SPHINX'S QUEEN

The sequel to Sphinx's Princess (2009) is an ancient Egyptian soap opera starring Nefertiti as a mouthy, gutsy teen. Accompanied by her trusty slave Nava and her gentle swain Prince Amenophis, she must prove her valor and cunning in a series of adventures outwitting her beloved’s brother, the malicious Prince Thutmose. In florid prose, Friesner draws Thutmose as a duplicitous villain whose evil deeds are both violent and cruel, aided and abetted by his formidable mother, the Queen. Nefertiti’s nemesis is somehow redeemed when, despondent over the failure of his nefarious plots, he takes to his bed to starve himself and Nefertiti is inspired to forgive him. Her whiplash-inducing reversal tests the bounds of credulity but provides a feel-good tool for wrapping up loose plot threads. The dialogue is stiff and self-conscious, and the characters have distinctly anachronistic attitudes toward issues like slavery and feminism, but readers with a predilection for ancient mythology viewed through the lens of modern mores may enjoy this fantastical read, once they've tied an extra knot or two in the rope that suspends their disbelief. (map, afterword) (Historical fiction. 11-14)