THE AVIARY GATE

by Katie Hickman



The Aviary Gate is the story of love, politics, intrigue and murder in an Ottoman Sultan's harem. DPhil candidate Elizabeth Staveley is researching the life of an English woman believed lost in a shipwreck. But a chance find seems to support Elizabeth's belief that the woman, Celia Lamprey, did not die, but lived in captivity in the palace of the Sultan.

The historical/modern parallel stories of The Aviary Gate reminded me of a Turkish version of The Rossetti Letter. This book ends quite a bit more ambiguously than Rossetti, but there is something appealing about leaving the precise fates of some of the characters to the imagination of the reader. The ending in my head was poetically tragic: Annetta weeping silently in her bed, waiting for the distant sound of gunfire across the water. . .

Who is Annetta? Why would there be gunfire? There's only one way to find out! :-)

Have you read The Aviary Gate? How did you envision the ending?



Other books with parallel stories in different time periods:

The Rossetti Letter
Stealing Athena

STEALING ATHENA

by Karen Essex



Stealing Athena is two stories told in parallel. One is the story of Aspasia, consort of Pericles, leader during the Golden Age of Athens. The other, set in the early 19th century, is of Mary, Lady Elgin, wife of Lord Elgin, who, amid political turbulence and controversy, brought some of the sculptures of the Parthenon, known as the Elgin Marbles, to England.

Though they lived over two millennia apart, the experiences of the two women are strikingly similar. Both intelligent and independent-minded, they try to get along in male-dominated worlds. They work in the background to help their men achieve the glory they seek so desperately. They bear and raise the children that will carry on their men's names. But when they chafe against long-held custom, each will face the wrath of her society and each will triumph in her own way. And through it all, the reader will watch the construction and deconstruction of one of the most famous buildings in the world -- the Parthenon.

For readers who like the "learning" aspects of reading historicals, but don't like to be bogged down by pages and pages of details, Stealing Athena is perfect. The history included is most absorbing, but the bulk of the book truly revolves around Aspasia and Mary and how they cope when it seems the world has conspired against not only themselves, but against all women. In a letter to readers, author Karen Essex says, "I made it my goal to revive the stories of extraordinary women, highlighting the ways that they transformed the times in which they lived and the world beyond." Stealing Athena accomplishes this worthy aspiration in spades!

Lezlie

For more on Karen Essex and her work, see her Official Website.

To read an interview with Ms. Essex from the Historical Boys blog by historical author C.W. Gortner, click here!

MISTRESS OF THE SUN

by Sandra Gulland



Mistress of the Sun is the story of Louise de la Valliere from her humble beginnings through her ten-year affair with King Louis XIV, the Sun King.

What a wonderful novel! Eight years in the making, Ms. Gulland's meticulous research pulls you into every scene, every page. I loved the non-omniscient narration that left me to experience all of Louise's joys and confusions along with her as she tried to understand a life at court for which she was not prepared. When you don't get to see all the behind-the-scenes scheming of the high and mighty, it's easy to see how she was able to retain her innocence for as long as she did. And when the walls come tumbling down, as they inevitably would, her final decision is the decision of a woman much more world-wise, but one who has not been broken. The final scenes will move you to tears but make you proud to have known Louise de la Valliere.

Here's to hoping there won't be another eight years between books for this marvelous author!

Lezlie

For more information on Sandra Gulland and her work including this book and her Josphine B Trilogy, see her Official Website.

Other reviews:

Teddy Rose at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

COMPULSION

by Jonathan Kellerman




Jonathan Kellerman's "Alex Delaware" series is like a good horse -- steady and dependable -- and the latest installment, Compulsion is no exception. Long time fans of the books know exactly what to expect, and new readers looking to test the waters could start here without being lost in confusion over long-term story threads that have nothing to do with the current case in which Alex and his friend, LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis, are embroiled. It's a straight-up murder mystery perfect for providing a few hours of beach relaxation. If you find brutal, cross-dressing serial killers relaxing, that is. :-)

Lezlie

THE ROMANOV BRIDE

by Robert Alexander



In The Romanov Bride, alternating chapters told by Grand Duchess Elisavyeta, sister to the Empress Aliksandra, and Pavel, a bitter, vengeful revolutionary, bring to life two very different sides of a warring Russia and the fall of the House of Romanov.

Wow, Wow, Wow. What a fabulous, fabulous book!! I loved Alexander's first novel, The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar, then was less than luke-warm about his second, Rasputin's Daughter. I figured this one had an equal chance of being great or garbage. From the start, I could not put this book down. The juxtaposition of Ella and Pavel's lives serves to emphasize the hope and horror, the beauty and the tragedy of revolutionary Russia. And if the end doesn't tear at your heart, have yourself checked out to be certain you possess one. Ella and Pavel's stories will linger in mine for a long time.

Based on the true story of the life of the Grand-Duchess-turned-nun, more information and historical photographs can be found on the author's web site.

Lezlie


Other books by Robert Alexander:

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar
Rasputin's Daughter

THE DEVIL'S BONES

by Jefferson Bass



I said in my inaugural First Chapters post that I expected this book to be, "just like the others [in this series] - a quick but educational forensic mystery romp with a pretty good story and a lot of forced humor." It turns out I was exactly right!

