The Sleep of the Gods
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WOW!!! What an amazing book by James Sperl! I just couldn't put the book down. James brought each character to life & really made you visualize every scenario. I was really engrossed in the whole story, I laughed, cried & was on edge all throughout. I truly LOVED this book & all the characters. I anxiously await another from James. Hopefully this will be made into an amazing movie!!
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When Fates, men, and the gods become misaligned, an imbalance prevails that can devastate both mortal and immortal realms. When men escape their fated doom, something - or someone - must pay the price. Who would dare tamper with the Fates but Tempus, Commander of the Sacred Band, also called the Riddler, the Sleepless One, avatar of the storm god, Enlil?

Determined to save 23 paired warriors of the doomed Sacred Band of Thebes and incorporate them into his own Sacred Band, Tempus entreats the Fates. His desire is granted, but the Thebans pay a price. Evil dreams of Chaeronea, the battle that claimed their comrades, plague them. Tempus beloved Band of Stepsons must go back to the sinkhole that is Sanctuary and face the evil that comes from a world out of balance. When one of their own, the strong-willed wizard-boy Shamshi, is saved from Stepson justice by Askelon, the dream lord, the two form a pair and become a power for evil that threatens to tear the Band apart. It falls to Niko, Tempus right side companion, to protect his Commander from the repeated consequences of the battle of Chaeronea, many worlds away, where the Thebans were fated to die. If Niko and Tempus cannot turn the tide and push this battle in a new direction, all will be lost.

The natures of the main Stepson characters are explored in great depth in this tale. Nikos constant grappling with his love for his Commander, his inner balance (or maat), his need to kill Shamshi or be killed, and his concern for his friends, now takes a new turn as he is forced to confront a fundamental question. How has his relationship with Harmony, tutelary goddess of the Thebans, altered his essential nature?

Straton and Critias are still conflicted by Strats deep connection to the necromant, Ischade. Yet Ischade herself has depths yet unplumbed. She has her own agenda, indulges her own desires and hungers, yet never fails to aid the Band when called upon to do so. Does this compliance stem purely from her love for Strat, or are there other compulsions driving her actions?

A new character enters the scene - the Theban goddess Harmony. She brings her own kind of balance by muting the rage of the Storm God Enlil and opposing the youthful petulance of Sanctuarys own storm god, Vashanka. Yet she also brings conflict when she heals Niko of a mortal wound. Does this make him immortal, like the Riddler, or has he simply been touched by divinity?

All the emotions and strife of humankind can be found between the covers of this gripping book. The battle scenes are fierce and realistic; the fears, nightmares, hopes and despair of the characters keenly felt by this reader. The devastating fire at the Stepson barracks and the consequences for both men and horses was almost too wounding to read. Gods and goddesses, ghosts and necromants, murderers and Fates stalk the world of the Sacred Band, whose love, loyalty and warlike skills are tested as never before.
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Campbell draws comparisons between the interweaving dark and light lateral nerves along the spine of the yogic cakras to the caduceus, the crucifixion of Christ, Sumero-Akkadian serpent-god,Ningishzida and twined serpent images in Aztec and Navaho culture as well as others.  The common theme is of duality twining around a central spine, support or path.  One of those twines or sides is inner and the other outer.  We are what they twine around.
The depth of his insight is like  viewing a familiar landscape from place both higher and yet closer.  Some sentences are very long and need to be deciphered more than read.  That is most likely the result of trying to elucidate the ineffable.
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A wonderful book espousing the passage of knowledge from pre-history through to historic Greek, Roman, Pacific Island, Native American, African and Asian myths.  The authors are more than likely correct in their assertion that "ancients" were viewing the cosmos and recording what they saw in stories or myths.  What I have found relevant is the myth of Zeus's (ch. 19) or (Ovid) Jupiter's son, taking his father's chariot which holds the sun and running rampant through the heavens and almost crashing into the earth.  The resulting chaos on earth becomes boiling oceans, oceans turning into deserts, tropics becoming ice and vice-versa.  Along with that a new "pole star" and the milky way along with the constellations have moved in the night sky.  It seems that in this myth all of the cardinal points shift in their relationship to the heavens and what is above seems to have reoriented itself in relation to observers back on earth.
  In reading other later sources from the publish date of Hamlet's Mill I've found the theory of crust displacement, where the crust or skin of the earth, like the skin of an orange becomes loose and slips abruptly, (days, weeks, or months).  Not to be confused with plate tectonics which takes millions and millions of years.  This theory would account for drastic overnight changes in the orientation of the stars, planets and the "backward" movement of the sun through the sky as viewed from earth.  Antarctica was once a tropical island and there is the Piri Reis map which evidently shows Antarctica to be ice free.  There are other anomalies across the globe which point to a sudden change in temperature and orientation of places on the earth and Hamlet's Mill's myths to reflect these changes would be accurate and true as far as the new orientation of the cosmos, but not the reason for the change.  Good sources are "Fingerprint of the Gods"- Graham Hancock and "When the  Sky Fell: A search for Atlantis" - Rand Flem-Ath.  Unfortunate titles but a fantastic books that references these same myths but to prove a different theory.  When applying crust displacement to the chaos in the skies myths, it makes much more sense.
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Sampson's WITHIN THE SHADOW OF A MAN is nothing short of life shaking. In an era where I often feel drawn into sleep by the constant barrage of headlines, tweets, and ability to consume any kind of content within a few clicks on my iPhone or Macbook, WITHIN THE SHADOW OF A MAN shook my bones free from that bad, restless nap. Here is one poem in this featured in this book.

