Rating: 
Summary: A pleasant surprise
Review: This book has sat on my bookshelf for over 12 months unread. For some reason I had the perception that it was going to be hard going.Wrong! This book is very easy to read. It provides an insight to an ancient world in an easy to read format. Written as a novel Jacq has struck an excellent and entertaining method of sharing fact bolstered by fiction. You will be keen to read the next volume.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must-Read...Especially for History Majors
Review: This book is simply a "must-read"...especially for history majors (smile) because it details the life of a boy enduring various tests to gain the strength and courage to follow his father and become ruler. A book for the entire family, it establishes moral attributes everyone can pattern their lives after.
Seti follows in his father's footsteps to gain the place of Pharoah and along the way, faces great challenges that build his physical and mental prowess. Although surrounded by enemies, he gleans off of the support of friends and the wisdom of his father to finish them.
Again, this book is a must read and I would recommend it with a hot mug of french cappuccino because it gives a sense of adventure to the dullest of minds and lures you into the life of a boy finding his place in a kingdom.
Rating: 
Summary: 1st Grade Read
Review: Unfortunately, I had bought the series before I read the reviews and now regret the time wasted on this book. I realize different people like different styles and levels of difficulty. Although I did not expect a classic, I was hoping to at least get a feel for the history period through an enjoyable read. The book does not deliver !
To start with, the language is overly simplistic, most words being 1-2 syllables and senteces about 1-2 lines. I felt my language skills regressing with every page. Furthermore, the dialogue often incorporates modern expressions, I came away asking why the workds "cool" and "dude" were not acutally used. This in itself does not exactly set the background for era emersion.
Besides the language, the characters are incredibly flat. A perfect example is Iset the Fair, Ramses' first girlfriend. This part of the story started out promising. Iset and Ramses are very young (14 or 15 years old at that point.) Iset is a society girl, considered to be one of the most beautiful, intelligent and very ambitous ... made out to be some seductress who toys with men for her pleasure but we are told at every possible occasion that her life goal is to be a queen. Ramses is the strong, serious type that is aloof to the superficial existence of nobility, intrigue, games, etc. Obviously, Iset notices Ramses' physique and makes the first move by inviting him to a party. When he says no, she says the invitation is open if you change your mind and walks away. He is obviously enticed and ends up coming to the party. The stage was now set for a great story... a naive adolescent who for the first time faces the guiles of an experienced player. Who will win, will she corrupt him, will he escape her bewitching charms, how will she try to ensnare him... Unfortunately, the reader was just set up for a disappointment -- after 1 or 2 sentences to each other at the end of the party, Ramses and Iset have sex and from then on she renounces all ambition and becomes Ramses wet mop. This is typical of the whole book.
Another example, is the part of the plot where Ramses and his friend Ahmeni try to discover who was responsible for the attempt on Ramses' life. The author could have made it a suspensful aspect of the story... what the clues were, how they slowly came together, how the connection between the conspirators was discovered, etc. Instead, at the end, the name of the villain is simply disclosed WITHOUT giving the reader any details. The whole mystery is concluded in one sentence "At first incredulous, the crown prince yielded to the evidence. Ahmeni had put together a remarkable case; there were no loose ends." THAT's IT! It's very nice that Ramses' questions were apparently satisfied by his friend behind the scenes but what about the reader ... we also want to know the how, why, where and how the loose ends were tied.
Another reason why you are not moved by the book is that it completely lacks life-like situations, conflicts, etc... everything always goes Ramses' way without you knowing why. It's worse than a fairy tale where at least you have one big suspenseful moment (where you think the hero is doomed) before the eventual "happy forever after" part. Here, whenever Ramses comes to some danger/trouble, the resolution comes in a sentence or paragraph .. Ramses just wins, or kills, or someone immediately succumbs to his charms and leadership qualities. How believable is that?
Major parts of the book are not explained, bizarre though they seem. Even though Ramses' older brother is declared heir apparent, the father selects Ramses as pharaoh. Why? No explanation is given. Does the Pharoah come to love him, see greatness in him? If so, at what point? In the first chapter of the book, the Pharoah tests Ramses with the wild bull scene. At that point, the older brother is already appointed heir apparent and Pharaoh has never seen Ramses (14 years old) before this day. Why is he testing him? He couldn't have loved him or seen potential in him then since he never met him before. So why the test to a "stranger" when Pharoah already declared his heir apparent. It doesn't make sense.
Worst of all, there is almost no historical/ era detail to emmerse the reader in the time period. Though the author is apparently a big authority on ancient Egypt, where are the details and descriptions of the customs, the social relationships (between men and women, nobility and commoners, workers, parents and children. Aside from the temple visiting, this book could have been set in any period and in any country. When the names of the gods are cited, there are no asociated mythological stories to introduce the reader to this part of ancient Egypt. Most people are familiar with Greek or Roman mythology, wouldn't a saga about ancient Egypt give more than mere dry recitation of names.
I could go on and on criticising the book but I think the above are examples of the utter cheap writing involved.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: Very dissapointing. I expected another bright book like Uarda but instead found a writing style similar to that of a 14 year old: poor in vocabulary, depth and wisdom and over-compensating with insignificant episodes one after the other. Useless to say, I won't purchase any of the next 5 books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: It's light, it's fluffy and it's fun!!
Review: Well, I wouldn't recommend this book if you desire a serious piece on the history of Ramses the Great. However, if you enjoy the ancient Egyptians and would like to read a good fictional account, then this is the book for you. Keep in mind you will need to read/buy all 5 volumes in this series to find out the conclusion!! Besides, Jacq's Ramses is a dead ringer for Yul Brynner in Ten Commandments, which makes the character all that more enjoyable!!
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