Category: Book Review
The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Vivacious Sancha of Aragon arrives in Rome newly wed to a member of the notorious Borgia dynasty. Surrounded by the city’s opulence and political corruption, she befriends her glamorous and deceitful sister-in-law, Lucrezia, whose jealousy is as legendary as her beauty. Some say Lucrezia has poisoned her rivals, particularly those to whom her handsome brother, Cesare, has given his heart. So when Sancha falls under Cesare’s irresistible spell, she must hide her secret or lose her life. Caught in the Borgias’ sinister web, she summons her courage and uses her cunning to outwit them at their own game. Vividly interweaving historical detail with fiction, The Borgia Bride is a richly compelling tale of conspiracy, sexual intrigue, loyalty, and drama.
There’s this image of ancient Rome as a debauched city throughout its whole thousand year history. This perception of debauchery is somewhat true under emperors like Tiberius, Nero, Commodus and Caligula, but it is mostly an undeserved reputation. In reading this book, I learned that the Papacy under the powerful Borgia family had more backstabbing than the Medici court, more sexual debauchery than Caligula’s court and almost as much incest as the Egyptian royal family of Ahmose. The tagline “Incest, poison, betrayal. Three wedding presents for…The Borgia Bride” is certainly justified. Before I get into the details of why this tagline is deserved, let me first warn you that this is a book for people at least fifteen years old—and that would have to be a very mature fifteen.
Sancha of Aragon, the novel’s protagonist, is a wonderful narrator. She’s beautiful, intelligent and ambitious, three of the most dangerous things a woman in her time could be. Even though she was only eleven years old at the time, she had the daring to sneak into her grandfather King Ferrante’s rooms in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the infamous chamber of his enemies’ bodies. This little story may seem like a product of Jeanne Kalogridis’ imagination, but I can assure you that it is true. Like most women of her time, Sancha is incredibly mature for her age, which makes The Borgia Bride an enjoyable read, even though she is young when it starts out. Readers will fall in love with her and cheer for her throughout the novel as she is put up against tremendous odds.
Forcibly married to a boy three years her junior, Sancha still perseveres, even when she knows that she has caught the eye of the debauched Pope. Despite having virtually no friends—even Lucrezia is not a true friend—she manages to find pleasure in small doses, particularly in the arms of the handsome Cesare Borgia. But all is not as it seems and everyone holds their secrets close to their hearts, for any weaknesses were fully taken advantage of in the time of the Borgias. I won’t give away the ending, but I want to say that it is not the stereotypical one where the main character’s husband dies and she gets to marry whomever she wishes. Still, The Borgia Bride is a thoroughly enjoyable book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The King’s Man by Pauline Gedge
(Cover picture courtesy of The Globe and Mail.)
Twelve-year-old Amunhotep III has ascended the throne to become king of the richest empire on earth. The boy’s mother is regent, and she has brought to court the renowned seer Huy, son of a humble farmer, to act as scribe and counsel to her royal son. It’s a position of power and responsibility, one that is fraught with intrigue and the lure of corruption. For it is Huy who controls the treasury, the military, and all construction and taxation—and perhaps most important, it is Huy who chooses the young Pharaoh’s queen. His actions and premonitions, as well as his legendary past, make him very few friends and a great many enemies…
In The King’s Man, Huy’s rise to power and fame—as chronicled first in The Twice Born and then in Seer of Egypt—reaches its resounding climax.
With her meticulous research and compelling prose, Pauline Gedge transports readers into the ancient and fascinating culture that was Egypt.
I will still like the first book of the King’s Man trilogy the best, but the concluding volume, the aptly named The King’s Man, is still a decent book. The ending lets readers use their imaginations, but it also gave me a sense of satisfaction because it took the trilogy full circle. Huy is a confident, powerful old man in this book and that in itself is satisfying because of the drastic change from when he was younger.
The King’s Man is slightly faster paced than the two previous novels, but it is by no means a thriller novel. If you love long, winding narratives filled with tiny details and political intrigue, you will love this book. If you will read a book because it has three dimensional characters like I do, you will absolutely love Pauline Gedge’s latest novel. The characters of Huy, Mutemwia and Amunhotep develop at natural paces that also make sense when you look at what they actually did as historical figures. The best historical fiction authors are able to assign realistic motivations to historical figures and Pauline Gedge is indeed one of the best.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Seven Songs of Merlin by T. A. Barron
(Cover picture courtesy of T. A. Barron’s website.)
Young Merlin has freed Fincayra—the enchanted isle between earth and sky—from the terrible blight, taking the first steps on a path to discover the power within him. But the mystical land is still in danger and his true trials are just beginning…
To save his ailing mother, Merlin must master the Seven Songs of Wisdom passed down from his grandfather, a legendary wizard. Only then can he journey to the spiritual Otherworld to obtain the elixir he needs. But the quest involves a task Merlin must perform—defeating a vile ogre whose merest gaze means death. And even more difficult for the young wizard, he must discover the secret of seeing not with his eyes but with his heart…
After saving Fincayra in the first book, you would think poor Merlin would get a break and be able to safely bring his mother, Branwen (whose real name is Elen), back to him. Alas, the evil Rhita Gawr had other plans for the boy. When an illness strikes his mother down, Merlin must master the Seven Songs of Wisdom to save her. Did I mention that this requires him to travel all over Fincayra? And in only one month?