"Mysteries" by Dennis Sampson

In the evening when the geese fly, when the streetlights come on, there whispers
an ancient breezea worn creed. It is the mystery of a dogwood tree
just out of the reach of reason to someone accustomed
to the logic of a life. It is what hangs in the balance
during that first hour of the night when silence blackens all
of Galilee. Gone, as it is suddenly received.

Like you I move in a dream.
---
I was privileged to be Sampson's student as an undergraduate. "Conflict of interest" concerns can be forwarded to my assistants in the overcrowded field literary experts preoccupied with talking to one another about the intriguing philosophical element's of the other's most recent deconstructive commentary to be published in next quarter's edition of a journal that will circulate among a sub-sect of cultural elites.

American literature has gone quiet, dark and dreary since David Foster Wallace left us in 2008. Sampson's work plants new seeds in the field of American literature where few have ventured to go, and perhaps offers hope that the ray of a new day's sun is on verge of breaking forth.
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In Ancient Egypt, Pharoah Akenaten is ill with a fever, vague pains and purple
spots all over his body. His Uncle calls in physician-priests from the temple of
Aten, the Sun-God. Fever is attacked by drinking breast milk from the mother
of a newborn male. Pain requires a clove of garlic wrapped in muslin and placed
where it hurts. Spots get pasted with a solution of wheat flour and water.
Pharoah's health does not improve.

The High Priest consults with Pharoah's wife, Nefertiti, who threatens to have him
slaughtered if he can't produce a cure. He says Pharoah has been possessed by an
evil entity who is working for the Oracle. A superior kind of magic is needed and he
recommends the poppy plant. No, Akenaten says because he knows poppy killed
his father. He thinks the sun will cure him because he is Pharoah, a God.

And, he knows the cause of his illness:  some of his subjects are worshiping at home
small statues of gods other than The Aten.  He must save them from themselves.
Pharoah commands his General to send soldiers to every dwelling and search for
statues. If found, the owner is to be beheaded. In the end, Egypt is saved to be
ruled later by King Tut, then by Uncle Ay and then by General Horemheb.
I read this highly enjoyable book free due to Prime Reading. Thanks, Amazon.
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This is the one I loved the most. It is supposed to be a translation of a Sumer, Akkadian, Babylonian, Canaanite, Assyrian and Hebrew sources, written down by Endubsar a master Sumer scribe, servant of Lord Enki. Lord Enki was the first astronaut of the history of planet earth, arriving from Nibiru planet... I don't want to bother you further more, read it!
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Dirk Manning's world is populated by ghosts, monsters and even a helpful little world eating demon from an H.P. Lovecraft nightmare. This collection of his short stories is truly just another in a set of masterworks from the writer. These tales of misery, desire and hellish imagined tortures shows us that Mr. Manning is fastly becoming a rising star in the horror/science fiction genre. If you like Stephen King, Clive Barker and the like you will have to pick up this graphic novel. If you don't, you may never be able to sleep with both eyes closed again.
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An orphan girl who grows up in her uncle's house earns a reputation of being under the influence of the gods for seeing a death before it happened. Now there is trouble stirring not only in her home town but also in her uncle's house. Her cousin has fallen sick and her uncle blames her saying she put a spell on him; also she is having strange dreams about the trouble being stirred up in town. Will the rekhet be able to help her interpret her dreams, what is that odd slave girl stealing amulets for, will her uncle force her to marry just to get rid of her, and will her life ever return to normal?

