The Power of Character

 

The Hidden Sphinx – A Tale of World War II Egypt, by Zita Steele

A new writer who embarks on a novel will usually learn the art of narrative first, and, given that she has a grand story to tell, will let the story emerge through her voice. The thing that sometimes gets lost in the marathon race that is authoring a novel is character.  Stories – especially tales of derring-do in wartime – don’t  happen of themselves. Only in history books does it seem that way. Humans – flawed people, ambitious people, people caught in the jaws of conflict – create stories.

Ms. Steele has done a commendable job of researching the World War II background for her story, and has presented an unusual situation in The Hidden Sphinx: both British and German soldiers gone rogue, both being hunted by military detective sorts. And, of course, who couldn’t want a romance thrown in? The author has realized the central role of character in a dramatic saga such as this, but seems to have struggled to capture it.

Well developed characters, given even the smallest, most insignificant conflict, will make great things happen as they chase resolution. After all, the novel is a literary device by which we learn about life. It’s the characters, the surrender to an evil more vile than war’s destruction, the resolve, the pluck to survive in an inhospitable desert, the inevitability of love, even in a war that pits combatants against one another and against nature herself, that give the story its life, its power. It’s evident that Ms Steele has the panorama of a great epic in her. Her task now is to unearth the characters worthy of living that story.

 

My rating: 12 of 20

 

Visit our website here, where you’ll find more on our books. There’s also a Facebook fan page or two if you can find them. On either you’ll discover more on writing and reading ideas and events that matter to us — and possibly to you.