The Lost Army of Cambyses

Paul Sussman's two great passions have always

been writing and archaeology. He fulfils the

former by working as a freelance journalist and

the latter by spending two months of each year

excavating in Egypt. He lives in London with his

wife.
The Lost Army of Cambyses
is his first

novel, his new novel,
The Last Secret of the

Temple,
is also published by Bantam Books.

Praise for
The Lost Army of Cambyses

'A great adventure, one of the most intriguing mysteries

of the past, a great novel masterfully written'

Valerie Massimo Manfredi, author of
The Spartan

'A tough, sometimes brutal, but always engrossing

thriller. Sussman knows his Egypt, past and present,

and he has the gift of creating engaging heroes of both

sexes and really,
really
vile villains'

Dr. Barbara Mertz, archaeologist

'At last, a thriller that gets away from the hackneyed

old 'curse of Tut' stuff; and since Sussman has actually

excavated in Egypt himself, we can trust his background

detail . . . the fast-paced plot is one among many good

things in this very assured first novel . . . There is also a

great description of a
khamsin,
the sandstorm wind,

and I can vouch for Sussman's accuracy, having been

terrified silly by enduring such a phenomenon myself

Scotland on Sunday

www.booksattransworld.co.uk

'Gripping . . . a spine-chilling, fast-paced thriller

packed . . . It has all the ingredients of a James Bond

adventure: exotic locations, priceless antiquities, evil

fanatics bent on global domination, brutal murders,

corrupt policemen, human heroism, and it keeps you

guessing right up to the final chapter. It's rare to find a

book which sets your heartbeat racing as you timidly

but compulsively turn the page, terrified at what

might jump out in the next paragraph. But in a style

reminiscent of Patricia Cornwell's early books,
The

Lost Army of Cambyses
shocks as well as enthralls . . .

A compelling read'
Sunday Business Post

'Adrenaline-packed . . . combines all the elements of a

truly great adventure story – a 2,000 year old historical

mystery, buried treasure, a race against time – with a

profound knowledge of, and feel for, the land of Egypt,

both past and present. At the end you feel like you've

been on a rollercoaster, in a library, and down the Nile

all at the same time . . . Superbly evocative, with a huge

epic sweep'
Crime Time

'A textured, well-researched and expertly paced debut . . .

the murders and thrills accumulate . . . truly inventive'

Publishers Weekly

'An enjoyable adventure story, replete with archaeological

lore and set against a backdrop of Islamic militant action'

Spectator

'An all-action archaeological adventure . . . an edge of

your seat thrill ride . . . There is also a great feeling

of the desert's vastness, especially in the cinematic

adrenaline-packed ending'
Wealden Times

Also by Paul Sussman

THE LAST SECRET OF THE TEMPLE

and published by Bantam Books

THE

LOST ARMY

OF

CAMBYSES

PAUL SUSSMAN

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Adobe ISBN: 9781407041216

Version 1.0

www.randomhouse.co.uk

THE LOST ARMY OF CAMBYSES

A BANTAM BOOK : 9780553818031

Originally published in Great Britain by Bantam Press,

a division of Transworld Publishers

PRINTING HISTORY

Bantam Press edition published 2002

Bantam edition published 2003

Bantam edition reissued 2006

7 9 10 8 6

Copyright © Paul Sussman 2002

Map and illustrations © Neil Gower 2002

The extract on page 7 from
The Histories
by Herodotus,

translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt, revised by John Marincola

(Penguin Classics 1954, second revised edition 1996),

translation copyright 1954 by Aubrey de Sélincourt, revised

edition copyright © John Marincola, 1996, is reproduced by

permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

The right of Paul Sussman to be identified as the author of

this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77

and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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To beautiful Alicky,

for putting up with me,

and to Mum and Dad,

for supporting but never pushing

'The force which was sent against the Ammonians

started from Thebes with guides, and can be

traced as far as the town of Oasis, which . . . is

seven days journey across the sand from Thebes.

General report has it that the army got as far as

this, but of its subsequent fate there is no news

whatsoever. It never reached the Ammonians and

it never returned to Egypt. There is, however, a

story told by the Ammonians themselves and by

others who heard it from them, that when the men

had left Oasis, and in their march across the desert

had reached a point about midway between the

town and the Ammonian border, a southerly wind

of extreme violence drove the sand over them in

heaps as they were taking their mid-day meal, so

that they disappeared forever.'

Herodotus,
The Histories,
Book Three,

translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt