The Orion Mystery: Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids Reviews

• A nice try to upset egyptologists

  
  By A195390L6RGMP6 on 2000-08-11
  The nature of the pyramids is still a mystery, no matter how much the official Egyptology believes in its tomb theory and in the dates when the Fourth Dynasty built those enormous constructions.

  You just have to visit Giza to realize there is something very strange, very impressive and so much beyond our understanding about Khufu, Khefren and Menkaure pyramids. You can even go to Meidum, Saqqara, or visit the Bent pyramid and the Red one to strenghten the impression about the Giza pyramids: they are simply unique, and that is really difficult to answer the questions like when and why were they constructed.

  The Bauval's theory is well-shaped and rather smart enough. It may be one to entertain readers, or it may be true - one can hardly find out the truth right away. But it is really strong and explains so many things that were never explained before.

  The importance of the theory, and the book as the whole, however, is in the different field: it shakes up the mainstream Egyptology, it wakes it, as well as other people, up, and it opens our eyes making us see that there is always a place for an alternate reality, and there is always a chance to explain what the official science fails to explain.

  The book places a lot of evidence again that the ancient egyptians, or the people lived there before them, possessed the knowledge so much underestimated by modern egyptologists, the knowledge that was really huge and comparable with a today's one. That makes the book another breakthrough in the process of discussing the history of humankind.

  The book will remind you now that it is not an easy way to argue with, or contradict the established scientific theory. The saddest story of all times is Gantenbrink's tries to solve some of the Great pyramid's puzzles: since 1994 nobody, including egyptian egyptologists, has ever let him continue his investigations, no matter how hard he tried to get the permission, or how perfect his robot finally became.

  The Orion Mystery may be considered another brick in the building of the real science. A must-read for everyone who does not feel indifferent to the problems of history and modern science.
  
  

• Reasonable, if flawed.

  
  By A2P6PVWZS4NGV0 on 1999-05-16
  The basic message of the forebodingly titled "The Orion Mystery" is that the ground plan of many, if not all, of the Egyptian pyramids, as well as their basic architecture, was intentionally designed to reflect the positions of stars in the sky. The most basic pattern to which Bauval calls attention is the correlation between the three pyramids at Giza with the positions of the three belt stars in the constellation of Orion. Bauval's hypothesis is reasonable, and though it may be difficult to test, it may provide some insight into the precepts that underlie the construction of these massive monuments. In particular, it is refreshing to read a book on the subject of pyramid-star correlations that is relatively free of the sort of pseudoscience practiced by the likes of Graham Hancock and others. The prospective reader should be warned, however, that the extension of the correlation of ground plan to star positions at Giza to other pyramids in Egypt has been effectively discredited, as I understand even Bauval admits; it would appear that there was no grand plan to draw Orion/Osiris across such a large region. This essentially reduces the useful portion of the book by half, but the remainder is still worthwhile. The writing fails to win awards, but is serviceable. I would assign three different recommendations: for those who plan to eventually take the plunge into the mystical fringes of pseudoscientific archaeology, this is a good gateway book; for those who have already dived in, this is tame stuff that will probably only bore you; for everyone else, this is speculative, but still rational.
  
  

• History revised

  
  By A3B2DFMVEIT8TS on 1999-11-30
  This book not only takes apart the basic history of Egypt you learned in school, it introduces the radical concept that the Eygyptians weren't a). stupid, b). primitive, or c). superstitious twits.

  Bauval shows how the pyramids were arranged so precisely because they were creating a heaven on earth--they reflect the patterns of Orion's belt on the ground. This had deep significance to a race of people who believed ''as above, so below.''

  The reader who claims that Bauval now refutes his own Orion theory is sadly misinformed. Anyone who is interested can go read Bauval's letter to the BBC at www.grahamhancock.com. Apparently, the ''Horizon'' program, in its zeal to knock both Hancock (not a pseudo-scientist but a talented journalist)badly mis-represented Bauval's theories to the British viewing public.

  But read it for yourself. I think the sequel, ''The Message of the Sphinx,''is even better.
  
  

• The Orion Mystery - Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids

  
  By A2R0BYR93VI59T on 2000-04-16
  I found this book to be absolutely stunning. A 'must read' for amateur Egyptologist. This book unlocks one of the most interesting secrets of the Pyramids at Giza and shows evidence of a long range organized master plan of the layout of the pyramids that must have been conceived many years before they were built. The relationship to the stars is uncanny and so accurate that the writer claims he is able to date the exact construction period of the pyramids within 50 years of the date they were actually built.

  I was convinced without a doubt that the pyramids were built with measuring tools that have yet to be discovered. This books lays claim to one such tool although the actual physical device has proved elusive and only drawings exist to date.

