Bøker av David Anthony Durham

On the night before his twelfth birthday, Ash learns that he was born on the same day as Prince Khufu, which makes him eligible to compete to be the prince''s shadow, a coveted position as the friend and bodyguard of the boy destined to be pharaoh of all of Egypt. At first, Ash can''t believe it, but when a floating royal barge takes Ash and his mentor to the bustling, magical, solar-powered capital, things get real. What awaits Ash and the candidates is deadly - five days of dangerous tests filled with demon fighting, monster slaying, and magical spells - each overseen by a different Egyptian god. Ash finds two friends willing to fight by his side - the first friends he''s ever made. But there are candidates who will lie, cheat, and even harm others to win.

A victorious Corinn Akaran reigns over the Acacian Empire of the Known World. Disturbing news reaches her court from the mysterious Other Lands and Corinn dispatches her brother, Dariel, as her emissary across the uncharted seas of the Grey Slopes.

Ruling from the island of Acacia, the emperor of the Known World has inherited an apparent peace and prosperity won by his ancestors generations ago.

In ancient Rome, parents used to silence misbehaving children with the utterance 'Hannibal ad portas' (Hannibal is at the door).