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Loading... The Gates of Hellby Michael Livingston
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The demons of the internet have eaten my review two times now, which is really not very nice, especially since this is a book I looked forward to reading, enjoyed while reading, and looked forward to telling the online world. (insert swearword of choice, because all of them have probably gone through my head, when I realized my first review was gone, and when the replacement review blinked away before my eyes.) But back to the point: When last seen by the reader, the characters from The Shards of Heaven had seen better times. Antony and Cleopatra are dead, their children held captive by Octavian, probably the only character in the book having a good day. As Caesarion and his companions carry the Ark of the Covenant through secret tunnels to bring it to safety, they meet misfortune, battle, a cave-in and shard enhanced battle with Juba of Numidia. It was very much of a cliffhanger. The dust has settled a bit in the The Gates of Hell. Selene and Juba, despite a forced marriage have found joy together. The peace in their relationship is threatened as Juba is called by Octavian to once again wield the Trident of Poseidon to defeat Rome's enemies. And that's just the start of things. Once again, Michael Livingston has taken history, and tucked a little fantasy and supernatural into the crevices and crannies of known time. As a reader, this delights me no end. Livingston's writing is crisper, sharper in this second book, helping the mind create clear depictions from description. His characters have grown also, exhibiting a complexity very true to life. The tug of good and evil forces, whether in a battle or within an individual, helps bring even more humanness to both the heroes and villains of the story. The tale begins in Rome, then heads on a journey through the old world, to the waters of the Nile, to even the very Gates of Hell, all with history, intrigue, and a little magic. no reviews | add a review
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"Alexandria has fallen, and with it the great kingdom of Egypt. Cleopatra is dead. Her children are paraded through the streets in chains wrought of their mother's golden treasures, and within a year all but one of them will be dead. Only her young daughter, Cleopatra Selene, survives to continue her quest for vengeance against Rome and its emperor, Augustus Caesar. To show his strength, Augustus Caesar will go to war against the Cantabrians in northern Spain, and it isn't long before he calls on Juba of Numidia, his adopted half-brother and the man whom Selene has been made to marry -- but whom she has grown to love. The young couple journey to the Cantabrian frontier, where they learn that Caesar wants Juba so he can use the Trident of Poseidon to destroy his enemies. Perfidy and treachery abound. Juba's love of Selene will cost him dearly in the epic fight, and the choices made may change the very fabric of the known world. Gates of Hell is the follow up to Michael Livingston's amazing Shards of Heaven, a historical fantasy that reveals the hidden magic behind the history we know, and commences a war greater than any mere mortal battle"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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