  The book leaves you hanging for a part II, which shows new convincing evidence that yet another hidden chamber, may exist in one of the pyramids that may contain the designs and the signature of the king who built it. As of the writing of this book, the door to this room was discovered but not yet opened. (An investigation was planned for 1994, but no details of this project have been given in this book.)

  You will also see that the mathematics behind the pyramids are nothing less that electrifying. The relationship between the angles used and the rising sun and the relationship to other cities that may reference other stars, will keep you glued till the end. It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that the pyramids are a well-planned map of the stars...but you be the judge.
  
  

• An interesting read with new and fresh ideas!

  
  By on 2002-07-15
  I find "THE ORION MYSTERY" an interesting book, and was quite hard to put down after reading the 1st chapter. Robert Bauval introduces new revolutionary theories that the Egyptians were not a heliocentric (solar-based) culture but an astral (star-based) one. Also included in his book are interesting details of the Upuaut 2 robotic exploration of the shafts in the Great Pyramid of Khufu. His writing was very down-to-earth and not confusing or scientific - a wonderful book for anyone interested in Egypt and the pyramids.
  
  
• The SAH-(MA) discovered through new evidence.
  By A1G1DDXZSRS7WM on 2001-09-26
  I'm a Dr. of Buddhology with a smattering of interest in Egyptology and found this book and saw the discovery program concerning Mr. Bauval. I've written 6 books myself that are translations of ancient Pali in the Buddhist faith which date back to 450 BC.

  What is important regarding this book, is that the ORION that Mr. Bauval speaks of is part of a fascinating new translation of the Ariya Atthangika Magga in Buddhist studies wherein that area of the world believed in CONJOINING WITH THE SAH (Orion). I found Mr. Bauvals book to be fascinating regarding the Orion mystery and it very very closely parallels my own ancient Pali scripture translations of the Indus Valley whom Buddhologists and Archeologists know for a fact that had trade and contact with Ancient Egypt from the architecture and many other discoveries. [. . ..]

  As a author of numerous books myself and a great appreciator of men with vision and drive, this book is far beyond 5 stars. Dr. of Buddhology, author, discoverer of the importance of the SAH (ORION) link in the Ancient Indus Valley; Ven. Shakya Aryanatta.kenleew@earthlink.net
  
  

• Fascinating.........
  By A1DRCA6UNGP19D on 2000-03-23
  Being a novice on the pyraminds, I found this book absolutely fascinating. To think that all those years ago the people of Egypt could have known that much information about the stars is amazing. We usually think of these people as undeveloped, but if the pyramids are truly as complex as these two think than we are talking a whole different ball game. As a novice, I do have a couple of comments about how the book was written. For the most part it flowed fairly smooth. There were a couple of spots where I felt the authors delved a "little too deep" with technical information. But than again, the book was intended to bring attention from the professional fiend about their work, not to be read by a woman engineer who has no experience with the pyramids. One warning, have a lot of time if you are not familiar with the pyramids because it will take you awhile to get thru all the information and make sense of it all.
  
  
• this book marks the X on the map for our starting point
  By A3EAZANZZC9KQU on 2000-01-18
  This was one of the first books i have read about alternative science. I believe this is a ground breaker for this subject. It is imperitive for anyone learning the new age of thinking about our past and ancients this book will pave your cobble stone street for you. Set aside the high volume of critisicm the archaelogists and scientists have thrown out and UP on the public about this topic. It is up to the voluntary and open minded individual to decide what they choose to feel is right. I loved this book, I dont have the necessary resources to analyze and investigate all that is spoken in this book yet. But the individual with common sense can disearn what makes common sense to that person or what could have happened. Sincerest thanks to the authors for their work and puzzling questions the critiques are frantically trying to answer with there orthodox perceptions.
  
  
• This was the most facinating book I've ever read.
  By on 1999-03-27
  I thought that The Orion Mystery was very facinating. I have always liked ancient mysteries and what they are connected to, kinds of books. This book proposed a specifically interesting mystery. The book was about a group of pyramids from Egypt's forth dynasty. It said that the group of pyramids coincided with the orion constellation. It also says that the pyramids are on the exact position of the stars in this particular constellation. The Benben stone that the egyptians believe to be linked to the creation of the world was also in these pyramids. I believe that The Orion Mystery made me want to keep reading and also to read other books to keep finding out about these pyramids in Egypt. I found myself unable to put it down. I liked this book because it did not propose anything inpossible but something that you could actually believe. I think that if you like this sort of mystery or like to here about Egyption findings I think you will definately find that you like this book.
  