There are actually three stories going on in The Devil's Bones, all of which are wrapped up surprisingly easily (speaking as the reader and not as one of those being shot, chased by pit bulls, burned alive, etc., etc.). Because the actual resolution of the various cases happens so quickly, there is plenty of time for Forensic Anthropology 101, which is the aspect of the series that keeps me coming back for more despite a plethora of really bad jokes being passed off as humor. There are a couple of characters who believe themselves to be quite funny. I'm advising adherence to their day jobs. :-) And speaking of day jobs, one of the two men who make up the writing team known as Jefferson Bass is the founder of the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Center - the real-life "Body Farm". So when you get all those gruesomely fascinating details and explanations in the books, you know the man knows of what he speaks!

I think it would be helpful to have read the two previous installments of the Body Farm series - Carved in Bone and Flesh and Bone - as there are many references to the events in those novels, but readers who start with The Devil's Bones will not be completely lost. They will probably just have their appetites whetted for the earlier books.

Lezlie

Tour the Body Farm on the author's official web site! Very interesting! (But maybe not before lunch. . .)

Other books in the Body Farm series:

CHRIST THE LORD: THE ROAD TO CANA

by Anne Rice



Let it be understood right from the outset that anything I say in this review is not meant as an attack or even an insult to Anne Rice as an author or a person, nor to Christians, Christianity or anyone or anything else. These words are merely my honest feelings about a book I read by an author I happen to like a lot and that just happens to have Jesus as the main character.

Considering my disappointment with Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle, and the first book in this series, Christ The Lord, I’m not certain why I continue to read new Anne Rice books. I think it’s similar to when you know it’s time to end a relationship that no longer brings either of you joy, but you’re not exactly unhappy and you’ve been together for sooooo long . . . . And you’re just certain that things will go back to the way they used to be and feel the way it used to feel. I just don’t know. There are books by Anne that have an honored place on my bookshelves: Interview With The Vampire, Pandora, Blood & Gold, The Mummy. After so much darkness and violence, I respect Anne’s decision to follow her faith and write the story of Jesus. I just wish I liked it more.

The writing is pure Anne Rice, flowery and dramatic and beautiful. But I find the story being unfurled dull and uninspiring and the characters don’t grab me. None of them make me want to see into their minds and souls. And the one mind you do want to see into feels too limited. I think what bothers me the most is this: If a person is going to write the story of Jesus, there should be more to it than what I can get directly out of The Bible. Especially considering the story is told in first person. Jesus is telling me his story himself, and I don’t feel I know him any better than if I just sat down and read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I’m not sure what that says about me, when Jesus doesn’t move me at all, but I’m guessing there is more than one brick already paving my way to hell. It is probably not fair to Anne or this book, but the fact is that I’m longing for the early days, to once again fall under a spell as beguiling as that cast by Lestat and Louis and Armand and Marius. And, with all due respect to Anne Rice and Our Lord, Jesus just isn’t doing it for me. (Yup. That would be the sound of the laying of another brick . . .)

Lezlie

Anne Rice books I loved:

THE SERPENT'S TALE by Ariana Franklin

The Serpent’s Tale, sequel to last year’s Mistress of the Art of Death, finds our medieval MD, Adelia Aguilar, forced out of retirement by Henry II to investigate the murder of his mistress, Rosamund Clifford.

I have seen these books referred to in other reviews as CSI: Canterbury, and I think that is an apt description. The series reminds me a bit of Brother Cadfael. Fans of historical fiction in general and historical murder mysteries in particular would enjoy these books. While there are a few scenes in this installment that seemed unnecessarily slow and I don’t feel the plot was as strong as the one in Mistress of the Art of Death, I still found The Serpent’s Tale to be a satisfying read. Adelia is a wonderfully independent lead character and very believable as a woman doctor/coroner struggling to do her job in a society where her methods are looked upon as witchcraft. But the real magic of this series is in its secondary characters. Mansur, Adelia’s Arab assistant, Rowley Picot, her lover and newly appointed Bishop of St. Albans, and the wildly entertaining Gyltha, whose observations regarding people and political events made me laugh out loud, are people you’ll be glad to meet again and sorry to let go when the last page is turned. (And I’ve probably spelled Gyltha’s name wrong, since I listened to the audio book and am guessing. . .)

Here’s to hoping we have many more adventures with Dr. Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar of Salerno and her band of misfits!

Lezlie

PS Just a side note: This is the second book I read this month in which Eleanor of Aquitaine was a character, and I didn't like her in either one. Hmmmm. . .

2008 Pub Challenge

OK. This is it. My last challenge for the year. (Now you can laugh. . .) At least 8 books published in 2008. The cool part? I plan on all audiobooks so I can keep up with some of the authors and series I've read that are still currently publishing. The list may change depending on what is actually released. Sadly, publishing omniscience is not one of my fortes. Wouldn't that be cool if it was, though? :-)

**FINISHED**

Completed: 8/8 as of July 8, 2008

The Serpent's Tale -- Ariana Franklin
The Devil's Bones -- Jefferson Bass
The Road To Cana -- Anne Rice
The Romanov Bride -- Robert Alexander
Compulsion -- Jonathan Kellerman
Mistress of the Sun -- Sandra Gulland
Stealing Athena -- Karen Essex
The Aviary Gate -- Katie Hickman

Potentials:

The Broken Window -- Jeffery Deaver
Phantom Prey -- John Sandford
Killer View -- Ridley Pearson
Revelation -- C.J. Sansom
Chasing Darkness -- Robert Crais
Devil's Bones -- Kathy Reichs

I'm thinking I might need to host a challenge next year. I'll call it The "Finish Your Challenges from Last Year" Challenge. Ha!

Lezlie