[SunkenCiv]

El Mahdy's rejection of the very existence of Smenkhare (she writes that Nefertiti was Smenkhare) wasn't compelling to me. It appeared to be some kind of axe grinding on the part of the author. Any evidence that he existed is merely dismissed without any real basis for the rejection. She reinterprets known images, rejects the marriage signet, and in general doesn't appear to be very scholarly in her treatment of the subject. The Amarna period has provided a playing field for scholars and novelists (didn't Norman Mailer set Ancient Evenings in the Amarna court?) and El Mahdy's book is probably worth having around as the expression of one of the many positions.

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[SunkenCiv]

(from my updated profile)

I just posted three new Amazon reviews, two of which are long overdue -- Nefertiti Resurrected (see message 2), Rameses - Wrath of God or Man, and The Exodus Revealed: Searching for the Red Sea Crossing. My Amazon handle is "HolyOlio".