Always wanted to read this, finally dug in and finished… 

 

A darkly humorous and intellectual piece of historical narrative mingled with a multiple murder mystery that must have been at least a mild source of inspiration for CJ Sansom’s Matthew Shardlake novels. 

 

I watched the film ages ago, and it was a poignant on-screen rendition, but as usual, the word on the page brings so many additional layers of unuttered nuance to the narrative. 

 

This plot of intricate deceptions threads terror through a crumbling establishment, the sense of distrust growing among once bonded members, their faltering faith teetering on the brink of extinction while bodies drop daily at the hand of an unknown killer. Amid his astute observations and the detective work he employs to find the murderer, Brother William philosophises like an ancient Greek, theologises like a verbose Rabbi, and decodes symbols like Indiana Jones. 

 There’s a bit of action in here reminiscent of Indiana, too, if he’d been a Franciscan monk from the fourteenth century. 

 

I can see why this became an instant classic in its time and now, these forty+ years on, has become a timeless piece of literature. 

A Young Shakespeare, fresh off the heels of several plague scares, desperately seeking the alternative entertainment to Bear Baiting, comes up with an early draft for easing the public into ‘less vile content’ than what they’re faced with in their everyday post-medieval lifestyles by crafting this early Renaissance piece of gory horror, twisted up in a convoluted and hyperbolically violent plot that makes Kill Bill look mild to the modern audience.

2-stars for this violent plot
5-stars for the full cast performance.

.. still notably better than several novels I’ve DNFd lately…

 

The lesser known Cleopatra Selene comes to the page for us as a ten year old chained captive from Alexandria to Octavian’s Rome. Her mother, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, has just died, her father, Mark Antony, has also been killed, and now Cleopatra Selene, along with her twin, Alexander Helios, is expected to live in the palace of the Emperor who caused their deaths—and be grateful to him. 

 

Dray explores what this existence might have been for a young Cleopatra Selene as she grows in age and wisdom while living among the Romans, manipulating power from Augustus Caesar (Octavian), wrangling for position as a Princess of Egypt among a set of jealous women and bastard sons, and experimenting with love and romance—all while she dreams of one day returning to her beloved people to rule again as queen of Egypt in Alexandria. 

 

Additional to the creative elements of fiction set against a stark historical backdrop, Dray gives ancient magic to her protagonist as a measure of retaliation in the face of the men who want to own her, oppress her, and ultimately destroy her—namely, Octavian. 

 

Both strangely empowered and ultimately enslaved, Cleopatra Selene must make decisions in her young life that will either free her from the grip of Caesar—or chain her to him forever. 

 

A captivating fictional take on a fascinating period of history. 

Well. This is definitely unlike most things I read. It’s high fantasy with a drawerful of hairpin turns in a driving plot that never lets up. And really, you wish it would. You wish it would take a break to get to know people for a hot minute at some point, but then you realise that maybe none of these characters are worth getting to know (because real humans are not mere motifs to service a life-plot). 

 

So, I’m a character-loving lass, and these characters just don’t want my love, shoving it to the side at every page turn as they march on in their self-absorbed bubbles chasing personal goals and plotting confrontations to satisfy egotistical vendettas. I (yes, the self-absorbed reader) need to be part of the story, to be invited in, to be allowed to share in the feelings, relationships, excitement and disappointment or <i>something</i>—and I feel little to no invitation to connect with these characters. Sure, I see how the author has tried to build history and depth (by telling us very important information and explaining all the things to us; quite literally in a [data deposit goes here] style), and it falls pretty flat despite the non-stop action. I’m left watching expressionless (maybe I yawned) as these two-dimensional beings jump from danger to adventure to confrontation to escape. Again. And again. And yet *sigh* again. 

 

I don’t know. Maybe the series picks up. Maybe one or two of these people grow a personality… 

 

This is the lowest of my 3 star level ratings. Barely 3.0, but just 3.0, because I consider that if all we had to read as an alternative were crap NA romance novels, then I’d offer you this book to keep your head out of the 2-star gutter. 

Mary Beard is an admirable wild woman—and highly respectable. This is a short book/essay focused on Beard’s area of expertise (Ancient & Classical Greco-Roman studies) married with her life’s experience (Being a Woman in an Academic Profession) and definitely worth the read. 

 

It is not a detailed investigation—as it is a ‘manifesto’—more an overview introduction to connecting ideas, piquing interest in further study, and raising issues that should be given further attention and discussion. 

 

The establishmentarian patriarchal hegemony will want nothing to do with the truth presented in these few pages. 

 

I recommend. 

All the fantasy politics, intrigue, and romance of the first novel, only more, and better, and deeper reaching in this one. Now we know some of the history of several other characters, and we’re beginning to understand their motivation, too. Complex and intricate plot makes for engrossing engagement in this story. 

 

And we’re still nowhere near the end yet; how, just how will this all cumulate and unravel…? 

Unexpectedly, I deeply enjoyed this. I am not a romance novel reader (I’m nervously sceptical of the boke-y genre), so when I pick up a novel by an audiobook narrator (whom I often enjoy as she narrates other people’s novels) and it turns out to be funny, intelligent, redemptive, emotional, and more-real-than-insulting (like some of the cartoon-romances I’ve read), it’s a big win!

All the plot twists were of that kind of awkward hilarity that inspires friend-smacking and lip-biting and the ‘oh dear dear dear’ sort of head-shaking my Granny used to do. Entirely believable, too. Like, as much as I say I’d never be caught in that kind of situation, once in the confession booth, I’d have to be more honest.

Whelan sticks with what she knows as a baseline story and then embellishes every tiny shimmering detail with limitless imagination.

An easy, fast, delightful read for a sunny Saturday afternoon when you should really be grading papers, but desperately need the escape…

3.5

This was a good entertaining story. A standalone, which is new for Ross as we’re used to her well-paced duologies, but she doesn’t fail us here with her customary complex character development, painting a unique setting, and giving us a few unexpected plot twists.

The sisters had that sixth sense dynamic you want to feel between sisters, and despite misunderstanding and distance, that sisterly love was the golden thread that tied this tale together. 

A violent and heartwarming fantasy, based on a unique concept, this is a worthwhile read (over dozens of others), though not Ross’ best, not by a long shot.