Author: Alisha Sevigny
Publisher: Dundurn Press

Leaving the oasis, Sesha and her friends set sail for Avaris, intent on stopping the Hyksos chieftain from claiming the throne and declaring war on Thebes. On the journey, Sesha learns that she and the scroll are at the centre of a pair of prophecies made by a famed oracle — ones with staggering implications for both her and the Hyksos people.

But when the crew arrives in the bustling port city, they are stunned to discover the oracle is missing. With the prophecies now in doubt and their lives in danger, Sesha, Paser, and Reb must race to find a mysterious priestess sect and witness the third, and final, prophecy before the upcoming lunar eclipse.

As the young scribes seek answers, Sesha must untangle her past and future while keeping war from erupting in the present. For there is one person she cannot bear to face across the Hyksos battlefield: her brother.

The third book in the Secrets of the Sands series, The Oracle of Avaris continues the stories of young physician Sesha and her friends Reb and Paser, as well as her mentor Pepi, whom she believes to be the son of the Hyksos king. The plot revolves around the legacy of the aging Hyksos king—whether he will pass the kingdom on to his ruthless son Yanassi, or his nephew Pepi—and three mysterious prophecies that seem to involve Sesha.

Vivid descriptions help set the scene early on. The Hyksos palace complex, for example, is built “upon a flat hill, one building connect[ing] to the next, and second levels joined by walkways [to] create a whole other realm upon rooftops. To the south and east lie blooming gardens.” The author also weaves details about the differences between Thebans and the Hyksos people into her dialogue and descriptions. Clearly, much research has gone into this novel.

The characters themselves, however, are generally flat and indistinct. We get some sense of Sesha from her first-person narration, but there is little to distinguish the other characters from one another either by voice, action, or description. We are led to believe that Sesha and Pepi are of marrying age—they pretend to be betrothed when they first arrive at the palace—but they speak and behave more like one might expect from characters in a middle-grade novel. Even the supposed villain, Yanassi, is something of a paper tiger. He does nothing to earn his reputation as a dangerous man; even the mercenary he hires inflicts no actual violence, so there is never a sense of real danger. The characterization may be less of a problem for readers already familiar with the first two books, but for anyone beginning the series here, the lack of development makes the story difficult to follow.

The plot, too, does not move well enough for a YA historical novel. There is very little action; the characters tend to have long conversations about the politics of the kingdom and the implications of the prophecies. Little physical action happens while they speak, and movement between locations is usually brief. It is difficult to feel a sense of tension for the characters as the politics itself seems to concern the future direction of the kingdom more than the individual interests of the characters themselves.

While fans of the series will no doubt want to see how the story continues, this novel on its own moves too slowly for most teen readers.

Still, with its seldom-seen historical setting, and the prophecies’ touch of magical realism, it is worth going back and reading this series through from the beginning.

- Mark David Smith