Rating: 
Summary: Ancient Egypt meets the computer age in this thriller
Review: Liam McKay showed Dan Rawlins, a renowned archeologist (at least among the masses), a picture of an ancient Egyptian ankh. Using his computer, Dan matched the picture with that of a half of an ankh owned by the museum. He asks his assistant, Marcy Lanford to find the museum's segment of the ankh. However, instead of giving the ankh to Dan, Marcy's corpse is found near CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE in Central Park. Other individuals including Liam are also killed. At the same time in Cairo, Israeli agent Jacinda El-Bahri steals the other half of the ankh from the supporters of the dangerous PLO assassin Salameh. Soon Jacinda becomes a hunted person as Salameh's men try to regain the lost ankh. Salameh, who led the 1992 Munich Olympic massacre wants to combine the two segments of the ankh into a weapon of unsurpassed might that has not seen this planet since the days of the bible. Jacinda and Dan will soon meet up as seemingly the only forces in the way of the terrorist succeeding. CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE is an exciting non-stop thriller that will elate fans who relish a tale that mixes the magic of the ancients with the power of modern communication. The story line never gives readers a chance to catch their breath as they hop around the world. The characters are intriguing and intelligent, adding to the overall fun. With the millennium rapidly ending, Steven Siebert provides fans with a fabulous tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Starts decent, but it's downhill from there...
Review: Like some of the other reviewers who have read this book, there were parts that I enjoyed about this novel....unfortunately, after reading it, I'm far too focused on the faults. The story starts off promising. We are introduced to archaelogist Dan Rawlins, the beautiful Mossad agent Jacinda, and to the main antagonist of the book, the terrorist Salameh. Things become more interesting when some sort of demonic bird kills at Dan's museum, and then Jacinda is attacked by mummies....it's X-Files-esque, sure, but fun. At this point, however, the author decides to switch to ancient Egypt, to give a lengthy account of the Horite Cross and how it destroyed the life of one of the Pharaohs in a narrative told in the words of Amenehab, the Pharaoh's general and life-long friend. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I actually enjoyed the "flashback" story. Perhaps it is my own interest in Egyptian history, but I thought that the flashback story was actually the most entertaining part of the book. The negative side of this, however, is that it doesn't fit in with the rest of the novel. It's placement in the text is just awkward. The author interrupts the flow of the plot to insert an entirely different story (though one that does have bearing on the current plot, as the reader discovers) in the middle of the book. Then, after he's completed this separate narrative, he expects to just pick up where he left off. It doesn't come across well, at least not for me. As for the final third of the book.....well, it ruined the entire novel for me. Salameh is really Sennemet? Seems a bit like a daemon ex machina. And wait, the hero suddenly discovers that he's part of a historic sect (by birthright) that has prophesied his battle with the evil sorcerer? Please. The last third seemed far too rushed. Siebert could have expanded upon it substantially. As for his writing style....I applaud him for his portrayal of the ancient Egyptians. He attempted to breathe life into them, and made them seem realistic. The other characters should have been as developed. Finally, and this is just a pet peeve of mine, but Siebert seems to be a member of the "exclamation point!" faction. Perhaps it's a technique he carried with him from his comic book writing days, but not all action scenes have to use an exclamation point liberally to create suspense. However, this is his first feature novel, so he has room to improve. Overall, I give the book 3 stars, cause it looked like Siebert was trying at least for the first 2/3rds of the book. If you want to read it, save the money and just check it out at your local library.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Recommended
Review: Started out pretty good, but the more I read the more disapointed I became. A little too unbelievable, with the guy with the human head and the bird body and all the living dead wandering around. I also did not like the flashback in the middle of the book, it was way too long and not necessary. He could have accomplished the same thing in one chapter instead of a third of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful.
Review: The author managed to make a book out of ancient Egypt and modern technology. The characters are well-developed and the story grabs and won't let go. The part where the demonic bird attacks the people at the museum was the best part of the book. READ THIS BOOK!!!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting story, a million flaws
Review: The novel starts off all right, but gets interrupted by a drawn-out story taking place in Ancient Egypt. You can tell what he is trying to accomplish (the writer), but it seems too drawn out and takes up such a large chunk of the book so you forget about all of the little things that just aren't jiving. Then, a "twist" at the end comes out of left field that totally ruins the book. It seems that the "twist" was hurriedly thrown in b/c the original ending didn't work. As a result, the twist shifts the story in an implausable direction that left me angry that I spent the time reading the book. The overall idea is kind of neat if you are into Egyptian mythology, but the story needs first aid.
Rating: 
Summary: Promising beginning, downhill from there...
Review: This book just tried to hard to be something it was not, a textbook for Egyptian Studies 101. The beginning of the story had promise as a good horror novel, but then launched into a history section that was not only confusing but uninteresting as well (and LONG). The Pharoh in this history section is reffered to by no less than 5 different names, making it hard to follow who was talking to whom. The ending lost me completely when in the span of about ten pages the main characters, without reason or explanation, fall in love, battle evil guys, win the day, end of story. A sad end to a good beginning.
Rating:
Summary: Promising beginning, downhill from there...
Review: This book just tried to hard to be something it was not, a textbook for Egyptian Studies 101. The beginning of the story had promise as a good horror novel, but then launched into a history section that was not only confusing but uninteresting as well (and LONG). The Pharoh in this history section is reffered to by no less than 5 different names, making it hard to follow who was talking to whom. The ending lost me completely when in the span of about ten pages the main characters, without reason or explanation, fall in love, battle evil guys, win the day, end of story. A sad end to a good beginning.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite as good as expected
Review: When I read the summary of this novel, I was very excited and couldn't wait to read it. I'm totally fasinated by anything having to do with ancient Egypt and I thought that the added twist of a demonic bird, mummies coming back to life and an ancient cross would only add to the excitement. This book starts off well with the introduction of Dan Rawlins, an archaelogist with famous parents, and the murder of Dan's assistant. From there we start on a search to find the ancient Horite cross, which some believes has the power to resurrect the dead. The book does have its exciting moments and I liked the way the writer took us back in time to see the life of Amenehab, the Pharaoh's general, but I thought that dedicating the entire middle of the book to this ruined the flow of the story. When we finally returned to modern time, I had to flip back to the first third of the book to catch where the last part of the story picked up. I thought it would have been better if we had gotten glimpses of ancient Eygpt throughout the story. I really liked Jacinda, the beautiful Mossad agent. She was tough and strong and didn't frighten easily. She gave the book the kick-ass attitude that kept the adrenaline of the story going.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite as good as expected
Review: When I read the summary of this novel, I was very excited and couldn't wait to read it. I'm totally fasinated by anything having to do with ancient Egypt and I thought that the added twist of a demonic bird, mummies coming back to life and an ancient cross would only add to the excitement. This book starts off well with the introduction of Dan Rawlins, an archaelogist with famous parents, and the murder of Dan's assistant. From there we start on a search to find the ancient Horite cross, which some believes has the power to resurrect the dead. The book does have its exciting moments and I liked the way the writer took us back in time to see the life of Amenehab, the Pharaoh's general, but I thought that dedicating the entire middle of the book to this ruined the flow of the story. When we finally returned to modern time, I had to flip back to the first third of the book to catch where the last part of the story picked up. I thought it would have been better if we had gotten glimpses of ancient Eygpt throughout the story. I really liked Jacinda, the beautiful Mossad agent. She was tough and strong and didn't frighten easily. She gave the book the kick-ass attitude that kept the adrenaline of the story going.
| 
