I can't put this book down. I've never been able to "get into" books written in the 19th century (or even the first half of the 20th), but this book is different. Despite their slightly different (19th-century) mode of speaking, Kingsley's characters really come alive. You really care about them. You feel you're there in ancient Egypt with them. The narrative moves right along, too, without missing a beat--very fast-paced. For months now I've had about 6 books going at a time (reading them, that is), but I've put them all down for this one. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through this book, but accidentally bumped into this site and wanted to comment (I may never get back here again; I'm not a mathematician, but am extremely interested in Hypatia and paganism).