Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, Babylonia was amazing. I really, really liked it. I'm docking half a point because of the relationship that was portrayed between Onnes and Ninus, but at the same time, I do think that I'm a little bit biased in this sense because I am applying the morals from this year—this century, the modern world—to something that happened in 873 BC. So, the way I'm looking at it is probably not right, but it did kind of not sit right with me to a degree. That is the only reason I'm docking half a point.
I did do some research in this and some accounts do portray Onnes and Ninus as half-brothers, whereas some portray them as really, really close friends who are in love with each other, because even Ninus was in love with Onnes in this version of the story, and some accounts do have him as his half-brother. Ninus was in love with both Onnes and Semiramis.
So, the author did mention in the author's note that she was inspired by Gilgamesh's story and this was portrayed really well. On top of that, I really, really liked that she didn't shy away from showing that Semiramis would use anything at her disposal and that she was someone who had very strong beliefs, and you could tell that she really, really hated feeling helpless. Because at any given point, if she was given the chance to not be helpless, she was going to grab it no matter what. She was going to claw her way out of helplessness if she needed to, and I really, really loved that.
The portrayal was amazing. I really liked the different point of views. I really, really enjoyed the way the love story was told. I really enjoyed the way that you could see the conflict in each character.
So, all in all, this was a great book and I highly recommend it to everyone.
dark
tense
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An oddly dreamlike book in which characters are more archetypes fhan believable people. There isn't really any character growth for anyone at all and the plot has a distinct sense of inevitability to it. Perhaps that was on purpose, given some of the themes of the book, but it created a very detached vibe that made it hard to get truly invested even as I kept turning pages.
The constant Pearls of Wisdom got old rather fast and the references to Gilgamesh weren't as organic or coherent as I suspect the author would have liked. I feel like for so much of this book I can see what she was going for, but the pieces never quite came together, much less as more than the sum of their parts.
The constant Pearls of Wisdom got old rather fast and the references to Gilgamesh weren't as organic or coherent as I suspect the author would have liked. I feel like for so much of this book I can see what she was going for, but the pieces never quite came together, much less as more than the sum of their parts.
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Two thoughts:
- this book was brutal but I stayed up way too late reading it because it captivated me and
- I want a pet leopard.
- this book was brutal but I stayed up way too late reading it because it captivated me and
- I want a pet leopard.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Preface: I love historical fictions. This book gets another star because Casati is very good at storytelling, and I cannot imagine the work it took to research this ancient culture.
I was not a huge fan of the way some of the descriptive/creative writing that was used. The writing was pretentious... I rolled my eyes a lot with a lot of it. It felt forced. I was more interested in re-reading the Epic of Gilgamesh, rather than hearing about the constant nods to the book. It was referenced on average every ten pages (I'm not even exaggerating here. I did the math...).
About the characters... The only character I loved throughout the book was Ribat. He has such a happy ending that it made my heart swellhow he was the one who wrote her story down in the end . The brothers were too similar to me. I didn't love or hate either of them. I understand they were a means to the end for Semiramis... but I would have felt more connected to them if it was in Semiramis' POV since they were so flat. I think I would have been more interested in a story about Sasi and how his influence really drew the story. THAT would be a book I would enjoy.
Would have DNF'd it honestly if it wasn't a book club book. And book club has a way of making me see the story from different angles, so we'll see if this review gets updated.
I was not a huge fan of the way some of the descriptive/creative writing that was used. The writing was pretentious... I rolled my eyes a lot with a lot of it. It felt forced. I was more interested in re-reading the Epic of Gilgamesh, rather than hearing about the constant nods to the book. It was referenced on average every ten pages (I'm not even exaggerating here. I did the math...).
About the characters... The only character I loved throughout the book was Ribat. He has such a happy ending that it made my heart swell
Would have DNF'd it honestly if it wasn't a book club book. And book club has a way of making me see the story from different angles, so we'll see if this review gets updated.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes