Michelle Jabès Corpora (Holly Horror) celebrates Egypt, the country of her parents' birth, in the epic, strikingly picturesque His Face Is the Sun.
King of High Khetara Amunmose's 17-year-old triplets, Meryamun, Sitamun, and Bakenamun, live in the palace at Thonis. As her father wastes away from a mysterious illness, Sita, a princess born between two princes, begins to recognize the brutality and deceit inherent in palace life.
Among the commoners, Neff is haunted by a nightmare of a wounded lamb: "beware, for soon the Great River of Khetara will turn to blood." When the patron goddess of Neff's home parades through town on the way to her festival, Neff is singled out; the 13-year-old cries tears of blood and is told she will "be prepared for the priesthood." Meanwhile, 19-year-old Rae, a farmer's daughter in Low Khetara, is disgusted by how Amunmose's regime increasingly takes from her poor neighbors; she turns to revolution when Amunmose's nomarch demands an impossible task. And Karim, a 19-year-old tomb-robber from the western Red Lands, stumbles upon a terrible power. His flight from the menace places him on Neff's prophetic path, along with Sita and Rae, and all must "beware of what is unseen."
Corpora integrates several historical texts into this grand first novel in a trilogy, including the Oracle of the Lamb, an actual ancient prophecy that plays a central role in her majestic fantasy. The author develops beguiling characters, cinematically describes landscapes, and builds a sense of realism within the fantastical; His Face Is the Sun is an excellent choice for fans of Tomi Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir. --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness