Shadows on the Aegean
Shadows on the Aegean by Suzanne Frank is the long awaited sequel to
the wonderful Reflections in the Nile.
When we last saw Chloe and her husband Cheftu they were in Ancient Egypt and at the end of that particular journey. Their time in Egypt at an end they were once more catapulted through time, whether together or apart we did not know, until now.......
Separated by miles but not by time both Chloe and Cheftu believe that their time together is over and that the other is lost forever.
Cheftu finds that he is once again in Ancient Egypt, but he has not travelled forward in time as he had expected to do. Instead he has travelled a further 400 years back in time. Chloe on the other hand is no longer in Egypt at all. Instead she finds herself on an island about to be lost to the world forever.....the mythical Atlantis/Aztlan.
But where she is is not the first problem Chloe must resolve. Her first obstacle is who is with her. When she had previously travelled through time she had taken over the empty body of RaEm. This time however Chloe finds herself in the body of Sibylla, an Clan Chieftain and Oracle who was going through an out-of-body experience when Chloe entered and took over control.
Unlike RaEm, Sibylla is reluctant to give up her body to another spirit and Chloe finds she must battle to gain control of the body or be trapped forever in a body she cannot live within. Eventually the two spirits come to an arrangement whereby they share the body, each letting the other take over at times when they are needed. For example Sibylla would take over for the rituals she must perform and Chloe takes over the task of training for the race of her life.
Meanwhile back in Egypt Cheftu is found battered and bleeding and close to death. Near to him is the body of a woman, a body that's Ka had left it and was feared by the men who found it. They destroyed the body as soon as they could, before Cheftu regained consciousness and could learn that the body his beloved wife had travelled to was gone.
Slowly regaining his health Cheftu becomes physically well even though his soul is not. He recalled holding Chloe in his arms as she died from her wounds, little realising that she had left the body to find a new one. Grief-stricken and distraught he does not care whether he lives or dies but soon finds himself swept along by the events around him. And the direction destiny takes him to is Aztlan where he once again finds himself the centre of political intrigue and danger.
It is not long before Cheftu meets Sibylla and although he does not know that Chloe is "sleeping" within the body he is still drawn towards her with the same attraction he felt for his wife. Sibylla is not aware of who Cheftu is and after a single night of passion she retreats once more and Chloe finds herself alone, Cheftu having left her to battle his feelings of guilt.
When Cheftu is unexpectedly made Spiralmaster of the Clan of the Spiral he finds himself surrounded by enemies who are offended at a stranger taking the post. A plan is soon put into motion whereby Cheftu must pass a series of tests in order to continue in the post. And should he fail any of the tests he will die.
Only days before the tests Chloe who has learned of Cheftu's arrival in Aztlan at last finds herself face to face with her husband, only to discover his betrayal with Sibylla. But her love is stronger than anger and the time travelling lovers are soon reunited and gain the strength from each other to face the battles ahead....not only Cheftu's tests but the imminent destruction of Aztlan that threatens to tear them apart once more.
Set once again in the ancient past Chloe and Cheftu's latest adventure is on the whole a worthy successor to Reflections on the Nile. However I did feel that Chloe and Cheftu were kept apart for far too long during the first half of the novel. After they had found each other in the first novel I was expecting them to continue their adventures together, not to be separated for much of the sequel.
I was also disappointed to find that while we see a glimpse of what is happening to RaEm in the modern world it was far too little. This devious character can do a great deal of damage in very little time but after the initial taster to whet the appetite no more is said of RaEm, Cammy and the rest of the modern world.
A good sequel on the whole but not as good as Reflections in the Nile, perhaps because most of the tales of Atlantis as portrayed in this novel are purely speculation while the setting of Ancient Egypt has a much stronger basis in fact. With the pyramids that have survived to the modern day I find it easier to picture this setting than that of Atlantis despite the obvious work and research that have gone into writing Shadows on the Aegean.
A bit disappointing but not enough to put me off of buying the next
book in the series.
RATING : 
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Also by J. Suzanne Frank: Reflections in the Nile, Sunrise on the Mediterranean and Twilight in Babylon
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