These Millions of Years

Loved this! Such a cool story all though not my typical read, I love learning more about Egypt and it’s hidden treasures

These Millions of Years initially piqued my interest purely due to it being set in Egypt, with the allusion to tomb hunting and mysticism - but it was so much more than I could have hoped.

McAlpine transports you to the heart of Egypt - I could feel that wall of heat, hear the sounds of traffic in Cairo, smell the spices in the bazaar, see the splendours. But Egypt was not romanticised - it was realistic in both its beauty and its grittiness.

The characters, particularly the main three, were complex and likeable - each going on a journey of self discovery yet intrinsically linked with the other two. The relationship and friendship between them felt completely real and I was invested in each of them. Finn may have been my favourite, reminding me somewhat of a modern-day Indiana Jones.

This book was an easy read, with fluid prose and some beautifully poetic elements. The plot itself was intricate, a jigsaw puzzle of sorts that takes you right till the very last page to fully understand the bigger picture.

Egyptian mythology is touched on - but in a subtle manner with the reader arguably being able to make their own judgements.

A solid 5/5 for me.

The idea and concept of this story is everything I love, ancient Egypt and love interests that are interesting.

However the writing style is hard to get Into, it took me about 50 pages to feel really I to the book and connected to the characters.


I will definitely be looking at more of this author in the future

These Millions of Years caught my interest because of the lovely cover and that out was set in Egypt. I loved the possibility of hunting for Egyptian tombs and mythology but the storyline and the characters surpassed my expectations.

The author takes you to Egypt in such a fantastic way that I could feel the best of the Sun, smell the food cooking, see the and below my feet, gaze into the dark, doe eyes of the Egyptian people. Mr. McAlpine didn't glamorize Egypt, he described it realistically, showing both the beauty and the not so beautiful.

The three main characters were an excellent combination of complexity and likability. Each of them were on a journey of self discovery and yet linked with each other, echoing the Egyptian myths. The relationships and friendships between the three of them really felt natural and I felt invested in what happened to each.

This book was well written, flowed well and had wonderfully detailed characters. The plot itself was excellent, the enjoyable sort that takes you right up till the very last page to understand how it ends.

I enjoyed the way that Egyptian mythology is lightly used as a theme. It added more interest to the book and a bit of magical realism. I really enjoyed this read. Excellent.

Just read it. This book was a beautifully written tapestry. Good pace and plot development. I read 3/4 of the NetGallery and then bought the book to reread.

I never received this ARC, so unfortunately and sadly I cannot post a review. I’m sorry.

Meenaz.

These Millions of Years by Bruce McAlpine is a thoroughly researched story about ancient Egypt and Egypt in the late 20th century, at the height of its popularity amongst dealers in antiquities. There are plenty of characters but the main one are Finn Conners, a dealer in huge financial trouble; Lara Rostick, a woman in search of a second chance, fleeing her husband; and Edward Cavanagh, psychoanalyst, hiding from his own emotions. There is also a David Mountjoy, an astrologer and fascinated with Egypt. Mountjoy leads tours to Egypt, spiritual tours, on which Finn has embarked as part of his disguise to smuggle artifacts out of Egypt with a partner. Is Mountjoy for real? One of the many questions to be answered. Wherever he holds a particular ceremony, a huge find is uncovered within days or weeks. Related?

It took a while to get through this book. Some serious editing is in order. The information related is second to none. The story is not bad. Too many words. Amazing that I say this, but, too much description. The characters are interesting, with all their various flaws and distinct personalities. Loyalty and friendship is foremost in as society not known for those qualities. Mountjoy brought together a trio of people who separated themselves from the group to experience something unique and yes, spiritual. It was in interesting read, if too long and wordy.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of These Millions of Years by Matador, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #matador #brucemcalpine #thesemillionsofyears

This was a brilliant book. With plenty of mystery and action. It was a fantastic edge of your seat read packed full of atmosphere and tension. It was fantastic that you just couldn't trust most of the characters. Which made it all the more gripping to read. The story line was fantastic and I could tell from the start that I was going to love this book. It was set around finding a lost tomb. So many out there are trying to stop them finding it. What lengths will they go to, to stop it being found. Wow this book is a real roller coaster ride. I have to mention the ending Wow your definitely going to love that one it sure does pack a punch, such a thrilling story. I definitely recommend this book to all that love Egyptian mysteries. Also those who love plenty of unexpected twists and turns. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author. 

So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for creating this fantastic story that you won't be able to put down. 
The above review has just been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/these-millions-of-years-by-bruce-mcalpine-matador-4-stars either under ladyreading365 or lady Reading365

I wasn't sure about this book but it turned out to be a wonderful book. I devoured this in no time. Everyone must read this.

Oh, wow, yes, yes, yes. Loved it. I learnt so much about Egypt and I've done my best to remember everything in case it comes up on a family quiz night. Engagingly written, with a question mark at the end that I don't mind at all. The research is excellent and one could feel the menace that hangs over the visitors. Recommended.

