Thunder at Kadesh (Book Three of Empires of Bronze) by Gordon Doherty

Overall Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Thunder at Kadesh is the third (and at this writing, last) volume of Empires of Bronze, Gordon Doherty’s ongoing historical fiction series set in the ancient Hittite Empire. In this volume, Mr. Doherty has produced a powerful rendition of the earliest well-documented military campaign in human history.

Thunder at Kadesh continues to follow Prince Hattu, the younger brother of the Hittite king Muwatalli II. In the years since the previous story, Hattu has become case-hardened by a life of violence and loss. Now the war he has long dreaded is about to begin: an epic conflict against New Kingdom Egypt under its new Pharaoh Ramesses II (one day to be known to history as “Ramesses the Great”).

Ramesses intends to destroy the Hittite kingdom, and he may have the army he needs to do that. On the other hand, under Hattu’s leadership, the Hittites have spent years building up their own army, including innovations in tactics and technology. They gather all of their allies – including some well-known names from their vassal-kingdom of Troy – and march to meet Ramesses.

As always, Mr. Doherty’s careful research pays off here. He has done a careful study of the Kadesh campaign, and of the critical battle itself, based on the most recent research in several disciplines. This novel offers plausible solutions to some of its outstanding mysteries, while still telling a suspenseful story of military struggle and sacrifice.

The plot of Thunder at Kadesh is a bit tighter and more believable than that of previous volumes of the series. The stakes of the conflict are clear, as are the identity and motives of the antagonists. Prince Hattu and his supporting characters deal with their challenges with intelligence, determination, and iron discipline. Even the villains of the piece are more nuanced and well-developed than we’ve seen so far. Only at the very end of the story is there a sudden reversal, setting up a conflict for the volumes to come. As I’ve come to expect from this self-published series, the production is of very high quality, with very few copy-editing errors.

Readers should be aware, of course, that the story is set in a brutal and violent time, focusing on one of the greatest battles of the ancient world. Descriptions of violence are common and very explicit.

I thoroughly enjoyed Thunder at Kadesh and am looking forward to the next books in the series.  Strongly recommended for readers who might enjoy an action-packed war story set in ancient times.