  
• Alternative insight spark new interest in pyramids
  By AM3BG42WSRWTP on 2000-01-05
  For those who are interested in the pyramids, this book cut across very strong conventional thinking of what they are thought to be and sprout new insights into their purpose. For those who support the underdogs, the story of the obstacles the author faced to bring us this alternative insight is also worth reading about. After first reading this book in 1994, my interest in the pyramids was rekindled and my suspicion of their purpose lifted slightly. My sixth sense have always told me that the pyramids are not just tombs, even for pharaohs. To view them as a stellar temples are more "acceptable conventionally". Are we a step closer to finding out the truth about the pyramids? I remember a time what someone suggest that the earth is round when the catholic church believe that it is flat. Perhaps, we are heading in the right direction this time. I first read about the Pyramid Text in this book.
  
  
• AMAZING
  By ATY7AAR8EGDE8 on 2004-06-14
  Next to Grahm Hancock, Robert Bauval is the creme de la creme of astro-archeology.

  Everything you thought you knew about the pyramids is WRONG.

  In the future the work of Bauval and Hancock is the marker that determines our understanding of ancient works like The Great Pyramid.

  We are in a 'new age' of understanding our past thanks to the works of geniuses like Bauval and Hancock.

  AMAZING
  
  

• Read it !!!!
  By on 1999-07-11
  A good book and well written. Robert Bauval has obviously done his homework , though I would say if you were going to read any book of this genre I would still make it Keeper of Genesis with Graham Hancock
  
  
• Great reading material
  By A5LYQUIU2WYC5 on 2002-01-10
  This book is about a theory that the pyramids of Egypt are alined to the exact positions of the constellation of Orion. The shafts in the pyramid are used as a star clock going back to at least 10450BC using precession. The shafts in the pyramid are alined, pointed towards specific stars. This is a great theory on the pyramids and worth reading.
  
  
• Amazingly boring
  By A3IH67BMVQ0XB6 on 2005-01-06
  Granted, the author got some interesting ideas. But why does he hide them for the most part of the book? About 80% of the book is a repetitive description of different facts, theories and opinions, with the author arguing about "what is not correct", and no clue at what is he getting at. Well, not fare, he gives some clues, but not more. Sometimes it looks like he's got carried away with a need to talk (or write) without any point to deliver.
  
  Again, that's not to say that he does not have any interesting things inside, he certainly has. It's just those interesting things would fit into 20 pages if described without well-known, repetitive and not-so-exciting things.
  
  
• good Fiction
  By A3O6XIG6D648GG on 2005-06-20
  Just like the old Chariots of Gods, his books are very interesting and and entertaining. But please dont think that you are reading a scientific work. Real historical works are not as sexy and entertaining as these books just as real archeologists are not Indiana Joneses.
  
  
• As above, so below
  By A1H5P1Q4H2WP2M on 1998-10-31
  Sometimes, the obvious is not so. Considering the antiquity of the Egyptian civilization and the still new science of Egyptology, Bauval's ideas are refreshing but not surprising. A lucid author, he approaches the pyramids with playful curiosity, not as ponderous as Graham Hancock, but not as thoroughly, either. Bauval's observations about the "master plan" at Giza are inspired, but just the beginning of a larger investigation, something I expect we will enjoy for many years as he and others dare to understand the Plateau and its meaning. Bauval's observation about the organization of the pyramids and the belt of Orion indicate that Giza was not constructed to "hide" secrets as perpetuated by Dr. Zahi Hawass, but that like discovering the answer to a riddle, what we expect to see, affects more than what we actually see. Although the book does not explore the "how" of Giza, it does present new questions and answers concerning the "why."
  
  
• A must read, especially for the academic egyptologists
  By on 1998-03-03
  I'm an italian reader, 39, architect. This great book is the last demonstration of what kind of demages can be done by the academic environment in its effort to keep the culture inside the universities, schools and similars, instead to help it to propagate whitin the people. In this book are uncovered more than 100 years of guilty blindness about this reality, the Pyramids, that do contain a great part of our cultural origins.
  The authors argued in a way that - frankly speaking - it seems quite difficult to dispute. They bring proofs that come from the direct observation and from the direct experience.
  This book is fantastic, a must read for everyone who loves the ancient Egypt culture, and for those who want to find a way for to approach or to improve their knowledge about the "Land of the River".
  
  
• A Refreshing Look at History BUT Too Much Overlooked
  By on 1998-07-27
  I was fully convinced about the author's conclusions as to the purpose of the pyramids. My only complaint was that he did not address some of the other mysteries of these structures. For instance, he did not address the fact that the Great Pyramid lies at the exact latitude and longitude on the earth's surface that has the most land mass. No other latitude has more land mass running east-west and no other longitude has more land mass running north-south. Look at a globe. I find this too much of a coincidence. The other mystery not discussed was the "pyramid inch." The unit of measure the Egyptians used to build the pyramids roughly equals our standard inch. Thier inch is exactly equal to 1/500,000,000 of the distance from the North Pole to the South Pole. If you try this calculation you will see that our standard inch is almost equal to this distance. Somewhere in history our inch became distorted. Lastly, the author talked at great length about th! e sarcophagus inside the Great Pyramid, but never mentioned the fact that the dimensions of the sarcophagus are exactly equal to the dimensions stated in the Old Testament for the Ark of the Covenant. Another coincidence? If these questions and issues were addressed or even mentioned, I could have given this book 5 stars.
  
