I heard about this book on a website where authors recommend their favorite books in a given genre. This book was recommended as an adventure, and it certainly was that – I really plowed through it and was entertained all the way.
It is a historical fiction novel, focusing on the first queen of Assyria, and how she rose from orphan to leader of this powerful city-state back in ancient times. This unique setting made the story more interesting for me, although some of the historical references to gods, the epic of Gilgamesh, and the reading of animal organs felt a little like they were shoehorned into the story.
The plots and machinations going on around the king and his generals, spymaster, and family members (especially his mother) reminded me a great deal of all the plotting going on in the Game of Thrones series. But it was more like the author had enjoyed the TV series rather than the books. While there are great scenes between power players, things moved too quickly and felt over-simplified.
I guess it is a fine line to walk – writing an adventure novel or a comprehensive work of historical fiction. This one definitely fell on the side of adventure.
Next I am reading Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman.