The Seven Songs of Merlin is a wonderful fantasy book by T. A. Barron, who has put quite a bit of effort into developing the magical world of Fincayra. He takes Celtic mythology and blends it with more familiar fantasy elements to create this wonderfully written, thought-provoking novel. It is T. A. Barron who first introduced me to the concept of hubris, the ancient word for too much pride. Alas, hubris is something that I suffer from, which makes me sympathize with Merlin even more. But regardless of whether you have hubris or not, I guarantee that you will find Merlin a very sympathetic character.
In addition to wonderful characterization and exemplary world building, the plot moves along very nicely. By nature of the time limit imposed upon Merlin, this is sort of a no-brainer and Barron brings a sense of immediacy to his writing throughout the entire novel. If you’re not already a T. A. Barron fan, you will be by the time you finish this novel.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)
Firedrake, Ben, and their furry friend, Sorrel, are in search of the mythical places where dragons can live in peace forever. Together they embark on a journey that takes them to magical lands where they meet marvelous creatures—and ruthless villains. Along the way, they will discover allies in odd places, courage they didn’t know they had, and a hidden destiny that changes everything.
Dragons, brownies and homunculi, oh my! Cornelia Funke includes both traditional and non-traditional fantasy creatures in this exciting, thought-provoking novel. Funke is a well-known author of children’s and teen’s fantasy, but Dragon Rider has been overshadowed by her more popular Inkheart trilogy. In my opinion, Dragon Rider is just as good as Inkheart and it deserves equal recognition.
It is full of clichés, especially since the whole premise of the book is that a trio of unlikely friends (a dragon, a brownie and a human) embarks on a long and dangerous journey to find a mythical place where dragons can live in peace forever. What saves Dragon Rider from being too clichéd is Cornelia Funke’s spectacular writing style and the fact that she puts spins on many of the clichés she uses. Besides, this is a children’s and young teen’s book; most of her readers do not care about clichés.
Since friendship is the main theme of the novel, the focus is more on the characters than the plot. Funke’s characters are very well developed and meet all of the requirements to be memorable, yet she does not neglect the plot to focus on her characters. Therefore, Dragon Rider ends up being the best of both worlds: a fast-paced, character-driven novel.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Sorceress by Michael Scott
(Cover picture courtesy of Michael Scott’s website.)
Paris:
Dr. John Dee has torn the city apart in every attempt to intercept the immortal Nicholas Flamel and Sophie and Josh Newman. Paris’s streets are in ruins, Notre Dame destroyed, the Comte de Saint-Germain’s home leveled. Dee has the book of Abraham the Mage, but he’s still missing the two pages the Dark Elders need for the Final Summoning. Without them the spell cannot be cast, and Dee is well aware that the Dark Elders will not rest until they are in power and the human race is destroyed—or he is.
London:
Nicholas Flamel’s heart almost broke as he watched his beloved Paris crumble before him. The city was demolished by Dee and Machiavelli, but Flamel played his own role in the destruction. Sophie and Josh Newman show every sign of being the twins of legend, and Flamel had to protect them and the pages from the Dark Elders.
But Nicholas grows weaker with each passing day. Perenelle is still trapped on Alcatraz, and now that Scatty has gone missing, the group is without protection. Except for Clarent—the twin sword to Excalibur. But Clarent’s power is unthinkable, its evil making it nearly impossible to use without its darkness seeping into the soul of whoever wields it.
If he hopes to defeat Dee, Nicholas must find someone who can teach Josh and Sophie the third elemental magic—Water Magic. The problem? The only being who can do that is Gilgamesh, and he is quite, quite insane.
I’m a sucker for tragic characters, I must admit. Lancelot, Hamnet and now Gilgamesh, the oldest immortal human. He has lived so long that his mind is fractured, but because he was made immortal by his friend Abraham the Mage instead of an Elder, he cannot die. The saddest thing of all is that he writes things down to remember in his periods of lucidity because he knows his mind is going. After living for so long, all he wants to die is finally die, which is why he makes the twins promise to bring him the book when they obtain it. And who can blame him?
Michael Scott not only has a gift for creating memorable heroes, he creates memorable villains as well. What makes The Sorceress so much more enjoyable for me is the fact that Niccolò Machiavelli plays a much more important role. I love my villains and Machiavelli is one of my favourites, so you could fairly accuse me of being biased. Nevertheless, Michael Scott’s characterization is excellent and it is part of what keeps readers coming back for more.
Michael Scott superbly weaves mythology and history into his fast-paced narrative, which is why his series is so popular. He combines better known Greek mythology and famous historical figures like William Shakespeare with Celtic mythology and more obscure figures like the legendary Palamedes. Of course, the fact that his plot is very fast-paced helps quite a bit.
I give this book 5/5 stars.