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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780802143785
ISBN number: 0802143784
Label: Grove Press
Manufacturer: Grove Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: April 11, 2008
Publishing house: Grove Press
Sale Popularity Level: 48969
Studio: Grove Press
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Product Description:
In 523 BC, the Persian pharaoh Cambyses dispatched an army across Egypt’s western desert to destroy the oracle at Siwa. Legend has it that somewhere in the middle of the Great Dune Sea his army was overwhelmed by a sandstorm and lost forever. Two and a half millennia later a mutilated corpse is washed up on the banks of the Nile at Luxor, an antique dealer is savagely murdered in Cairo, and a British archaeologist is found dead at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara. The incidents appear unconnected, but Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor police is suspicious, as is the archaeologist’s daughter, Tara Mullray. Lured into a labyrinth of intrigue, violence, and betrayal by a mysterious hieroglyphic fragment and rumors of a mythic lost tomb, what began as a search for the truth becomes a race for survival. Confronted by both present day adversaries and ghosts from their pasts, Khalifa and Mullray find themselves on a trail that leads into the desert’s unforgiving, burning heart, and the answer to one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world.
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Rated by buyers 
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This book had the makings of an excellent story: great subject, intriguing plot-line, and exotic locations. Unfortunately, Sussman is not able to put them together successfully and the result is a hack-job of a book. The ending is utterly ridiculous and resembles that which you see from a very first year cinema screenplay writer.
Save your money and your time. Buy something else. Almost anything will do.
Rated by buyers -
This seemed to have a great premise: how a military disaster that occurred 2,500 years ago could have modern ramifications. However, it turned out to be a slow-moving, pedestrian "boy and girl running away in the wilderness from evil people" tale. Every cliche appears: the pebble slipping down the hill, giving the good guys' position away; the kindly "Columbo" like under-rated detective; the coincidences that lead our heroes to run into EXACTLY the particular people who have the unique knowledge they need--at just the right times. Oh, and, of course, the Americans in the novel are all sadistic, boorish louts.
Save your money.
Rated by buyers 
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No spoilers
Having just finished The Lost Army of Cambyses, I must say that my enjoyment of it only increased throughout the reading. Three quarters of the way through I thought this novel was pretty average and I was more or less bored with it, as nothing surprising or of consequence had happened. Then, it started to pick up, and the ending was full of several surprises that I did not see coming.
After finishing it, I am definitely glad I read it and thoroughly enjoyed it on the whole, and recommend it to anyone looking for a interesting story with several good twists. I've already read this books sequel, The Last Secret of the Temple, so now I'm looking forward to reading the third Khalima novel, The Hidden Oasis.
Rated by buyers -
Actually, the most fascinating character in this story is Yusuf Khalifa, one of the main characters - a detective. As a westerner, I don't get to read much about good guy Muslims. I know that most Muslims are regular, normal, not-likely-to blow-up-others people, but that's not how many of them are portrayed, especially in thrillers. In this case, Khalifa is a gentle soul, a family man tortured about the fate of his brother, Ali.
The bulk of the story focuses on the action. People have been murdered in order for the bad guys to find the 2500 year old remains of a lost army. The head bad guy is a Muslim terrorist, but the author doesn't paint him as just an evil guy who wants to kill people. There is one of those in this book, but he's not Muslim. No, this terrorist has reasons for being a terrorist. Not that he's sympathetic, exactly, but it makes you think about what would make a rational, caring, intelligent person become a mass murderer for a cause.
There are a few stock characters - there's the damsel in distress, who is the other main character, and there's the love interest. There's also the sinister bureaucrat. They are fairly well portrayed - you feel that the author put a lot of thought into everyone's backstory, which I appreciate.
The author knows a lot about Egyptology (he's a real archaeologist - cool!) and while I don't know enough about the subject to verify its authenticity, it sounded believable and fascinating. The pacing of the story was good. There were slow spots in the right places to help you catch your breath, but I never felt it dragged the story down.
This is a decent thriller. I love Khalifa & am excited to get the subsequent book he's featured in. (The paperback is on order!) I love how Islam is portrayed - the regular people are not maniacs, and even the fanatics have reasons for their fanaticism. While that may not forgive their actions, at least you can see how some get to that point. And if you know what causes people to become like that, then there's hope that changes can happen in society to keep that from happening. My belief is that people don't start evil, and even those who do awful things might not think of themselves as evil. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be stopped, but maybe it's better to divert their slide then to have to deal with them when they've already hit bottom.
Solid 4 stars. The writing is plain & clear, the action is compelling. The characters are well thought out. I don't have any one reason for 4 stars instead of 5, except that it seemed a little regular. But it was good and worth reading and I'm looking forward to the subsequent one.
Rated by buyers 
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English zoologist Tara Mullray visits her renowned Egyptologist father Michael at a dig only to find her dad dead. At approximately the same time, a grey market antiquities seller is also found dead with his mutilated corpse lying by the Nile covered with cigar burns. Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor Police Department is assigned to investigate both homicides.
Because of the nature of their respective professions, two sides of the same coin, Yuseuf seeks a link between the murders. He quickly learns of a third facet when an elderly Cairo antiquities dealer is killed (with cigar burns on the body) in his shop, but nothing is stolen. Yuseuf interviews Tara who informs him that the excavation site where her father died contained the odor of cigar smoke. Soon the Egyptian and British politico take an interest in how much Yuseuf knows because terrorist Sayf al-Tha'r lingers in the background.
THE LOST ARMY OF CAMBYSES is a strong police procedural that interweaves archaeological elements into the plot, but though engaging and educational never slows down the pace of the story line. The tale is at its luxurious best when Yuseuf investigates. The novel remains powerful even when the British embassy and the Egyptian Antiquities Bureau interfere with the inquiry due to a fear of Islamic Fundamentalist involvement. When the plot twists more into a thriller, it retains its excitement, but veers away from its prime theme of murder investigations at the Pyramids. Still this is a tremendous very first dig into the mystery world by renowned archaeologist Paul Sussman and hopefully he will provide more exciting tales for his faithful students.
Harriet Klausner
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