Tagged: ancient egypt
Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Small Review.)
It is the first century B. C. Cleopatra, the third of the pharaoh’s six children, is one that her father has chosen to be the next queen of Egypt. But when King Ptolmey is forced into exile, Cleopatra is left alone to fend for herself in a palace rife with intrigue and murder. Smart, courageous, ambitious and sensuously beautiful, she possesses the charm to cause two of history’s most famous leader’s to fall in love with her. But as her cruel sister plot to steal the throne, Cleopatra realizes there is only one person on whom you can rely—herself.
In Cleopatra Confesses, award-winning author Carolyn Meyer writes the story of the teenage girl who would become Egypt’s most unforgettable queen from her early years to her ultimate destiny.
This is not my favourite interpretation of Cleopatra’s story, but it certainly paints her in a much more sympathetic light. It’s also more appropriate for younger teens than my favourite one, Hand of Isis.
Cleopatra Confesses is the first-person account of the life and death of Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt. It tells the story starting with her unhappy childhood, where her sisters Berenike and Tryphaena taunt her mercilessly. As is expected, the life of a princess and the taunts of her older sisters harden the young Cleopatra and teach her she can only rely on herself. This transition from innocent child to slightly cynical teenager takes place gradually and many young readers will be able to relate to it.
As with all of Carolyn Meyer’s work, it is incredibly historically accurate without sacrificing a good plot. She inserts real historical figures and makes them breathe, makes them more accessible to the modern reader. And of course the best part is that Carolyn Meyer has joined many of the authors who are working to rehabilitate the maligned figure of Cleopatra and give her a voice after two thousand years of silence.
This is historical fiction at its finest, but readers should know that there is mature content including violence and sexuality. Personally, I would recommend it for 13+, but it depends largely on the maturity level of the reader.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
River God by Wilbur Smith
(Cover picture courtesy of Scroll of a Modern Scribe.)
Ancient Egypt. Land of the Pharaohs. A kingdom built on gold. A legend shattered by greed. The Valley of the Kings lies ravaged by war, drained of its lifeblood as weak men inherit the cherished crown.
In the city of Thebes at the Festival of Osiris, loyal subjects of the Pharaoh gather to pay homage to their leader. But Taita, a wise and formidably gifted eunuch slave, sees him only as a symbol of a kingdom’s fading glory. Beside Taita are his protégés: Lostris, daughter of Lord Intef, beautiful beyond her fourteen years; and Tanus, proud young army officer, who has vowed to avenge the death—at Intef’s hand—of his father, and seize Lostris as his prize. Together they share a dream—to restore the majesty of the Pharaoh of Pharaohs on the glittering banks of the Nile.
I believe accuracy in historical fiction is important, but usually I let things slide if a writer changes a few things around as long as the essential facts of the period are right. In River God, however, there are things that literally made me snort with derision; this takes the worst of Hollywood perceptions of Egypt and makes it out to be reality. To anyone familiar with Egypt, the idea that the Pharaoh’s son would be nicknamed “Memnon” (a Greek nickname bestowed upon the colossi of Amunhotep III)…well that makes you question the events described in the rest of the book.
To prevent early high blood pressure, let’s just say that the most basic elements of River God are true, mainly the Hyksos invasion, and leave it at that. Truly, that’s about all that’s mostly accurate, so don’t use this as a history textbook. If you like this book, you can use it as a starting point for learning about Egyptian history. Now, moving on…
Taita is a frustrating character because there are times he has some semblance of depth and other times when he is a complete Gary Stu. He seems to be absolutely perfect, what with the fact that he designs many of the inventions in the novel himself, navigates politics impeccably and is extremely good looking. The only thing that sort of redeems him in the end is the fact that he doesn’t get your classic happy ending. Even then, it doesn’t really save his character all that much.
The one thing that redeems River God is Wilbur Smith’s writing style. It slowly draws you in until you are hooked and have no choice but to finish it. Smith has wonderful descriptions of all the exotic settings and characters, yet he maintains a decently paced plot, something that few authors can manage. Now if only he would put in the effort to do proper research…
I give this book 2/5 stars.
Hand of Isis by Jo Graham
(Cover picture courtesy of Orbit Books.)
Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.
Cleopatra is one of the most written about figures in history and I’ve rarely seen a new take on her story. Yet Jo Graham has managed to do this in Hand of Isis by telling the story from the perspective of her half-sister handmaiden, Charmian. As you can probably guess from the blurb, Charmian has special powers that help her half-sister rule Egypt in a time when only men were rulers and this book is a cross between fantasy and historical fiction. Yet this mixture of fantasy and history works well because Jo Graham has obviously done her research on the historical events.
The plot is not exactly fast, but it certainly is interesting. You will learn more about Cleopatra reading this novel than you will from any history textbook out there, I guarantee that. Jo Graham has paid incredible attention to historical details, so much that I would say not even Pauline Gedge has managed this level of attention to detail. And that’s really saying something. Filled with romantic subplots and magic, Hand of Isis will also keep you reading into the early morning hours, even though you probably can guess how the story ends.
Charmian is a very realistic protagonist because like real people, she is full of contradictions. She is sort of carefree when it comes to love, but at the same time she is responsible because she takes control of some of the governmental functions so Cleopatra is not as overwhelmed. Cleopatra herself is definitely not the cold-blooded seductress that the Romans and most of history painted her as, but a capable leader who would do anything for her country. What she, Charmian and Iras sacrifice for Egypt truly is amazing.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
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.
The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
(Cover picture courtesy of Simania.)
In a feat of virtuoso storytelling, Anne Rice unleashes Akasha, the queen of the damned, who has risen from a six-thousand-year sleep to let loose the powers of the night. Akasha has a marvelously devious plan to “save” mankind and destroy the vampire Lestat—in this extraordinarily sensual novel of complex, erotic, electrifying world of the undead.
The Queen of the Damned is, out of all the books in The Vampire Chronicles, the one I enjoyed the most. Why? Because I’m shamelessly obsessed with ancient Egypt.
Now, no one really knows much about Pre-Dynastic Egypt and Anne Rice paints a vivid picture of what could have been. The reasons behind the cannibalism practiced by Maharet and Mekare’s tribe are very intriguing, however, there is little to no evidence supporting the practice of such ritual cannibalism in Egypt. In fact, the only real evidence of cannibalism in Egypt is found in the autobiography of Ankhtifi, a man who lived during the First Intermediate Period. As much as it makes a nice story, I have to point out that it was not Akasha and Enkil who united Egypt. It was Narmer (Menes to the Greeks) and his queen Neithhotep who first ruled over a unified Egypt.
Aside from inaccuracies most people wouldn’t notice, The Queen of the Damned is a good book. The plot is not very fast, but Anne Rice made up for it in her sensual descriptions and intriguing characters. Unlike most villains, Akasha is a three dimensional character, with redeeming qualities to complement her gaping flaws. She also has realistic motivations behind her deeds, which makes her stand out from the crowd.
As with all of Anne Rice’s books, this is not recommended for young or sensitive readers. There are explicit sex scenes, cannibalism and violence. Personally, I would not recommend The Queen of the Damned for anyone under the age of fourteen.
I give this book 4/5 stars.