These Millions of Years takes the reader on a journey through the mysterious world that is Egypt, modern and ancient at once. A combination of strange and obscure circumstances – are they coincidental or planned? – bring an unlikely group of characters together for a journey of astrological rituals let by the mystifying David Mountjoy. Antiquities dealer Finn Connors, Edward the psychoanalyst, a professor and a doctor of Egyptology, the broken-hearted Lara and others get mixed up in an adventure that brings them close to the underworld, both literally and spiritually, and shatter the boundaries of their previous beliefs. Secrets and treasures lie buried, waiting to be uncovered, but a web of political intrigue renders all kinds of archaeological work a dangerous business.

The setting of Bruce McAlpine’s debut novel seemed promising to me: the chance to travel to a different continent and learn about another culture, mixed with adventure and mysteries is what I like to read for a weekend of escapism. And that is exactly what These Millions of Years offers, however, the novel lacks in the execution. The prose was often too, well, prosaic for my taste. I wanted more of that mystery kept alive, a little less revealed, more riddle-solving left open and prefer it, if an author leaves some of the work for me. Also, I found some of the plot developments quite predictable, the characters verging on the stereotypic, and a few strains of the narrative were left unresolved. Yet, I wanted to know how the story continues and kept on reading for all of the 450 pages. While occasionally descriptions dragged on for a bit too long, and apart from a few more cosmetic flaws, the storyline was engaging and mostly well-developed. In my opinion it could have with some stricter editing and a good dose of kill your darlings to make the narrative more coherent. Overall, a solid 3-star debut and a good read for everyone looking for a mystery, sprinkled with a little love triangle and easily read over a couple of days.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I’m a big fan of Egyptology and the mystery surrounding hidden tombs so this part of the book resonated strongly. I felt that the book was a little rushed in parts, and jumped between scenarios with little explanation. However, like I said, overall I enjoyed it and I’m glad I’ve read it!

I really enjoyed this book - great descriptions of Egypt, makes me want to go back! Great story also

465 pages

4 stars

I love the title of this book. After I read the novel, I understood how the title came about.

The astrological subplot in this book plays a supporting role in the lives of the three main characters: Finn Connors, a buyer and seller of artifacts, Edward Cavanaugh, a psychoanalyst, and Lara Rostock, a woman who was running away from her marriage and herself.

Finn is an old Egyptian hand. He has been there several times and has friends and acquaintances. Edward and Lara are first-timers. Through a series of chance meetings, they become fast friends. Their bond is very strong, surprising all three.

They have all signed up to attend astrologist David Mountjoy’s series of rituals. He travels around the area surrounding Cairo holding ceremonies.

Lara is fascinated, Edward is interested and Finn thinks it’s a bunch of hokum. There is much more to Finn than meets the eye. Finn is there because everywhere Mountjoy holds a ceremony, there seems to be a huge and spectacular archeological find in that same area.

Finn would love to find the tomb of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten.

So the reader is led on a journey of politics, artifact smuggling, Islamic fundamentalism, fear and extreme danger.

This book is fairly well written, perhaps too wordy and off the track in places. The plotting is very good. The book moves along at pace and is easy to read. I found it very entertaining. I will definitely keep an eye on Mr. McAlpine’s works of fiction.

I want to thank NetGalley and Matador for forwarding to me a copy of this very nice book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Before reading this, I read a nonfiction book about the lives of Ahkenaten and Nefertiti. So I felt like I had all the background I needed for this story. Well, I did for the egyptology, but there was so much more. There were politicians, terrorists, antiquities dealers, tourists, and even an astrologist to fill out the pages. It was a fascinating ride! There was so much going on and so many descriptions of Egypt (the good and the depressing parts) that it was hard to put down the book.

One of the very interesting books how this author tied mentioned the ancient Egypt's To story about these 2 people based on the pyramids Now the author passport in modern times how these 2 people were based on this story. It has a lot of twist in terms in this story and it kept me on edge. FIN N CONN ONS Person who dealt in ancient Egypt objects and sold them for lots of money. Somehow gets caught up and it's crazy idea and decides to take a trip and And they have a lot of problems. The police chief does not like them There's a woman named Linda And another man name Dave. They all had interesting story behind him as well. So they have the slight crazy adventure in Egypt. Then then then N ATI E Russell shows up He was a person who worked ancient Egypt things for museums. She also had her professor with her as well. This whole group somehow gets all tangled together. Connor has an old friend who dealt in in tequeries It's supposed to be Egypt. They were trying to find the last tomb of the following who was disgraced. So they go on this crazy thing trying to find it. They also mentioned they are Arab Spring This resulted in terrorists getting hurt things for bombs were going off and military was running around. They had to leave the country but There's a twister that is well. The Egypt's were cracking down Down and Antiques being taken out of the country. It's also a film documentary heat was also part of the problem as well. I like having author ties everything together nicely

I could not leave a review for this title. I didn't realize it was only in PDF format. The text is too small for me to see. Sorry.

Super adventure! It was interesting to think of the illegal antiquities dealers and why they pursue a dangerous trade. I enjoyed the characters as well. A fun read.

A cinematic book if ever there was one, These Millions of Years gives us a look at Egypt that was both fascinating and terrifying.