An ineresintg book set in ancient Egypt, I would have given it five stars but I'm sick of school and Egypt.
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Clearly a gifted writer, Neil Gaiman like Lee Child, has transcended his British roots to become a world class writer. The old gods are not getting the respect and worship they received in days of yore, so they have fallen into disrepair and must work day-jobs to make ends meet. What a hoot. Meanwhile the gods of modern now-time have ascended to power and want to completely destroy the old gods. I was very clear on who the old gods were; not quite so clear on the modern techno-gods.
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"God Gave Us Sleep" by Lisa Tawn Bergren, keeping in style with the others in the series, takes us alongside a polar bear family as Mom and big sister have some conversations about sleep at bedtime. "Why is rest important?  What if I have a bad dream? Can I have a drink of water?" little cub inquires. Mother has a gentle, informative response that doesn't go into too much detail for younger readers, but satisfies those who have already started elementary school. My 3, 5, and 8-year-old boys crowded around asking me to read when this book arrived in the mail. The artwork is warm and welcoming, with some beautiful texture and rich color.

Emphasis is on the fact that rest is beneficial for us to have patience as well as energy for the next day, and that we should pray and trust God to care for our concerns about sleep. Little Cub does have trouble sleeping, even though she didn't have a bad dream, and her mom discovers it is because she had a "busy mind." Mom encourages a calm mind that ponders happy things at bedtime, along with prayers, to ensure a good night's sleep. Little cub recognizes that not getting enough sleep the night before does make her more susceptible to grumpiness the next day, and she's ready for some solid rest the second night. The only area I wish the author would have addressed was the fact that if a child DOES have bad dreams after praying that s/he would have good dreams, God is not ignoring the prayers or punishing the child. We just do not always understand why bad or scary things happen in life, but we can trust that God is always good, always there, always listening and providing.

Even though this book is about sleep, I would not consider it one of those books to set aside for only bedtimes, like I do with "Goodnight Moon" for example. If you have the others in this series (I particularly like "God Gave us Heaven"), or are a fan of classical books, you will enjoy reading this to the little ones in your life. They open the door for your child to ask further questions about the topics presented. This book, or others in the series would make wonderful gifts for baby showers, kids' (8 and under) birthdays or holidays.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. I was not required to give a positive review; my opinions are my own.
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I think this is a very interesting book, perfect for anyone interested in Egyptian Mythology! It explains in great detail everything about ancient Egypt's Gods, Goddesses, Pharaohs and Queens, as well as a brief introduction to the world of ancient egypt. Highly informative and interesting book. Thumbs up!
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An excellent one volume set of the 2 volume work by E. Wallis Budge.  Excellent scholarship concerning Egyptian religion of Osiris, the god of the resurrection.
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As S.N. Kramer states in his excellent introduction to Sumerian `History, Culture and Literature': Sumer is the `cradle of civilization'. Its culture produced the first world literature with twenty myths, nine epic tales, more than two hundred hymns and hundreds of historiographical documents and `wisdom texts' (fables, proverbs, essays).

Inanna
One of this tales is `Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth', written some 5000 years ago.
It is, by any standard, a remarkable text.
Its incantations have the power of a rhythmic cadence.
It has the images: `the agate necklace of fertility', `my vulva, the horn, the Boat of Heaven, is full of eagerness like the young moon. My untilled land lies fallow.'
It has the themes of love and sorrow, of good and evil and of life and death.
It has it symbolism: the descent of Inanna into the underworld. During her journey, she has to strip herself naked. Her body is `turned into a corpse, a piece of rotten meat, and was hung from a hook on the wall.'
It has its dream (of Demuzi) and its superb interpretation.

Diane Wolkstein wrote remarkable `Interpretations of Inanna's stories and Hymns', while Elizabeth Williams-Forte gave perfect explanations of the abundant graphic material.

