Amenhotep, Son of Hapu
One of the most realistic, fictional accounts of ancient Egyptian life ever penned, Scribes Ascent is the first novel in the Amenhotep, Son of Hapu: A Tale of Egypt series. As Egypts foremost éminent grise, Amenhotep narrates in Scribes Ascent his rise from a miserable provincial backwater to a position second only to Pharaohs in power. The story unfolds as Egypt is on the verge of a cultural and religious upheaval that threatens everything the aged scribe cherishes. Tenaciously devoted to tradition, betrayed by his family, and with a new king, his one-time pupil, plotting to destroy him, Amenhotep now understands he played a pivotal role in triggering the coming catastrophe, an era later called the Amarna Revolution. To avoid everlasting damnation, Amenhotep begins to plead his case: that his single purpose in life was to preserve the established orderthe perfection of things at the beginningagainst change, confusion, and chaos.