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The Heretic Queen

Author: Michelle Moran
Publisher: Quercus
Category: Book

List Price: ~~Ł14.99~~
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Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

2 reviews
Sales Rank: 6819

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.5

ISBN: 1847243029
EAN: 9781847243027
ASIN: 1847243029

Publication Date: August 7, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: A BRAND NEW COPY DISPATCHED FROM THE UK WITHIN 48 HOURS BY ROYAL MAIL, OVERSEAS ORDERS SENT BY AIR MAIL.

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Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

The lady of the two lands - a novel that brings a far off time brillantly to life - one of the best historic novel of 2008 August 10, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

If you ever have seen or visited the world famous twin temples of Abu Simbel you will never forget them. They were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh. Ramses II
was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh. This was the most glorious time of Egypt's history.

But not only Pharaoh was out-standing, his consort too. Nefertari - means Beautiful Companion - was his Great Royal Wife, his Queen Consort we might say today.She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut.

Although Nefertari's origins are unknown, discoveries from her tomb, including a cartouche of Pharaoh Ay, suggest she may have been related to the 18th Dynasty.

And this is the starting point of Michelle Moran's second novel, the sequence of her first wonderful book on Nefertiti. Nefertari is Nefertiti's niece. She is last princess of the 18th dynasty to survive: Her aunt and uncle Echnaton had disposed all the gods of Egypt for just one: the Aton. This was herecy and like her uncle and aunt she is regarded as a heretic: this is her heritage, her legacy and her liability.

This already shows that Moran is brilliantly merging fact and fiction, based on research, filling historical gaps with plausible imagination. Rich in details her novel is a dazzling recreation of the life of a Queen, with is filled with the rigors of court politics, the passion of the all powerful, the sights and sounds of battle and the love of two gifted personalities.

Michelle Moran is a superb storyteller and she managed to hook me from page 1. It is difficult to stop reading. One simply wants to know what happens next. I finished this book in one weekend.

There is this saying, that every book has a good page - the last one. Here one can only say: why does it have to have a last page? It is simply brilliant and pure pleasure to read. Michelle Moran has a unique gift to tell a story in a most amazing, intriguing and fascinating way. This is a page turner of first order.

I am looking already forward to her next book on Cleopatra's daughter.

Do not miss this book - it is one of the best historic novels of 2008!!!

5 out of 5 stars

Just as fabulous as Nefertiti August 7, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I've been waiting for this book for almost a year now, and let me be the first one to say, it doesn't disappoint! I was expecting it to arrive on or after the publication date, but Amazon shipped it early and I finished the entire novel in under two days. I'm going back to read it for a second time now, to savour the feel of ancient Egypt that Michelle Moran so vividly brings to life.

Unlike Nefertiti, in which a side character (Nefertiti's sister Mutny) does the narrating, this book is narrated by Nefertari. She is Mutny's daughter, but Mutny has died in childbirth, leaving her daughter alone in a hostile court that has forbidden the names of Mutnodjmet and her heretical family to be spoken. There doesn't seem to be a very bright future for young Nefertari until one of pharaoh's sisters (the nicer one) determines to help her win the heart of Ramesses.

But even if she marries him, it doesn't mean he can make her Chief Wife and that her children will inherit the throne. The people of Egypt still remember Nefertari's family with loathing, since Nefertari's aunt - the "Heretic Queen" Nefertiti - abolished Egypt's gods. It's a long road for Nefertari and Ramesses, and I enjoyed every page of it. The adventures they have are just unbelievable, yet all of them are historically factual. From fighting pirates, to facing Ahmoses (or Moses, as he is known), to going to war with the ever-threatening Hittites, this is one of those books you won't want to put down.

Highly recommended for anyone who likes historical fiction, fiction, or even romance. And no, you don't need to have read Nefertiti to appreciate this book. It stands on its own and is simply wonderful.