All in all, this book is a splendid reconstruction of a remarkable tale.
A must for all lovers of world literature.
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The book opens when Tutankhamen was a very young and sickly child. The author explains that this youngest son attended school but was unable to participate in very physical games due to his fragility. While Tut walked to his school he admired the temples, appreciated the fine art work which glorified the numerous Egyptian Gods and his spirituality grew. In the beginning of the story, his father, Amenhotep III was Pharaoh. Upon the death of his father (which is not really dealt with or discussed enough),Tut's older brother, Amenhotep IV, took over the throne. Under his rule, he banned worship of all God's except for the Sun God. Temples and artwork were destroyed and Tut was upset about this, as it seems was most of Egypt. Soon he was assassinated and Tut took over at the age of 9 or 10. The focus of the story is that Tut then restored the right of the people to worship multiple Gods and work began to restore and rebuild temples to all of the Gods. Tut seems to have been appreciated for this and his gift to the people was this act. The story ends there, with Tut still alive, young, and ruling Egypt.
In the teacher's notes at the end of the book, it states that Tut was killed at the age of 19 or 20 from a severe head injury, which is speculated to be either from a hunting accident or an intentional assignation. So the story does not go as far as his death, but it is mentioned in the endnote.
Since most of what people know of King Tut was of the riches found in his tomb, this book gives a different perspective of the important thing that King Tut did for his people. I think children will enjoy reading of a child King, and they will like the storytelling being in the time frame of before his rule and during his rule.
The artwork is bold and bright. The swirls and bold lines remind me of stained glass windows. There is a lot to look at and the illustrations certainly held our interest.
My 6 year-old son enjoyed this story as an accompaniment to learning about Ancient Egypt. The story about a young boy that became King was a refreshing change from the usual spin and perspective found in most books, which can be dry or portraying Egyptians as just mummies and the idea that Egypt is just desert and pyramids.
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This fifth episode of the Magical Egypt series, a symbolist tour of ancient Egypt, gets down to the heart of the matter as far as the ancient Egyptians are concerned - their strong belief in an afterlife.  This belief basically fueled everything the ancient Egyptians did, particularly in terms of the monuments they left us.  Host John Anthony West takes us into the New Kingdom tomb of Tuthmosis III, which houses the complete text of the Amduat on its walls.  The Amduat is basically a guidebook to the Afterlife, containing all the knowledge a dead pharaoh would need in order to ascend to godhood.  There were twelve hours (stages) in one's progression through the Afterlife, and many spells and secrets were required to pass all the way through to the ultimate goal.  West basically walks us through each stage, giving his interpretation of the funerary text on the walls themselves.

Focusing particularly on one depiction, in which the risen sun of the higher consciousness appears, West argues that the location of the risen sun corresponds with that of the Third Eye in a human being.  I find this to be a questionable extrapolation, but it does at least make some degree of sense.  It also leads the viewer into a new phase of the discussion, one centering on the pineal gland in the brain.  Little understood by modern scientists, the gland has long been associated with mystical states of consciousness (the third eye, the sixth chakra); Descartes called it "the seat of the soul."  According to the research of Robert Strassman, a molecule called DMT, which is associated with the pineal gland, may actually provide a doorway for transfer of the spirit out of the body.  DMT is an hallucinogen that may be released by the pineal gland during times of extreme stress, and experiments have shown that individuals with abnormally high levels of DMT experience alternate states of consciousness, including experiences of an afterlife, and encounter both helpful and malevolent beings therein.  Since few things are as stressful as a person's dying moments, it makes sense to conclude that DMT would be released in abundance at such a time, thereby conceivably bringing about a separation of body and soul in the individual.

From here, we get into a discussion on lucid dreams and how they might relate to all of this seemingly disparate information.  Lon Milo Duquette, a most entertaining interview subject, discusses how a person with a strong mind can condition himself to recognize and take control of his dreams.  Such lucid dreams, he suggests, are not unlike visions associated with near-death experiences, which begs the question: what if you could somehow maintain your consciousness through the death experience?  Such a state of continuous, higher-level consciousness would conceivably allow you to effectively cheat death.  Perhaps all of the spells and secrets that the pharaohs needed to learn in order to ascend to the gods after death served to train their minds to achieve just such a state of continuous consciousness.

John Anthony West, throughout his research, has done what most modern scholars do not do - examine the issues from an ancient Egyptian point of view.  Rather than dismiss Egyptian funerary texts as the products of wild superstition, he leaves open the possibility that this ancient culture might have known what it was talking about.  His What if? approach to Egyptology makes him unpopular with many of his fellow academics but provides him - and now us - with a fresh, sometimes illuminating, and always fascinating window on ancient history.
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The gods return this book a little more mortal, a little more vulnerable. All in all a different depiction of the Greek gods than most people are used to. A good book actually.