The immortal story of Cleopatra.
Passion and seduction, witches and warriors, and history and mythology combine to bring the timeless story of Cleopatra to life like never before in this stunningly original and spellbinding debut.
The year is 30 BC. A messenger delivers word to Queen Cleopatra that her beloved husband, Antony, has died at his own hand. Desperate to save her kingdom and resurrect her husband, Cleopatra summons the most fearsome warrior goddess, Sekhmet, and against the warnings of her scholars she strikes a mortal bargain. But not even the wisest scholars could have predicted what would follow...
In exchange for Antony's soul, Cleopatra is transformed into a vampiric creature of mythical proportions, an immortal shapeshifter with superhuman strength and an insatiable hunger for human blood-a being at once ferocious and seductive. And she is bent on vengeance against those who have wronged her family and her kingdom. Clashing against witches and monsters, gods and warriors, Cleopatra journeys from the tombs of Egypt to the great amphitheaters of Rome to the ancient underworld-where she will meet her love once again, and where the battle between man and beast will determine the fate of the world.
Blending history, fantasy, romance, and the supernatural, Queen of Kings is a masterful feat of the imagination that fans of Diana Gabaldon, Patricia Briggs, Philippa Gregory, and Neil Gaiman won't want to miss.
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Reviewer: IvyD
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Octavian, Marcus Agrippa, and the Roman Army are set to take Alexandria.
Betrayed and misled it’s the beginning of the end for Antony, Cleopatra, and the Ptolemaic reign of Egypt.
Armed with an ancient ritual discovered by the scholar Nicolaus of Damascus, Cleopatra believes she can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. What would you bargain to save the life of the man you love more than your next breath? To save your children? To save your kingdom? Cleopatra doesn’t truly realize exactly what she’ll awaken or the real price that will be exacted by the ancient blood thirsty goddess, Sekhmet.
Journey back to a time when ancient gods fought for existence and relevance, magic was real, and mythical monsters walked the earth.
Queen of Kings is a seamless blending of historical and horrific during a time when men claimed to be descended from gods. It’s easy to envision Cleopatra arrogantly delving into the forbidden to strike a deal with Sekhmet.
Antony and Cleopatra’s love transcended even death and possessed the patience to wait an eternity. Nothing, not children, a wife, war, not even death could diminish the passion and depth of their feelings for each other. That love is at the center of Queen of Kings. Love that single-minded and consuming is just as terrifying as the acts committed and the monsters loosed on earth in its name yet, the sacrifices such a love is willing to make and endure are redemptive and become its saving grace.
Cleopatra’s constant battle to keep her humanity, despite emotionally driven lapses of giving into Sekhmet, is compelling.
Usen the Psylli, Chrysate the priestess, and Auor the seiokona with her distaff, supply the magic and what magic it is. These are the experts Octavian has sent Agrippa in search of, the ones he believes will save him and Rome. They and their gifts are entrancing and add a wonderfully fantastical element.
Octavian, Marcus Agrippa, loyal friend and general to the emperor, Nicolaus of Damascus, historian and scholar, and Selene, Cleopatra’s daughter are the main “human” characters. Their moral dilemmas and struggles are so realistically portrayed it was easy to be caught up and put myself in their place. What would I do? These characters and their situations provoked some serious thought on my part.
The history is beautifully executed making it easy for me to lose myself in one of my favorite historical eras.
Queen of Kings is an utterly captivating genre blending read I highly recommend for those who often enjoy their history with a magical twist.
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