Fairy Tale Spotlight: Book Review - Anubis Speaks!

I recently read a very good book by one Vicky Alvears Shecter called "Anubis Speaks!" It was subtitled "A Guide to the Afterlife by the Egyptian God of the Dead." And they weren't kidding. This book is written in the voice of Anubis himself! And what a great concept that is from the outset. But even more wonderful was how absolutely devious he was. Really, the canine was quite evil and even reveled in making the reader as uncomfortable as possible. I wouldn't expect any less from the God of Death.

The book was listed as intended for young readers. Nevertheless, Anubis assured us that he will not hold back all the nasty, disgusting, and bloody details of his way of life from them. He promises that the book will be full of horrible things and it truly was.

"Anubis Speaks!" was all about how the gods of Egypt did their business. It went into how the day and night cycle was really the death and rebirth of Ra (the sun god.) The story was full of adventure, battles, and a lot of humans getting caught up in the often very nasty business of the gods.

Anubis is forthright about his enjoyment of death and the destruction of human lives, yet he still tries to convince you that the world worked much better when he was in control. He even said that he would often side with humans when he was tending to the scales which would weigh their hearts. The goal seemed more to convince us that we should accept their violent rules for the sake of the lesser of two evils. Isn't that interesting?! I seem to see similar concepts pop up in modern media.

I don't know about you, but I am not too keen on the idea of a malevolent creature acting on my behalf. But he seems to think the world works better when the complicated and often nasty lives of the gods are the ruling caste of the world. The book, as entertaining as it was, smacked of truth. I am pretty sure these creatures really thought they were doing us a favor by sacrificing a number of us for their own terrible whims.

While "Anubis Speaks!" is a work of fiction, it glides along parallel with the truth. It really puts into perspective how these creatures, who I really do believe existed, thought about us. It shows their ego as well. Much of that ego is captured in the brilliant illustrations of Antoine Revot. Anubis is always grinning and showing his teeth. Although smiling, he looks like he would have no problems at all tearing you to shreds. It was one of the finer aspects of the book that really sold it.

If you are interested in a fun and wild look into ancient Egyptian lore without the taint of political correctness, "Anubis Speaks!" is highly recommended. A good book for boys who like adventure and action as well! Snap this one up!

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Thanks!