From the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor we see all of Egypt, her glory and her failures.

A group of seemingly random people on tour in Egypt find their pasts and futures intertwined from the very beginning.

Our characters each have their reasons for making this journey, the physical and the emotional, seeing it all fall into place was an extraordinary experience.

The last few pages, seeing who ended where, it was gratifying to say the least.

There's so much more than meets the eye to this one, every time I thought I knew what was going to happen I was surprised, in a good way.

If I had to wrap this into one sentence I'd say breathtaking visuals that had me walking along the Nile and among the pyramids, feeling transported back to the days of Pharaoh while living in a modern world.

If I could give this one 4.5 stars I would. Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars actually.

The premise for this book is what attracted me in the first place. I find Ancient Egypt interesting in that we still do not seem to understand their culture or technology that well. So a story that pulls all that together with a little human interest thrown in seemed to be just the ticket.

There were times when I found it difficult to set this book aside but there were other times when I sighed and huffed and rolled my eyes.

Okay, so the storyline is that three people meet on an organised trip led by an intriguing man who seems to delve deeper into his attendees psyches better than anyone. The three - Finn (an antiquities dealer), Lara (a woman struggling with self knowledge( and Edward (a relatively recently bereaved psychotherapist) are instantly drawn to each other.

However the story is much more complicated than just a treasure seeking love story. Finn is led to believe there is a tomb still to be discovered that will give him instant riches; Lara is looking for answers to a life that no longer makes sense and Edward is searching for a way out of his self imposed loneliness.

There are so many different strands that I frequently got lost with the characters and it seemed as though the author was throwing other storyline simply to fit with the basic plot.

However, the only parts that really had me irked were the "love" scenes. They were pure Wilbur Smith. The men were either educated but sensual or sexy but smart; the women were all willowy, fabulous, long legged, smooth skinned and fiery. They were all caricatures. There was also no need for any of it, which made me wonder whether someone had encouraged the author to chuck in a bit of titillation in for good measure. The story did not need it.

In the main I enjoyed this book. It is obviously well researched and I know a bit more about Akhenaten now plus the added interest of the extremely well described Egyptian countryside. A deep love of the country and its culture was plain.

I'd certainly check out more by Bruce McAlpine and I'd recommend this to anyone interested in antiquities or travel who liked a story along with the facts.
Edit Review

Unfortunately, I found this copy that was for pre-release very hard to read! I was enjoying the story and would have blown through it, but the pages did not have large enough text and when i went to magnify them, the page would automatically scroll forward. It drove me mad! Of what I was able to read, it was very interesting and I would get this when it comes out in order to read the rest in a better format. Sorry this review is more about the format than the actual story!

These Millions of Years wove an intriguing story across an epic ancient land. The authors descriptions of the lands of Egypt made me want to jump on a plane immediately. The mystery pulls you in immediately, and the building relationships between the characters keeps you engaged.

3 strangers become fast friends with a surprisingly strong connection after they meet on an unusual travel tour. Secrets and motives become exposed as the author weaves together a complex tale of antiquities smuggling, astrological mysticism, political intrigue, and Egyptian mythology.

I highly recommend this book, and can't wait to see what the author gives us next.

For a long while I couldn't make heads or tails of this book. An esoteric journey into Egypt that ends up at an ancient burial side, nobody questioning the split from the tourist trail, nobody apparently missing its meandering group members.
I kept going simply because the pace was good, the writing almost poetic at times. Like a river flowing softly, moving to an unknown destination. Filled with likeble characters, mysterious Egyptian landscapes, brotherhood bathed in moonlight.
Only when nearing the end did I truly appreciate the story.
A strangely captivating read.

Ancient Egypt is a subject of great interest to me, so I thought it would be an interesting read. It's a story that lets you learn more about the culture, all paired with mystery and adventure featuring an unexpected cast of very different characters. Clearly, this is a well-researched book that made me learn more about Akhenaten, and it is interesting that the Egyptian landscape is so well described. Thoroughly enjoyed the way the story was woven with realistic depictions and mythology showing both the beautiful and the not so beautiful.

Full of mystery and suspense the story had me gripped from the very first page. The author's vast knowledge of Egyptology and the Ancient World was absolutely fascinating and his perfectly polished characters added realism to a plot that brought to life the myths and legends surrounding the fate of the heretic Pharoah Akhenaten.
This is a magnificent epic, utterly compelling, combining the corruption of tomb-robbers and a government determined to protect the tourist trade at any cost, with ancient beliefs that have survived many centuries and might yet harm our contemporary adventurers.

Egypt, Egypt, Egypt and more Egypt! Having traveled there I was very interested to read how the country was displayed. While there are human characters, the land of this country is also a major player. And the intrigue is exquisite! Get your hands on this one if you have a love for Egypt in your blood....and even if you don't.

The egypt mythology was my favourite aspect of this book. The mystery added to the intrigue and the writing was almost whimsical in a sense. The way that the writing created such a rich immersive experience highlights the authors own experience and knowledge about the culture. This really adds to the story and creates a compelling atmosphere and enjoyable reading experience. Reading this book felt like my own journey throughout Egypt yourself.