Ramses: The Son of Light by Christian Jacq
This is a great kick start to the life of Ramses the Great. We are introduced to his throne hungry brother Shaanar, his father Seti, mother Tuya, obnoxious sister Dolora, and his two wives Iset the Fair and Nefartari. Moses is also introduced, which is slightly irksome because the book is written off the old school of thought that Moses was during the time of Ramses the Great due to the mention of the city of Ramses in the scriptures. I believe its highly likely that the name of the city mentioned in the bible was updated by an eager scribe and that the proper date of Moses’ lifespan would place him during the 15th century/18th dynasty about 200 years before Ramses. Generally, I enjoyed the book although I feel much is lost in the translation from the French (Jacq’s writing seems too simplistic and listy), but I am still excited about reading the four remaining books in the series to see how it all plays out from Jacq’s perspective.
A fabulous article on Moses and his placement in history: http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2009/02/27/Moses-and-Hatshepsut.aspx
The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Ruiz revisits the world of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books first introduced in Shadow of the Wind and presents us with a strangely philosophical mystery of life, death, love, and literature. Uniquely captivating from start to finish, the story unravels in such a way that in the end, like the narrator, I was still wondering who exactly had died and who had survived. I highly recommend The Angel’s Game (and The Shadow of the Wind) to any book lover.
Unexpected Gem
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Reader is a touching coming of age novel that reads like a memoir. Reminiscent of McEwan’s Atonement in its themes of shame and intense raw humanity, Schlink constantly begs the question from his characters and his readers: “What would you have done?” The humility of illiteracy, ignorance, and confinement brought tears to my eyes. I found The Reader to be an unexpected gem.
Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover
Book One of the Black Sun’s Daughter Series
Unclean Spirits is a fun adventure filled fantasy to veg out with your favorite snack and a comfy pillow. Hanover did a good job of taking an overused theme (vampires and metaphysical ghosties verses the good guys fighting evil) and turning it into something fresh and fun and not too plot heavy with romance. Jayne Heller makes for a great escape fiction heroine and I’ll be interested to see how the rest of the trilogy turns out.
