Guest Posting Note
As you may or may not know, I’m an author over at We Heart Reading. But I’ve been neglecting this lately, so for the month of May I’ll be posting a book review over there every Wednesday.
House of Illusions by Pauline Gedge
(Cover picture courtesy of eBookXP.)
All Egyptian soldiers know that when they pass through the village of Aswat they must avoid the woman who tends the temple of Wepwawet. She rushes at them, begging them to take a manuscript to Pharaoh. She’s obviously crazy, accusing powerful men of nefarious deeds. But one young soldier, Kamen, takes pity on the woman and reads the manuscript. What he reads is so convincing that he believes a terrible injustice has been done. Without telling the woman of Aswat, he takes the manuscript back to Pi-Ramses and shows it to his general, Paiis. A chain of events was thus set in motion, a drama of revenge and punishment, miraculous disclosures and unexpected vindication.
In House of Dreams, the beautiful Thu was trained to be the perfect concubine to Pharaoh. But unbeknownst to her, it was all part of a plot to give her the power and proximity to poison her lover. Despite the involvement of many highly placed men and women, only Thu’s part of the conspiracy was uncovered. Unable to sentence his beloved to death, Pharaoh exiled Thu to her home village, Aswat, where for seventeen years she has written down her story and dreamed of retribution.
Unexpectedly, through the actions of Kamen, Thu finds herself in the position to achieve her dream. She watches as the schemers are brought to justice. But what of the mastermind of the plot—Hui, the brilliant seer, her teacher and one-time lover? Thoughts of Hui bring confusion, and as she sees the fulfillment of her dreams of revenge she begins to wonder if the deaths of these conspirators will bring the satisfaction she craves.
Call me cold-hearted, but I actually liked the tragic ending of House of Dreams. It was realistic and stayed true to the less than happy tone of the novel. But I guess Pauline Gedge just couldn’t let it end there and wrote House of Illusions to give Thu her revenge.
There is only one word to describe this sequel: cliché. The plot is more like that of a Hollywood movie and Pauline Gedge had to do some serious fact-changing to write this novel. After all, the real Thu and her grown son (he was not an infant at the time of the plot) were executed for their parts in the huge conspiracy to kill Ramses III. Archaeologists speculate that the so-called “Screaming Mummy” (not for the weak of stomach!) was Ramses’ son, Pentawere and that he was executed by drinking poison, which accounts for the gruesome expression that gives this mummy his name. The real Thu certainly didn’t get a happy ending and I don’t like how much the facts were changed to give her such an ending.
But if you like Hollywood-esque tales of retribution, you’ll love House of Illusions. All of the people who manipulated Thu into poisoning Pharaoh are finally caught, tried and handed out their gruesome punishments. Thu learns the fate of the infant son who was taken away from her when she was banished to Aswat and they both live happily ever after.
With a medium-paced plot and the promise of retribution, House of Illusions is a decent enough novel. I guess that it’s just not for me.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
My Interview with Henry Venmore-Rowland
Henry Venmore-Rowland is the author of The Last Caesar, a book about the infamous Year of the Four Emperors, told from the point of view of Aulus Caecina Severus (later dubbed Aulus Caecina Alienus). The Last Caesar will be published by Transworld on June 21st and will be available via Amazon. I have to say that I’m pretty excited about this upcoming book because it has tapped into an ignored period of Roman history, at least for historical fiction writers. Henry V-R was kind enough to agree to an interview, so read on to see our discussion about accuracy in historical fiction, the road to his publication and inviting Cicero over for dinner.
Of all of the fascinating figures in Roman history, why did you choose Aulus Caecina Severus?
It was a case of story first, character second. After starting a novel in a completely different period, I decided to come back to my comfort zone of Rome. The trouble is there are lots of great authors who have done/are doing Rome so well, it was tricky to find an exciting story that hadn’t really been done. Then in the back of my mind I remembered something called the Year of the Four Emperors, and surely there had to be a great story there. After a quick read of everything from Tacitus to Wikipedia, I found the perfect narrator for the events in Caecina. He had an extraordinary knack of picking the winning side, and the fact that we know next to nothing about the man before AD 68 meant that I had the freedom to give him a backstory that told you something about the character and it gave me room to play with the relationship between his friend the future general Agricola, as well as his wife Salonina.
Genghis: Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)
For centuries, primitive tribes have warred with one another. Now, under Genghis Khan—a man who lives for battle and blood—they have united as one nation, overcoming moats, barriers, deceptions, and superior firepower only to face the ultimate test of all: the great, slumbering walled empire of the Chin.
Genghis Khan comes from over the horizon, a single Mongol warrior surrounded by his brothers, sons, and fellow tribesman. With each battle his legend grows and the ranks of his horsemen swell, as does his ambition. In the city of Yenking—modern-day Beijing—the Chin will make their final stand, confident behind their towering walls, setting a trap for the Mongol raiders. But Genghis will strike with breathtaking audacity, never ceasing until the emperor himself is forced to kneel.
Lords of the Bow is probably my favourite book in the Genghis series because Genghis Khan’s conquest of the Chin is so improbable. I love reading about warfare and even with what little I know, I could probably tell you that the Mongols, from a technical standpoint, should not have beaten the more technologically advanced Chin. Yet, under the leadership of the brilliant and bloodthirsty Genghis, they best their ancient enemies. This unlikely conquest is beautifully chronicled by Conn Iggulden, one of the giants of historical fiction today.
One of the most impressive things about Conn Iggulden is that he can bring human qualities to someone like Genghis Khan. Don’t get me wrong, though—Genghis is till a monster in this series. But he has realistic motivations for his ruthlessness, like the fact that his people have been trampled on and manipulated by the Chin for hundreds of years. If you poke even the most nomadic, scattered tribes in the eye with a stick long enough, you create the perfect conditions for a unified rebellion with a charismatic and brilliant leader. Genghis was the product of this Chinese eye-poking.
As many of you are aware, I have a love-hate relationship with Conn Iggulden’s novels because he changes history around frequently. Unlike in the misnamed Emperor series (since Caesar was never emperor in our sense of the word), I think that many of the changes in this book are justified. So if you don’t mind authors who sacrifice historical accuracy for a fast-paced plot, you will love Lords of the Bow.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Dash & Lily’s Book Of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
[Book review by ForTheLoveOfBooks–CS.]
” I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favourite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash the right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
This is the first book I’ve read by collaboration partners Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. I’ve read Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan and The Lover’s Dictionary by Levithan. At first I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book because a lot of bloggers have raved about this book, and I’ve come to realize that I don’t fall into the category where “everyone likes this book.” I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Clearly I’ve got a date with this book again at the end of the year! And once again my cover gushing continues, but I really can’t help it! The cover of this book is adorable and I like all the colours of the buildings and lamp posts. Of course I can’t forget the heart-shaped crossing sign and snow flakes.
First off I will say how the book is written. David Levithan wrote all of Dash’s chapters while Rachel Cohn wrote Lily’s chapters. The story takes place in New York City, where Dash is spending Christmas by himself, he’s told both his divorced parents that he’s spending Christmas with the other, when in reality he’s by himself and quite happy with this arrangement. Lily on the other hand is upset and angry with her parents celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary in Fiji and Grandpa spending Christmas in Florida whilst she’s stuck with her brother Langston and his boyfriend Benny. The Red Moleskin Journal of Dares is Langston’s idea because he believes Lily needs a boyfriend and thus the story continues with the journal being passed back and forth between the two protagonists. Of course not everything goes smoothly with journal passing in New York City, but are Dash & Lily meant for each other? Read the book to find out! Continue reading