Book of the Dead: 03/17/16

Book of the Dead by Michael Northrop is the first of the TombQuest series. There's also a corresponding online game, but I have not tried it and am not including it in this review.

Alex Sennefer lives with his mother in New York. She is an Egyptologist and he has a weak heart. They both know he doesn't have long to live and there's nothing they can do about it except keep giving him medicine and keep his life as stress free as possible. But when you're eleven years old, it's hard to do and it's easy to forget your medicine.

Here's the thing, his mother knows the same thing. And she's willing to try ancient magic to save his life. Whether or not she knows the consequences of her actions isn't mentioned. All Alex knows is that she has used the Book of the Dead to revive him when time had run out, and now there long dead people and creatures coming back to life too. Worse yet, his mother has disappeared and there are at least two factions out to get Alex and his new found power over the ancient scrolls.

The TombQuest series combines my favorite aspects of The 39 Clues and the Kane Chronicles, namely the culture and magical aspects of the Ancient Egyptians and round the world puzzle solving adventures. There's an added bonus for this first book in the form of an under Manhattan adventure.

Four stars

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