Mirany, the newly appointed attendant to the Speaker, is untested, in fear for her life, and keeper of the god's secrets.

Seth, an ambitious scribe toiling in the shadow of the pyramid, has discovered the secret labyrinths and underground passages to the tombs.

Hermia, the Speaker, interprets the words of the god and twists his wishes to suit her treachery.

General Argelin, the cunning leader in league with the Speaker, intends to dictate the choosing of the new ruler Alexos, the quiet boy, is fated to rule the land -- unless his enemies succeed in their plot.

Oblek, the foolish musician, may be the only person who can keep Alexos alive.

The Jackal, the black-market tomb raider, will strike like a scorpion if anyone interferes with his scheme to rob the sacred catacombs

Amazon.com Review
After wowing kids and critics alike in the UK, this smart and suprisingly gritty historical fantasy from award-winning Welsh author and poet Catherine Fisher finally arrives in the US. Fisher grabs readers quickly with a convincingly imagined Greco-Egyptian setting and characters that defy quick classification. Our heroine, Mirany, begins the story as a timid teen serving the High Priestess, the masked Speaker who discerns the wishes of a god through a mysterious island oracle. When the current Archon (the sequestered God-on-Earth) passes a secret note to Mirany just before he's sacrificed, the story throws intrigue onto intrigue with a murder plot, a drunken musician, a conflicted scribe, a slick tomb robber, an offended Rain Goddess, and no shortage of mystic burial rituals and dusty tombs.

Fisher's biggest accomplishment is that for all the page-turning action, she still manages to raise some pretty heady ideas about death, ambition, and the nature of faith. Expect both kids and grownups to be reaching for Fisher's follow-up. (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes