The Shadow Prince, David Anthony Durham
The Shadow Prince, David Anthony Durham
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Shadow Prince

Author: David Anthony Durham

Series: Shadow Prince

Narrator: James Fouhey

Unabridged: 7 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/20/2023


Synopsis

Growing up in a village in the middle of the Egyptian desert, Ash thinks his future holds nothing but sand, sun, a few annoying bullies, and lots of boring chores.

Boy, is he wrong!

On the night before his twelfth birthday, Ash learns that he was born on the same day as Prince Khufu, which makes him eligible to compete to be the prince’s shadow, a coveted position as the friend and bodyguard of the boy destined to be pharaoh of all of Egypt. At first, Ash can’t believe it, but when a
floating royal barge takes Ash and his mentor to the bustling, magical, solar-powered capital, things get real.

What awaits Ash and the candidates is deadly—five days of dangerous tests filled with demon fighting, monster slaying, and magical spells, each overseen by a different Egyptian god. Ash finds two friends willing to fight by his side—the first friends he’s ever made. But there are candidates who will lie, cheat, and
even harm others to win. Not all will survive, and only one can become the prince’s shadow.

To make matters worse, Ash is up against Lord Set, the devious god of chaos, who is secretly working to make the candidates fail. But if they do, the very survival of the kingdom is in peril. Can Ash and his new friends save Egypt? And will any of them survive to become the shadow prince?

About David Anthony Durham

David Anthony Durham is the author of Pride of Carthage, the Acacia Trilogy, and other works of historical fiction and fantasy. His novels have twice been New York Times Notable Books, have won the 2001 First Novel Award and the 2002 Alex Award from the American Library Association, and have been translated into eight languages. Durham won the 2009 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer of Science Fiction. He currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Josh on December 22, 2021

(Full disclosure--I do know the author.) Alternate Egyptian solar punk MG fantasy. That was enough to sell me on this book. And Durham delivers on the promise with the story of Ash, a boy trained all his life for a destiny he is unaware of. When the answer is revealed, he finds himself thrust into th......more

Goodreads review by Mark on May 18, 2022

What worked: The story is set in Egypt and shares information about its history, mythology, and culture. Ash grows up as an orphan in a small village along the Nile River and his job is to clean the canals in the irrigation system. Solar energy is widely used as the god Lord Ra shines his power down......more

Goodreads review by Hoover Public Library on July 20, 2022

This solarpunk novel set in an alternate Egyptian universe pits a twelve-year-old boy against demons, gods, and fellow humans in a competition to survive and become the shadow—and protector—of the prince who will grow up to be Pharaoh.......more

Goodreads review by Raaven💖 on September 17, 2023

*Tour related read* Ash is an 11-year-old who has been living with his mentor his entire life. He’s been trained in fighting, even though he never knew why. He never knew his parents and only knew of Yazen, the man who raised him. On the day before his 12th birthday, Yazen tells him he was meant for......more

Goodreads review by Marilyn on December 13, 2023

"The Shadow Prince" by David Anthony Durham is a book for what is called "middle-grade readers". The main character is Ash, a twelve-year-old boy, and, thus, I would primarily recommend it for twelve-year-old boys. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it. It was a light read, to-be-sure; but it had some interesti......more