TO CONQUER DEATH

Soldiers in ancient Egypt battle hordes of the undead in Moon’s historical horror novel.

Military commander Koshei outranks his younger brother Tyfon, an infantry captain. The two have spent their lives bickering, but they excel in their respective leadership roles and successfully protect their homeland of Kemet from invaders. However, when they interrogate one of these recent invaders—a woman named Doryah—she explains that her tribe was actually running away from a “darkness” has been making bodies rise, walk, and kill. Pharaoh Ramesses III sends the brothers to track down the source of this darkness, and they gather soldiers and priests, as well as Doryah and her fellow tribeswoman Yaga, so they can search along the Nile in reed boats. Any skepticism they may have quickly dissipates when they’re faced with a “stumbling” mass of bodies that won’t stay down. Koshei, Tyfon, Doryah, and Yaga, as they fight to stay alive, must discover what is behind this evil before it reaches Kemet. Moon’s debut tale delivers exposition and character development at an impressive pace. The siblings, for example, don’t get along as kids and take divergent paths into adulthood; Koshei, unlike loner Tyfon, is a family man. Similarly, the ancient culture is deftly woven into the narrative; Doryah, who hails from what is now Central Europe, has trouble understanding the brothers until Koshei, testing different languages, finds one she knows. Suspense fuels scenes of encounters with the undead; Koshei and the others not only learn how to deal with the threat as they go along, but are also set on wiping it out, despite the odds. Lighter touches offset the story’s generally grim tone, from modern-sounding exclamations incorporating ancient elements (“What in Ahemait’s gullet is that?”) to occasionally playful descriptions, such as a reference to one of the undead as a “not-person.”

A riveting take on a ghoulish subgenre, featuring a well-crafted cast and vivid setting.