jlynnelseauthor's review against another edition
3.0
What I love about historical fiction is getting into the mindset of that culture. Edghill does a great job of this with her analogies and perceptions in each character. Her main character observations are worded elegantly and breautifully. The story was carefully constructed in order to follow the lines through many people... too many in all honesty.
The biggest disappointment was Ahijah the prophet. Why do religious men have to be angry and unyielding. And he hates women? While the setting is Biblical history, there was little to nothing of "Yahweh." Pagan gods seemed to have more influence than the Biblical God. Its like all spirituality and belief were sucked out of the story which was disappointing as major Biblical characters are used in this story. Baalit nor Soloman could have prayed to "Yahweh" just once for answers? I was saddened that no religious influence (besides hateful and scheming Ahijah) bore any weight on the plotline. I also thought there were a few too many side stories. It was too hard to tie them all up in the end. Characters like Amyntor, Rahbarin, and the handmaidens were given too much story. In the second part of the book, it was a confusing plot that skewed in too many directions and watered down the focus of the story. Edghill explored just a few too many of the supporting cast.
While I found it an interesting read, it wasn't as page-turning a flow as I had hoped. But Edghill has such poetic prose. I love her word choices. I thought this was a good book, but I most wanted to feel the spirituality in the main characters... and that was sorely lacking for me. I wanted more though-provoking spirituality.
I loved the Queen of Sheba parts, especially in her land where women are the dominant sex. Fascinating piece to explore that is so unique to historical fiction, and this was barely explored in the book, sadly. I wanted more.
"The gods give us life for good or for ill. If we do not use their gift wisely... well, that is our own fault. Not theirs."
The biggest disappointment was Ahijah the prophet. Why do religious men have to be angry and unyielding. And he hates women? While the setting is Biblical history, there was little to nothing of "Yahweh." Pagan gods seemed to have more influence than the Biblical God. Its like all spirituality and belief were sucked out of the story which was disappointing as major Biblical characters are used in this story. Baalit nor Soloman could have prayed to "Yahweh" just once for answers? I was saddened that no religious influence (besides hateful and scheming Ahijah) bore any weight on the plotline. I also thought there were a few too many side stories. It was too hard to tie them all up in the end. Characters like Amyntor, Rahbarin, and the handmaidens were given too much story. In the second part of the book, it was a confusing plot that skewed in too many directions and watered down the focus of the story. Edghill explored just a few too many of the supporting cast.
While I found it an interesting read, it wasn't as page-turning a flow as I had hoped. But Edghill has such poetic prose. I love her word choices. I thought this was a good book, but I most wanted to feel the spirituality in the main characters... and that was sorely lacking for me. I wanted more though-provoking spirituality.
I loved the Queen of Sheba parts, especially in her land where women are the dominant sex. Fascinating piece to explore that is so unique to historical fiction, and this was barely explored in the book, sadly. I wanted more.
"The gods give us life for good or for ill. If we do not use their gift wisely... well, that is our own fault. Not theirs."
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