I was excited to read this book, I knew a bit about Akhenaten and Nefertiti from college, and I think their fascinating and weirdly unique in terms of Pharaohs and how they compare to the rest of Ancient Egyptian history. The book is roughly chronological, starting with the reign of Akhenaten's father and ending after Tutankhamun's death, and focuses on various aspects of Egyptian life, culture, religion, etc. There's a lot of interesting discussion of how Akhenaten changed Egyptian religion (to a monotheistic one that completely threw off society), and the bits where they're discussing linguistics and dissecting artistic styles were my favorite. I was expecting more of a cohesive picture of these rulers, instead, the authors focus on snapshots that, while interesting, don't really add up to a whole picture. I found the short narratives they reconstructed weird, it was strange they decided to create fictional scenes before going back to the facts, and I felt like there really wasn't a reason or thesis here, just a presentation of interesting facts and events from Akhenaten's reign. Which was good, and some parts were more interesting than others, but i'm not sure what I was supposed to really take away from reading this book.

This is a nonfiction book about Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The authors reconstruct what is know about these two and how they became gods on Earth. Great book for those interested in Ancient Egypt and Akhenaten and the cult of Aten specifically.

Egypt has recently became my love of reading. This book took me right where I wanted to go, learning all the knowledge of Egypt.

Well researched, well written. This book gives readers a more well rounded look at the Amarna Period and it’s rulers. This actually would have been a good book to have when I was writing a paper on Nefertiti in grad school.

The lives are Akhenaten and Nefertiti, rulers of Egypt and self-styled living gods, have fascinated people for thousands of years.

Here, Darnell examines their lives, reign, politics and religion, to try and dig through the biases found in so many secondary sources and to see what really can get be pieced together from the primary sources.

The book follows Akhenaten’s life from his parent’s reign before he was born through the curious afterlife of both his body and reputation, each chapter starting with a docu-drama-esque scene imaging a scene from his life.

While getting pretty far into the weeds of what the latest archeology has to say about Akhenaten, Darnell manages to keep the whole book highly readable for anyone, even without a background in ancient Egyptian history.

A fascinating history that sucks in and makes the far distant past highly relatable.

Egypt's Golden Couple: How Akhenaten and Nefertiti Became Gods on Earth by John Darnell; Colleen Darnell is a great nonfiction taking a look at the infamous, complex, and fascinating lives, reign, and influence of these historic rulers.

I have always had a fascination and interest in Egyptology, so I knew quite a bit about this famous duo. However, this book was so enjoyable to read. It is nonfiction and history, but yet read like a delicious historical fiction full of intrigue, suspense, and court shenanigans.

It is an understatement when it is stated that these figures made a pivotal and permanent change and impact on the existence of this empire. The authors did an amazing job presenting their subjects and I highly recommend this for any history fan.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and St. Martin’s Press for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 11/1/22.