1. Characters: 7

This is a continuation of the personal struggles Ellie and Adam had during the first book. They know they love each other, but Ellie thinks marriage is abuse, and Adam can’t help but be reminded of his dad calling him irresponsible and reckless when he kisses her. Their principles crash, and they don’t know how to fix it in the middle of it all.

We also get a presentation of Constance and Neil for the first time in the story. I already had a feel for Constance because of the first book and the short story The Stolen Apocalypse. But I didn’t know what to expect from Neil. I came out of this story feeling a bit conflicted. How a character can be so smart but so stupid at the same time is beyond me.

The important thing is that Neil does get some important development through the story, and by the end I was feeling sort of fond but slightly frustrated with him.

There’s a hint of a relationship between Constance and Neil. On one hand, I like it for the type of characters they are. On the other hand, I’m still not sure if I see how these two specifically are supposed to like each other. I’m hoping that Arrow of Fortune develops that relationship much more.

There are other fascinating characters, such as Sayyid and Zeinab, as well as a new villain. All of them were vibrant in their own right, and I found myself particularly endeared to Sayyid. He’s an Egyptian who had been working with Neil for two years, and his wife, Zeinab, has a significant secret she’s been keeping all this time.

2. Atmosphere/setting: 8

It felt even more like The Mummy than Empires of Shadows for obvious reasons, I think. All the descriptions of the ancient Egyptian sites were fascinating, and I couldn't help myself from googling more information as I went.

It was fun to imagine all these tombs and look at the real pictures online of some of them.

3. Writing: 7

It felt a bit slower than Empire of Shadows, but it was generally just as good. All the characters have their personalities well defined, even the side ones. Neil. Especially, he gets full attention on his development.

The author also has a gift for describing these ancient sites in a way that makes you feel right there with the characters. She also explains a lot of the history from the Amarna period without making the story sluggish. The pacing was also pretty good, and I would say even more action-packed than the first book. There are more characters, more stuff happening, and more revelations, and all of this is mostly kept well-balanced. I really appreciate the amount of investigation she put into this book.

4. Plot: 6

This time around, Ellie and her companions need to find none other than the Staff of Moses before the bad guys do. Just like in the first book, they are also in a race against the same evildoers, but we also finally get some more information about who is behind them and why they are searching for these arcanas.

To be honest with you, the plot was fine, but it was lacking something. The new villain was annoying, but I don’t feel like he added much in terms of complexity. He felt dull and uninspiring. Which is a shame, because Dawson and Jacobs make a more interesting pair, especially Jacobs himself. With such an intriguing character, I don’t know how I feel about him taking a step back to give more attention to the new guy.

5. Intrigue: 6

There were moments of high tension that really got me going (I’m looking at you, Neil), but in general the intrigue was squarely on the shoulders of the characters themselves and their personal arcs. Neil, for one, but also Zeinab and the revelation of her secrets, as well as Ellie and Adam’s relationship. This is just to name a few. I wasn’t really worried about their fortune most of the time, except for a couple of scenes (I’m still looking at you, Neil).

6. Logic/relationships: 9

Relationships in Tomb of the Sun King get a bit complicated. There’s Ellie and Adam, of course, but we also have Constance and Neil’s reacquaintance, as well as Ellie and Neil’s sibling relationship evolving into a deeper understanding. Neil’s friendship with Sayyid and Adam, of course… To be honest, this mix of characters might’ve been my favorite part of the book.

The evolution as a whole of each of these connections is very well done. They all find problems on the way that need conversation and reckoning, and they do get their moments for all that. So, their relationships evolve with the characters development.

7. Enjoyment: 8

Finally, I can say I enjoyed this story as much as the first one, and I can’t wait to read the third and final book in the series. I’m interested to see where Constance and Neil’s relationship goes, as well as Ellie and Adam’s. The prospect of learning from Indian history is also exciting, especially because this time around I truly don’t know anything about it.

51/7: 7.28. 4 stars.