''Pillar of Fire'' is a 1995 historical fantasy novel by Judith Tarr. It deals with the reigns of Egyptian pharaohs

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...

and

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...

and

the Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...

from the perspective of a Hittite slave girl of Ankhesenpaaten. It draws heavily on Ahmed Osman's suggestion that

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

and Akhenaten were the same person. The idea of Akhenaten as the pioneer of a monotheistic religion that later became Judaism has been considered by various scholars starting with

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

's views in '' Moses and Monotheism''.Freud, S. (1939). Moses and Monotheism: Three Essays.Montserrat, (2000) Tarr comments in the endnotes that she was surprised at how little she had to tweak historical fact to write the story. The audiobook version, published in 1998, ran for approximately 22 hours and was read by Anna Fields.

Synopsis

Set in ancient Egypt the narrative is based on the notion that Moses and the Pharaoh Akhenaten were one and the same. Narrated in the third person from the viewpoint of a Hittite slave girl, the novel juxtaposes the Exodus story with the events in the Egyptian court. Sholars generally do not recognize the biblical portrayal of the Exodus as an actual historical event,

Awards

The novel was a

NESFA The New England Science Fiction Association, or NESFA, is a science fiction club centered in the New England area. It was founded in 1967, "by fans who wanted to ''do'' things in addition to socializing". NESFA is currently registered as a non-p ...

1995 Hugo Recommendation.

Reviews

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

said ''With her usual skill, Tarr (Throne of Isis) combines fact and fiction to create yet another remarkably solid historical novel set in ancient Egypt... This is a highly entertaining blend of romance, drama and historical detail."

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

said that "The small but telling details of society and everyday life, the heart's-blood of historical fiction, are all too often absent here. Tarr's hard-to-swallow revisionist Exodus ends up neither engaging nor persuasive." According to Brian M. Britt, who revers to Akhenaten as "quasi-monotheistic, "Tarr's novel represents the most dramatic connection between the

Amarna Amarna (; ar, العمارنة, al-ʿamārnah) is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Ph ...

phase of Egyptian history and Hebrew monotheism."

References

External links

* * *
Rewriting Moses
', by Brian Britt, references ''Pillar of Fire'' *{{cite news, last=Jacomb, first=Brian , date=July 29, 1999, title=Crete And Quarrel, newspaper=Washington Post , url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/43541126.html?dids=43541126:43541126&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+29%2C+1999&author=Brian+Jacomb&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Crete+And+Quarrel&pqatl=google Describes Pillar of Fire "highly acclaimed". * Kliatt magazine, September, 1997, review of Pillar of Fire, p. 54 *

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

, June 15, 1995, Cynthia Johnson, review of Pillar of Fire, p. 96 *

May 22, 1995, review of Pillar of Fire, p. 50 1995 American novels American alternate history novels Novels set in ancient Egypt Novels based on the Bible Novels set in the 14th century BC Cultural depictions of Akhenaten Cultural depictions of Moses Cultural depictions of Tutankhamun Third-person narrative novels