The Blood Star

The Blood Star begins exactly where its predecessor, The Assyrian ends (this is probably obvious, but if you have not read the first book in the series, you must read it first!). I ordered a copy of this book the day I finished The Assyrian as I was eager to continue reading about Tiglath Ashur, our hero. I was not disappointed. With an antiquated writing style, Nicholas Guild thrusts his reader back into the ancient world - it is the Golden Age of Assyria, but we do not return to Assyria until the end of the book. We follow Tiglath from the land where the Tigris and the Euphrates meet, around the Arabian peninsula, to the rich Phoenician cities and to a crumbling Egypt (how incredible to think that at this time, Egypt was already an show more ancient civilization with its glory days far in the past). We are taken to Greece and to Sicily, which is rugged and undeveloped, and finally back to Assyria, where the series comes to a thundering conclusion that does not disappoint.

Together, The Assyrian and The Blood Star are masterpieces of historical fiction. I will definitely be looking for more of Guild's work. show less