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A review by cosmith2015
The Conqueror's Wife: A Novel of Alexander the Great by Stephanie Marie Thornton
5.0
For the record I'm on my phone. Apologizes for grammar and spelling.
Overview:
What.a.book! I have been in a book hangover all day.
Good:
The real question is, what isn't great about this? Phenomenal characters, terrific writing, and strong women. This book was absolutely superb.
The four main characters were one of the best things about this. My experience with strong women in historical fiction (especially princess based) was they are all cunning and would rather learn sword worn than embroidery. The women would sneak out to visit the stables and secretly learn swordsmanship from their brothers. However, that was not the case with this book. Each of the three strong women were their own characters. Thessaloniki with animals and swordsmanship, Drypetis and her engineering, And Roxana with her determination to rise to the top using her beauty. The relationship between Alexander and Hephaestion was exquisite and I think Ms. Thornton did a lovely job exploring their relationship. I honestly cannot choose a favorite between Thessalonike and Drypetis.
She did a magnificent job describing the past and incorporating their religions into it. One of my... Complaints(hardly the best word) with her previous three books was she didn't give quite enough information about the religion/other historical details/etc. This time she nailed it. The inclusion of philosophy and poetry were lovely. Two of the focus characters and a side character in real life had been taught under Aristotle. Alluding to that throughout the book was brilliant.
Improvement:
A map is always nice. I wasn't a big fan of the name either. The book wasn't only about Roxana and I felt like its name implies a Alexander-centric book and not a women surrounding him book. I also liked Hephaestion, but I wish his viewpoint was left out. He isn't a woman and if he was removed we could've spent more time with the women. It would've been nice to see more of Roxana during her period as wife and to have seen more of her interactions between Drypetis and Thessalonike.
Overview:
What.a.book! I have been in a book hangover all day.
Good:
The real question is, what isn't great about this? Phenomenal characters, terrific writing, and strong women. This book was absolutely superb.
The four main characters were one of the best things about this. My experience with strong women in historical fiction (especially princess based) was they are all cunning and would rather learn sword worn than embroidery. The women would sneak out to visit the stables and secretly learn swordsmanship from their brothers. However, that was not the case with this book. Each of the three strong women were their own characters. Thessaloniki with animals and swordsmanship, Drypetis and her engineering, And Roxana with her determination to rise to the top using her beauty. The relationship between Alexander and Hephaestion was exquisite and I think Ms. Thornton did a lovely job exploring their relationship. I honestly cannot choose a favorite between Thessalonike and Drypetis.
She did a magnificent job describing the past and incorporating their religions into it. One of my... Complaints(hardly the best word) with her previous three books was she didn't give quite enough information about the religion/other historical details/etc. This time she nailed it. The inclusion of philosophy and poetry were lovely. Two of the focus characters and a side character in real life had been taught under Aristotle. Alluding to that throughout the book was brilliant.
Improvement:
A map is always nice. I wasn't a big fan of the name either. The book wasn't only about Roxana and I felt like its name implies a Alexander-centric book and not a women surrounding him book. I also liked Hephaestion, but I wish his viewpoint was left out. He isn't a woman and if he was removed we could've spent more time with the women. It would've been nice to see more of Roxana during her period as wife and to have seen more of her interactions between Drypetis and Thessalonike.