IT COULDN’T have happened at a worse time, but Neville Hawthorne knew he had no one but himself to blame.

In one sentence: Starts off rotten, but turns sweet and savory soon enough.

Note: There’s some (very slight) spoilers in here, and I’ve tried to mark them when necessary. If you haven’t read the book it might make you ready for some events in the plot, but I don’t think they’d ruin the book for you (hopefully).

I tried reading this earlier in the year, but I never made it past the suspiciously boring prologue. I tried it again in June, for lack of anything else to read, and this time I managed to get past the prologue and through to the really good bits, full of adventure and intrigue and a fantastically strong female lead. Plus, Egypt in late 1800s/early 1900s! (I was never quite sure what year it was.) I’m glad I persevered past the first 10 or so pages, as The Buried Pyramid is a rather wonderful book.

Summary from Amazon:

Lucky young Jenny Benet, a recently orphaned American girl who was raised on the Wild West frontier and educated at a Boston finishing school, has come to Egypt in company with her uncle Neville Hawthorne, a prominent British archaeologist. They’re part of a team investigating the legendary Buried Pyramid, the tomb of the pharaoh Neferankhotep-who may also have been Moses the Lawgiver. But they’re not the only ones interested in the site. Another party, led by the opulent and treacherous Lady Audrey Cheshire, is shadowing theirs. Someone who signs himself ‘The Sphinx’ has been sending threatening letters-written entirely in hieroglyphics. In Egypt, an ancient and shadowy organization seems determined to keep the tomb from being discovered. And mortals may not be all that stand in their way.

My favorite bits of the book were:
a) Jenny, the kick-butt female protagonist who doesn’t take crap from anyone yet still manages to be somewhat historically possible. She was raised in the Wild West, knows how to use a gun, likes wearing trousers and going on adventures, and she wants to be a doctor. I loved her! She was really refreshing, especially since the male characters tended to be dunderheads in regards to certain things dealing with pretty women and treasure. Jenny’s a modern woman in the guise of a Victorian lady, and without her I’m not sure I would have liked The Buried Pyramid quite as much.

b) Stephen, the eccentric Egyptologist who wears out-of-fashioned clothing and tends to ramble. (He reminds me of Daniel from Stargate, ha.) He and Jenny were a really fun set, and– SLIGHT SPOILER here– I thought they would have made a good couple, too.

Really, I only had two problem with The Buried Pyramid: the horrible opening sequence, and the sudden transition from historical adventure novel to WTF IS GOING ON fantasy novel. It comes near the end of the book, and though it’s an interesting idea and was kind of cool, there were no solid paranormal things present in the rest of the book to back up this completely fantastical part. Honestly, it would have been better cut that part out and replace it with something else non-fantasy just so the book a) flows better and b) doesn’t seem like it’s two books stuck together. The ending as a whole is rather abrupt, and was a disappointment after having the rest of the book be so enjoyable.

I hope that makes sense. It might not if you haven’t read the book already. Anyway, if you like adventure novels (or novels set in Egypt), and you don’t mind a few bumps, you might want to try out The Buried Pyramid.

Other reviews: Counting My Blessings | Ordinary Day (does a better job than I do at talking about what’s wrong with The Buried Pyramid) | Tor.com (kinda)