Category: Historical Fiction
The Twice Born by Pauline Gedge
(Cover picture courtesy of Amazon.)
Young Huy’s family is thrilled when his uncle offers to pay for the boy to attend a prestigious school at Iunu. Thanks to his generous benefactor, the farmer’s son will now have a chance at a better life as a scribe. But one away at school, Huy is unprepared for the jealousy his easy success stirs in fellow pupils, and he becomes the victim of a vicious attack that leaves him dead—or so it would seem.
His inexplicable return to life makes Huy a pariah, ostracizes him because of his visions of the deaths around him. But priests believe his powers could be the key to interpreting the Book of Thoth, and Huy’s newfound fame attracts the attention of Pharaoh Amunhotep. It’s only then that Huy begins to realize that his power is not granted to him, but owns him, for he is no longer his own master. He is the King’s Man.
Well, here it is: the book that started my obsession with ancient Egypt. I received this book on a bitterly cold Christmas Day and the lure of a story in a nice, warm climate was too hard to resist.
When I first began reading The Twice Born, I tried to take what little I knew about ancient Egypt and apply it to the novel. But then I let go and surrendered myself to Pauline Gedge’s slow but compelling narrative. The novel opens when Huy is four years old, a selfish and spoiled child, but drops hints as to his future: “When he was an old man, feared and worshiped by the whole of Egypt, wealthy beyond the dreams of any save the King himself, Huy would find himself pondering those words.” (Pg 14)
The Twice Born is an excellent story, rich in historical details and wonderful character development, but it is not a book for those who love fast-paced plots. It follows Huy from the time he is four years old until the time he is eighteen, with very few interesting events in between (aside from when he is twelve years old). You simply have to sit back, enjoy the wonderful scenery and the realistic characters and let go of your preconceived notions of what ancient Egypt was really like.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden
(Cover picture courtesy of Barnes and Noble.)
In a city of grandeur and decadence, beauty and bloodshed, two boys, best friends, dream of glory in the service of the mightiest empire the world has ever known. One is the son of a senator. The other is a bastard child. As young Gaius and Marcus grow to manhood, they are trained in the art of combat—under the tutelage of one of Rome’s most fearsome gladiators. For Marcus, a bloody campaign in Greece will become a young soldier’s proving ground. For Gaius, the equally deadly infighting of the Roman Senate will be the battlefield where he hones his courage and skill. And for both, the love of an extraordinary slave girl will be an honor each will covet but only one will win. But as Rome is thrust into the grip of bitter conflict, as every Roman prepares to take sides in the coming battle, Gaius and Marcus’s friendship will be put to the ultimate test.
For two thousand years, people have been wondering who Gaius Julius Caesar really was and in his bestselling novel, Conn Iggulden attempts to answer this. Very little is known about Julius Caesar’s childhood and he presents a semi-plausible explanation for what shaped the great general’s early years. While I commend him for his cinematic, dazzling novel, I wish he had not sacrificed historical accuracy for the sake of drama.
Conn Iggulden admits in his ‘Historical Note’ at the end of the novel that he changed how Caesar was related to Marius, when Marius died and even how the dictator Sulla himself died. The first change was completely unnecessary, the second and third were for the sake of drama alone. Many of the changes Conn Iggulden made were unnecessary, but he was writing for the mass market instead of Roman historians.
The character of Julius Caesar is an excellent, well-developed one. His determination to prove himself and his love for Cornelia are all very realistic and make the mythical figure of Caesar into a living, breathing human. The Gates of Rome is a good book for people who do not mind historical inaccuracies and complex politics in historical fiction.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
(Cover picture courtesy of Glamour Glory.)
Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They ruled before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.
The White Queen tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, who secretly marries the newly crowned boy king. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become the central figures in a famous unsolved mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the lost princes in the Tower of London. Philippa Gregory brings the artistry and intellect of a master writer and storyteller to a new era in history and begins what is sure to be another best-selling classic series from this beloved author.
When I received The White Queen as a late birthday present from my best friend, I was a bit skeptical. Historical fiction had bored me up to that point, but Philippa Gregory’s amazing novel forever changed my attitude toward it.
The White Queen is the tale of Elizabeth Woodville, a woman who is recently widowed and fighting for her two sons’ inheritance. She meets the boy king Edward and immediately sparks fly. A whirlwind romance, battle and secret marriage later, Elizabeth becomes Queen of England. Philippa Gregory’s amazing novel chronicles the life of an extraordinary woman who was a secret force behind politics in the late 15th century England.
Elizabeth is a very believable, complex character who makes a wonderful narrator. Her motivations vary throughout the novel, yet she is still sympathetic and readers will root for her the whole time. She truly comes alive in Philippa Gregory’s vivid descriptions of life in 15th century England and the multifaceted politics of the time. There is certainly a reason why Philippa Gregory is known as the queen of royal fiction.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
(Cover picture courtesy of Pepper Ink.)
Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force—a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of extraordinary power of the senses. It is a novel only Anne Rice could write.
Interview with the Vampire is no doubt a classic novel, but it is not for everyone. If you do not like descriptions of graphic sex or admittedly disturbing violence, this is not a book you should attempt to read, regardless of its classic status. I do not like graphic descriptions of sex, so I skipped over these parts, but the violence was unavoidable as this is a true vampire novel. This is definitely a book for older teens to adults.
Aside from some mature content, Interview with the Vampire is a wonderful, slightly disturbing novel. It starts off rather slow, but as Louis’ tale goes on, this book will become glued to your hands. The sensual descriptions, the exotic characters and the authentic historical details are what really make this novel so great. The plot slowly twists and turns until we learn how being a vampire has changed the once mild, innocent Louis de Pointe du Lac. If you’re used to the wishy-washy vampires of today, prepare for a fresh and frightening experience.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
House of Dreams by Pauline Gedge
(Cover picture courtesy of Barnes and Noble.)
In the tiny hamlet of Aswat, far to the south of the royal capital, a beautiful young girl wants more than the meagre prospects her village offers. Determined and resourceful, she is quick to leap upon an opportunity when the great seer Hui, who is also physician to Pharaoh, visits Aswat to commune with its god, Wepwawet.
Taken under Hui’s wing to become a healer, she has no idea of his real plans for her—plans that will bring her close to Pharaoh as his favourite concubine, but will ultimately enmesh her in court intrigue of the most dangerous kind.
House of Dreams is a powerful story of passion and jealousy, rich with details of Ancient Egyptian life.
The last line of this blurb is very, very true. House of Dreams explores the darker side of the land of the pharaohs, the side that is usually ignored by amateur and even professional historians and archaeologists. Life was not all beauty and luxury, especially for peasants, which is demonstrated in great detail in this book. Not only is House of Dreams mostly historically accurate (except in the timing of certain events at the end of the novel), it is well-written and emotionally resonant.
Thu is a highly believable, interesting and sympathetic character. All she wants in her life is more than what life in her tiny village of Aswat has to offer. She is an ambitious and intelligent child who, under Hui’s careful supervision, grows into a beautiful, intelligent and ambitious young woman. These three factors contribute to her rise in the harem of Ramses III.
Filled with palace intrigue, sex and passion, House of Dreams is an unforgettable novel. I have read all but two of Pauline Gedge’s books (both of them not set in Egypt), but I must say that this is by far her best book. I would recommend it to anyone, even if they have no interest whatsoever in ancient Egypt because it has such a good plot and well-developed characters.
I give this book 5/5 stars.