To celebrate the release of Saviour Pirotta’s latest book published by Maverick Books, I am posting a book review.
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Title: The Serpent’s Eclipse
Written by: Saviour Pirotta
Illustrated by: Jo Lindley
Published by: Maverick Books
It is always sad when we come to the end of a series with characters we have grown to love and this is how I felt after reading the final episode of The Nile Adventures by Saviour Pirotta.
The Serpent’s Eclipse sees the return of the evil Paser who we met in the first and second books of the series who has been joined by Merit and The Jackal, the antagonists from the third novel.
Paser has ramped up his goal in this final saga – not only does he want to get rid of the Pharaoh he has set his sights on killing the god Amun-Ra, so all of Kemet will descend into chaos allowing him to conquer all the land and make himself a god. It is up to the brothers, Renni and Mahu, to defeat him with the help of their friends Prince Khaem and the Fenkhu Princess, Balaal.
Again the chapters are written from the point of view of brothers, Renni and Mahu with each section beginning with an introduction from the point of view of Paser who has disguised himself with a serpent mask. The four friends split into two groups of two whose journeys take them on different paths but meet up in Per Bast and the Temple of Baslet. The final climax see the revealing of who The Jackal really is, which came as a bit of a surprise to me.
There is as usual, a useful map at the beginning of the book to help the reader find their bearing and get an understanding of where things are in relation to each other and also a glossary at the end of the book as well as some very interesting information about the significance of cats in Egyptian legends. I love the way Saviour weaves Egyptian mythology and real historical figures into the story.
Another exciting well-paced and beautifully illustrated adventure. The whole series is perfect for all young readers who have a fascination with mythology, especially in Ancient Egypt.
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To read my interview with Saviour Pirotta about the writing of The Nile Adventure series take a look at: Special Guest Q & A with Saviour Pirotta.
You can follow Saviour on X @spirotta and on Threads as @saviour2858 and on Instagram as saviour2858.
To read my reviews of the previous books in the Nile Adventure series take a look at:
You can buy Saviour Pirotta’s books from any good bookshop. They’re available online at amazon but also direct from the publishers where you can often get great discounts. Here’s the address https://maverickbooks.co.uk/junior-fiction/.
Much To Do About Writing 