Son of Set (Descendants of Isis #2)
by Kelsey Ketch
Release Date: 05/02/14
Summary from Goodreads:
“. . . the Sons would
never just let him go—alive.”
Seth O’Keefe has broken the laws of his god. He never thought he would
sacrifice his own future to protect a Daughter of Isis. But when the Sons of
Set discovered Natti is the Secret Keeper, he had no choice. Now, Seth and
Natti are on the run from his father, who wants nothing more than to see Seth
dead. With no allies, Seth turns to the Daughters of Isis for help, hoping they
would protect Natti. But when they meet the Daughters, he discovers a secret that
puts both their lives in more danger. Low on options, Seth sees only one
possibility for survival. He must help Natti solve an ancient puzzle and find
the secret name of Ra.
Natara “Natti” Stone is having a hard time swallowing the truth. She can’t believe
what she has learned in the past twenty-four hours: Seth is a Son of Set
blessed with charm; she is a Daughter of Isis blessed with a sliver of Ma ‘at;
the locket her grandmother gave her holds an ancient Egyptian secret linking to
Osiris and Isis. That along with being tortured and brutalized by the Sons of
Set, she can hardly hold herself together. Thank God for Seth’s touch! That
warm, tingling sensation that drowns it all out. Yet her heart struggles to
stay focused. She must quickly embrace her destiny before the secret name of Ra
falls into the wrong hands.
*Note: Content for Upper YA*
Buy Links:
Amazon ¦ B&N ¦ Kobo ¦ Smashwords
Daughter of Isis (On sale for $.99 during the week of the tour)
Book One in this series:
(linked to Goodreads)
Buy Links:
Integrating a Dead Language
*Disclaimer: I am not an Egyptologist. I am not a linguist. I’m not even a historian. But I am an author and scientist, and I do take my research very seriously.*
To bring certain characters and written texts to life, authors have to use language, communication, and slang. And I’m not just talking about American English vs British English. I’ve seen French, German, even Latin used in many YA novels. For Daughter of Isis and Son of Set, the language that brings Seth’s spells and Isis’s clues to life is Re-en-Kam: the speech of Egypt.
But here’s the problem: much like the locket which Natti is attempting to translate, Re-en-Kam is a puzzle in itself to figure out. No, really. It’s almost like a word scramble compared to the English language. For example, it’s the verb that comes first, not the noun. So instead of saying “I love you” it would be more like “Love I you.” Also, one word in Re-en-Kam may translate into several very different words in English. Plus, there’s a difference in reference, gender, and gender plural.
Merut: beloved woman, sweetheart, love Merit: love, desire, wish
Hemet-netjer: high priestess Hem-netjer: high priest
Hemut-netjer: high priestesses Hemu-netjer: high priests
On top of it all, Re-en-Kam has been a dead language for thousands of years! The only thing available is the hieroglyphics left behind in the tombs and temples of Egypt, and unfortunately, hieroglyphs don’t include many of the vowels that would have been used in speech. So, really, no one actually knows what the language sounds like.
Of course, a few Egyptologists have speculated how the language might be vocalized, such as E. A. Wallis Budge, who wrote an entire dictionary of hieroglyphs. I particularly found his work useful in creating my spells and clues of the Descendants of Isis series along with a few other research books which I acknowledge.
However, once you understand, or get an idea, the language you wish to use, how do you portray what your character is saying?
-What’s he saying?
-I have no idea.
Well, every author has their different style. For me, I prefer taking advantage of the multiple points of view in my series. If it were Natti alone, the reader would be hearing exactly what she would be hear, which would be the sound each word or sentence makes. But in Seth’s mind (being that Re-en-Kam is his first language ;) ) the language is automatically translated. So from his point of view, the reader can get a direct translation of the conversation taking place in Re-en-Kam.
Natti: Bonniewae; Seth: Very Good
Again, I’m not claiming to be an expert, but this is an example of what challenges authors can face when writing. This is why I’m a firm believer in research. Without it, my Re-en-Kam wouldn’t sound half as impressive, and in my personal opinion, neither would the spells or clues I put together of my novel. It’s a lot of work, yes. But well worth it!
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Kelsey; Hieroglyphics.net
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About the Author
During her high school years,
Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall
or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today
is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office
building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble Café in Cary, North Carolina.
She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and
lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate.Daughter
of Isis is her debut novel.
For more information, please visit her site at kelseyketch.com.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
One lucky winner will get a was scepter pendant (created specially
by SilverspotStudio), a hieroglyphic tote bag, and a Son of
Set journal (INT).
Blog Tour Organised by:
This is so much fun! I love when authors take that extra step to incorporate reality into their fictional worlds. Thanks for the fun post!
ReplyDeletewell ,I really love the cover , it looks amazing :D I actually never heard of this series before, but I will definitely check it out
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