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A review by xzannahx
Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth by John Darnell, Colleen Darnell
4.0
A huge thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth describes the life of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, how their beliefs altered ancient Egyptian religion and politics, and the impact they had on society at the time.
I really had to take my time reading this, as there is just so much information. I really enjoy the format of dramatization (truly placing you back in time) then transitioning into the explanation and background information for each chapter. However, for roughly the first 30% of the book, I had trouble absorbing the immense amount of information (and names!) that I found it to be slow going. I have always been interested in ancient Egypt and have enjoyed watching several documentaries where John and Colleen Darnell feature, so it was a little discouraging at first.
My favorite parts are the detail on the ancient artifacts and architecture that have been found and studied, but I also enjoyed seeing how Akhenaten and Nefertiti nearly forced a monotheistic religion while proclaiming themselves gods on earth.
This descriptive study into the life of Akhenaten and Nefertiti was incredibly informative- it's amazing that Egyptologists can determine and deduce so much about this period in ancient Egypt, and the authors stick to giving facts while including multiple theories where something isn't proven. Overall, I found this to be a low 4 stars- with the cons being the beginning was slow and over-informative while difficult for me to adjust to. The pros being that I really enjoyed the information provided, the transparency where the Darnell's do not have solid facts, and the enjoyable experience that reading about this topic gave me. I will definitely be picking up a copy.
Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth describes the life of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, how their beliefs altered ancient Egyptian religion and politics, and the impact they had on society at the time.
I really had to take my time reading this, as there is just so much information. I really enjoy the format of dramatization (truly placing you back in time) then transitioning into the explanation and background information for each chapter. However, for roughly the first 30% of the book, I had trouble absorbing the immense amount of information (and names!) that I found it to be slow going. I have always been interested in ancient Egypt and have enjoyed watching several documentaries where John and Colleen Darnell feature, so it was a little discouraging at first.
My favorite parts are the detail on the ancient artifacts and architecture that have been found and studied, but I also enjoyed seeing how Akhenaten and Nefertiti nearly forced a monotheistic religion while proclaiming themselves gods on earth.
This descriptive study into the life of Akhenaten and Nefertiti was incredibly informative- it's amazing that Egyptologists can determine and deduce so much about this period in ancient Egypt, and the authors stick to giving facts while including multiple theories where something isn't proven. Overall, I found this to be a low 4 stars- with the cons being the beginning was slow and over-informative while difficult for me to adjust to. The pros being that I really enjoyed the information provided, the transparency where the Darnell's do not have solid facts, and the enjoyable experience that reading about this topic gave me. I will definitely be picking up a copy.