Alec Devlin: The Eye of the Serpent

Jan 10, 2025 10:35 AM

Author:Philip Caveney

Egypt 1923.

Fifteen-year-old Alec Devlin is on his way to the Valley of the Kings. Accompanied by his faithful valet, Coates, Alec is to spend his summer holidays working on his Uncle Will's archaeological dig. It's not the first time he's spent his summer this way . . . but this year things are different.

Uncle Will and his young assistant, Tom Hinton, have recently made an amazing discovery - an ancient tomb hidden deep below the earth. But only hours after opening its doors, Uncle Will falls mysteriously ill and Tom seems to have disappeared without trace.

Together with Ethan Wade, the young American soldier of fortune who is managing the dig in Uncle Will's absence, and a pretty French woman called Madeleine Duval, Alec sets about unravelling the tomb's mysteries. Seemingly harmless animals have turned into rabid killers . . . long dead mummies are rising from their tombs . . . the spirit of a powerful High Priest is claiming the bodies of the living as his living hosts . . . Together Alec and Ethan must confront a terror that has waited three thousand years to be reborn.

Reviews

A smashing adventure story, well controlled and well written

—— Chris Stephenson , Carousel

This is an exciting and readable book, and Philip Caveny has a wry gift for instilling sympathy for his minor characters

—— The School Librarian

Parents may not always love her gritty subject matter but Wilson's young fans certainly do and they won't be disappointed by her latest

—— Sunday Express

Another funny, touching and entertaining story from best-selling author, Jacquelline Wilson

—— Portunus Club Magazine

Jacqueline Wilson's clever interweaving of the modern and Victorian story lines makes this book especially satisfying. Nick Sharratt's delightful line drawings help to make the text accessible to a very wide range of readers, who will find this first rate novel both intuitive and humorous

—— Carousel

Wilson reveals her ability to elicit tears as well as laughter

—— Publishers Weekly

Vivid, warm and amusing

—— Evening Standard

Written in a first-person voice of disarming honesty, the book rings true through all of its many layers

—— Guardian

A good read for 11-year-olds who want to know their counterparts a century ago were truly human

—— TES

A most enjoyable book, full of life, warmth and humour

—— The School Librarian

Compelling and thought-provoking

—— Teach Primary

What a fantastic job Adel Geras has done bringing these characters to life

—— Sarah's Book Reviews

Full of suspense and the characters were written so well that you were really pulled into their lives

—— Chrissie's Corner

The book comes billed as "a passionate tale of love, betrayal and revenge" - and it is indeed, an excellent, intelligent read which will stretch minds just as it will stretch vocabularies. It is vivid in the world it creates, intriguing as it takes you there and satisfying when it leaves you

—— Chichester Today

Adele Geras gave us brilliant evocations of the ancient world with Troy and Ithaka. With Dido she again takes a classical setting and story and breathes freshness, and above all an up-to-date connection, into the people and the places whilst skilfully remaining faithful to her sources

—— School Librarian

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