Review of The Two-Horned King

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Two-Horned King" by S. Y. Medany.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Droba stone is an ancient stone with vast powers, and many important figures have searched for it to no avail. In the year 2022, Sam Kidd, a billionaire, recruits anthropologists Jim McCoy, Sarah Adams, and Rashad Kareem to examine and decode ancient clues that relate to Alexander the Great. The one they call the Two-Horned King is supposed to guide them to the stone. But even though they obtain the Droba stone, there are many more mysteries they must decode to unlock its powers. Soon, many people and different emotions get involved in the search. Amidst love, betrayal, and greed, will the three musketeers uncover all the secrets that could be the difference between life and death in time? More importantly, is the world ready for the great power of the Droba stone?

The Two-Horned King by S. Y. Medany is a futuristic story, also giving us a glimpse into the next century. Even though many parts of the fiction book are set in the future, it was still an anthropological gem. The author gave accurate information of locations, ancient myths, and cultures that I wondered whether the fiction parts were real. For example, the author mentioned several historical figures that are part of a secret group called Archaia. I could not help searching about Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.

More than the believability of the story, I applaud the author for creating such an interesting storyline based on anthropology. Many people may not care for ancient cultures, opting instead for more modern things. But this story had my heart in my mouth. The betrayal, romance, reconciliation, and the thrill of excavating new sites brought the anthropology jargon closer to home and made the characters more relatable. There were many unexpected occurrences. Just when I was sure of who a character was, there would be another discovery that had my jaw wide open. Readers will be excited and surprised to see just why the Droba stone was so important before the age of Alexander the Great.

The author used the third-person narrative style and dialogue. I appreciated the simplicity of the dialogue. But the story would follow a different character or even century in each chapter. This creative decision led to many loose ends. For instance, after a short scene of Jack intercepting a spy, we never see Jack interrogating him or even a single dialogue about who the spy was; there were many other scenes like this. The book seemed like a movie with too many characters, and it was difficult to keep up. At a point, I was exhausted from meeting new characters that had no significance on the plot.

The ending was also disappointing. I felt that the author wasted the suspense buildup, the characters’ suffering and brilliance, and all that time on what was a quick and flat ending. So I rate this book 3 out of 4. I cannot rate it lower because I did enjoy the story and appreciate the author's extensive research and creativity. If you do not have any interest in science or the patience to uncover mysteries, this book can easily confuse you, and you may not enjoy it. This book is for readers who like anthropology and science fiction. Readers should note that the book contains profanity and implicit sexual scenes.

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The Two-Horned King
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[Astral Magi]

I am fascinated by the storyline revolving around anthropology and I may read this one. Pity about the characters that have no significance though. Thank you for an excellent review.

[marta baglioni]

The plotline is intriguing. For the flaws that you have highlighted (especially the flat ending), I might take a pass on this one. Thank you for the honest review!

[Priya_Singh]

I am intrigued by the storyline. Mystery, suspense, betrayal, reconciliation etc...this seems like my kind of story. But multiple characters are really confusing and hard to follow. Thank you for your wonderful review.

[Edit_or]

Sounds like an interesting story. An understandable review. Thank you

[Avril Fajardo]

this story is so interesting so i think im going to read this it captured my heart AHHAHA

[NetMassimo]

Despite that flaws you pointed out, this novel seems to have intriguing merits that outweigh those flaws and I'm intrigued by the mysteries and the anthropological elements. Thank you for your great review!

[Gabriella1997]

A book full of mystery and betrayals, I would like to read more about this book, beautiful review.