  
• Those were smart Martians who built them there triangles
  By A1Z82XNTD381ZR on 2001-01-06
  This book was intriguing to say the very least. It was a fresh topic for me that drew me in to its concept. The author takes the Giza pyramids, long believed by the textbooks to be based on a Solar Egyptian religion, and establishes that they were in fact constructed after a Stellar religion. It explains the design of the Great Pyramid and what purposes its features served in the Star religion of the kings. The line of the 3 Giza pyramids are modeled after Orion's belt, which becomes obvious after a simple comparison. Also, it analyzes the oldest religious documents ever recovered, "The Pyramid Texts".. which are about 4000 years old. This is a interesting look into the world of the enigmas of Egyptology. Though it finds some satisfactory answers to age-old questions, not to mention re-dates ancient chronologies, still many questions remain unanswered even by the end, including the biggest of all... How were they built ??
  
  
• Very interesting theory, but an average book.
  By A3LHTNFYV2UK0A on 2002-03-25
  The Orion theory is very compelling and explains a lot of mysteries surrounding the Pyramids. But the book never gets really exciting for the ordinary readers, especially those who are not too familiar with egytological terms and history. There are many illustrations which is good, but they are not always placed on the pages where they are referred to in the text and that makes it a little confusing. I think Bauval should have kept the story more strictly chronological, to make it a better research/detective story.
  
  
• Interesting but over-wrought
  By on 2004-01-12
  The story has some very interesting points, some very well researched. But there are some conclusions made which seem illogical and strain plausibility. There are points made which could have simple explanations that have already been offered, yet the authours try to explain them in a different, more circumstancial way, to fit in with their thesis.

  There are some very interesting parts and the book contains a large amount of useful information. If you have an open mind (or if you are a conspiracy theorist) there is much too enjoy in this book.
  
  

• Amazing
  By on 1999-08-04
  I was captivated by this book fo a while and It got me real interested in Egyptology.
  
  
• Simply Fantastic
  By A1JVUXKCZ4X59D on 1999-03-16
  I am a little biased since the writer is my Uncle, but I live in Australia and the facts that are presented in this book, seem to be so perfect in every detail, all sides of the issue have been examined and problems dealed with. You must go to experience the feel of Egypt and it's magestic Pyramids. This book creates such a hunger for that knowledge and experience. Be sure to read Bauval's and Hancock's next triumph, Keeper of Genesis.
  
  
• Amazing!
  By on 1998-04-09
  The best I have ever read about Egyptology and the Pyramides. The theories presented in this book are so simple, yet so convincing. How is it possible that Egyptologists never discovered the real secret of the pyramides before? This book is a must read for everyone interested in Egyptology, in the pyramides and in history in general.
  
  
• Best on the Subject
  By on 1998-05-22
  I have read many "wacky" theories on the pyramids over the years. I thought that this would be one more. Instead, I found it to be well researched, and quite logical. It brought me into a deeper meaning of the religious beliefs of ancient Egypt. There were no alien or U.F.O. theories, or outlandish claims. It was a refreshing , and in my opinion, valid theory regarding the thoughts and ideas behind the building of a "wonder of the world".
  
  
• Worth reading
  By AIAWUYF27R5H2 on 1998-04-23
  Bauval and Gilbert present a lucid and well researched thesis on a historically sensationalist topic. This book is well worth the read, and spends enough time presenting raw facts that the speculation found in the later chapters seems plausible. Regardless of your background, this book will fascinate you and at least spark an interest in Egypt's archaeology.
  
  
• Detailed and different.
  By on 1998-08-28
  I look to books to give me food for thought and this one was a feast. I also recommend Hancock's books and Doherty's AREA 51 series.
  
  
• Quite shocking!
  By on 1998-07-28
  I've not read much on ancient Egypt. In fact I bought this book at a bargain used book store. It was cheap and looked interesting. But I had no idea of the shocking information I was to stumble upon. I would like to shake Baulval's hand and congradulate him on his splendid work. If you ever have the money to buy this book it is worth every cent.
  
  
• Extremely informative...
  By on 1998-06-16
  This is one of the best I've read in regards to the pyramids. It gives more detail about the shafts in the pyramid of Khufu in Egypt then any others I own. Very interesting....must read!
  
  
• a must read!
  By on 1997-07-07
  the best and most convincing book about the mystery of the pyramids i've ever read
  
  

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