Napoleon's Pyramids

William Dietrich grounds this adventure tale with real historic detail. In post-revolutionary France an American expat is wrested from his dilettante life by a mysterious Egyptian medallion he wins in a card game. Forced to flee Paris, Ethan Gage joins Napoleon Bonaparte's 1798 army-cum-scientific expedition to Egypt. His reluctant quest to find the meaning of the medallion will pitch him against harrowing battles, cruel villains, unlikely allies, and, towering above them all, the ancient pyramids. Gage, resourceful but out of his depth, makes for an appealing hero and the historical characters are well-observed. Dietrich succeeds by keeping things believable, avoiding anachronistic dialogue and wildly implausible ancient technology. -- János

Request Napoleon's Pyramids or its sequel The Rosetta Key from the Saint Paul Public Library.