Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Bantam Press (21 July 2011)
ISBN-10: 0593067045
ISBN-13: 978-0593067048
Copy: Bought in bookshop
Reviewer: Cara
From the back of the book:
Once there was a queen of Egypt... a queen who became through magic something else...
In 30BC, as Octavian Caesar and his legions marched into Alexandria, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, learned that her beloved Mark Anthony had taken his own life. Desperate to save her kingdom, her husband and all she held dear, Cleopatra turned to the gods for help. She summoned Sekhmet, goddess of death and destruction, and struck a mortal bargain. And not even the wisest scholar could have foretold what would follow...
For saving Anthony's soul, Sekhmet demands something in return: Cleopatra herself. Transformed into a shape-shifting, not-quite-human manifestation of a deity who seeks to destroy the world, Cleopatra follows Octavian back to Rome. She desires revenge, she yearns for her children... and she craves human blood.
In Queen of Kings, meticulously researched historical fiction and the darkest of fantasy collide in this spectacular reimagining of a story we thought we knew so well.
I have always been fascinated by the legend of Cleopatra, so when I read about Maria Dahvana Headley's novel, I knew it would find it's way to my reading pile soon after publication. It is clear from the blurb that this is an alternative history to the one we are familiar with. Cleopatra does not disappear into the pages of history after the death of Mark Anthony and Egypt's defeat by Rome, but instead does a deal with the goddess Sekhmet, exchanging her soul for revenge. The love story of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony continues on after both their deaths and is a central feature of the narrative; indeed theirs is not a romance, more of an obsession. And like all obsessions, it is ultimately destructive. Much of the book is written from Cleopatra's point of view and through this we see how she justifies her actions to herself while she deteriorates into a kind of madness.
There is a lot of destruction, for vengeance Cleopatra-style is on a very large scale, incorporating both the Egyptian and Greco-Roman pantheons alongside some very dark magic. It is this aspect I particularly enjoyed as the various gods and goddesses involved ultimately had their own agendas, with Cleopatra and others being mere pawns in their power plays. To counter Cleopatra's magic, Octavian recruits his own magicians from the corners of the empire. This adds to the fantastical nature of the story as each witch or sorcerer has their own back story, and all three are intriguing characters in their own right. I found the different points of view gave a variety of perspectives along with insights into the motives of the magicians.
Much has been made of the vampire nature of Queen of Kings, possibly to catch the post-Twilight generation. Personally I didn't see this book as being part of the current vampire trend, mainly because the only similarity was that the goddess Sekhmet needed blood (and a lot of it!) to sustain her within Cleopatra's body. This was secondary to the magical elements. A major feature was the political situation within the Roman Empire. Octavian was strengthening his power base after the assassination of Julius Caesar and the conquest of Egypt was central to this, hence his desire to destroy Cleopatra.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Queen of Kings and found it a gripping and exciting read. While possibly aimed at the older end of the young adult market (or a predominantly female readership), the horror element was certainly present but without the overly-gory, visceral descriptions that I personally find off-putting. The characters were well drawn, with their respective motivations made clear through the various points of view. The magic took a variety of forms; from the wind magic of Usem to the weaving of fates by Audr and the blood magic of Chrysate, Maria Dahvana Headley showed a lot of imagination in her writing. The final denouement, when all the strands finally came together was, in parts, breathtaking. It was worth the wait, as I found the middle of the book dragged a little. Despite this, the characters shone through. Octavian's paranoia and Cleopatra's obsession were balanced by Agrippa's sceptical stoicism and Nicolaus' cowardice.
The blend of historical fiction with dark fantasy was very well done in my view, and made the reading experience a worthwhile one - I felt I had actually learned something of how Rome moved from a republic to an empire.
Plot: 7.5
Characters: 8
Style: 7.5
Overall rating 7.5/10
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