The Secret of the Sacred Scarab (The Chronicles of the Stone, Book One)

A tiny scarab beetle saves the Pharaoh from a trap that would have led to his death. Includes facts about ancient Egypt.

The third in a new series of four books: the first and second titles were published in August and October 2009, the fourth to be published in April 2010. Fantastically atmospheric evocations of Egyptian life are encased in an exciting adventure story. Each story features the boy and girl characters Hopi and Isis, and their struggles for existence and adventure in Egypt circa 1150 BC. In this story, The Sacred Scarab, Hopi and Isis, orphaned when crocodiles kill their parents, are preparing for an important festival, in which the king accompanies the gods to his great mortuary temple. But when Isis and Hopi uncover a plot by a villainous tax collector, they need to ensure that justice is done . . . The author has spent much time in Egypt and the stories are meticulously researched. The books include factual detail and notes about Egyptian lifestyle, the importance of the gods for the Egyptians, the tombs and much more.

Jonathan never intended to be hunted down by a madman working for an evil Egyptian god. All he wanted was to be an Egyptologist like his dad. But that fateful day nine years ago when he found the scarab changed everything. Now his father is missing, and Jonathan has no choice but to head back to Egypt to find him. But the journey will be dangerous, especially with Set, the God of Storms and Chaos, hunting him. Even with his protector, the God Khepri, tucked inside the scarab, ready to emerge whenever Jonathan rubs the small beetle, Jonathan doesn’t feel entirely safe. But he knows he must do this, not only for his father, but also for himself, to prove he is more than just his father’s son. Enlisting the help of his best friend Nathan, Jonathan heads to the last site his father worked at, only to discover yet another mystery—someone has stolen the camp’s newly found artifacts. Could whoever kidnapped his father be behind the thefts too? With new friends and new vigour, Jonathan sets out to find his father, recover the missing artifacts, and proclaim his independence.

Ancient Egypt, 1231 BCWhile the pharaoh tries to conceal the disappearance of Queen Nefertari's sacred heart scarab, along with Shabaka's abduction, fears of a curse befall those travelling eastwards through the desert.Neti and Moses, during their investigation and search for Shabaka, uncover a sinister underground network in Thebes that have since the pharaoh's move to Pi-Ramesses resulted in numerous underhanded dealings. Here Neti has to come to terms with the life she, by chance, managed to escape. Will they find Shabaka before he disappears in the underground network? Or will Ma-Nefer finally have his revenge against the Nubian prefect and the Mummifies daughter? The Secret of the 7th Scarab returns us to a land steeped in mystery and magic. It paints a detailed picture of Ancient Egypt in all its glory. Faithfully recreating one of the most remarkable eras in Egypt's history, author Nathaniel Burns weaves a shudderingly ominous tale of ancient Egypt's mysteries revealed through a cast of characters the modern reader will recognize even though millenia have passed. So light up the incense, sit close to the light and draw back the curtains on the shadowed past with this gripping tale of love and intrigue among the living and the dead in one of history's most intriguing civilizations ...