The Heretic Queen

I tried not to, but I had really high expectations of this book. I particularly enjoyed Nefertiti and everyone who got The Heretic Queen before me reported that it was even better. It’s very hard to tamp down excitement in that circumstance! So I waited with anticipation and when it finally came and I had finished my previous read, I read The Heretic Queen in less than 24 hours. It was just that good.

Nefertari has no family beyond her nurse, Merit. She is a royal princess from a family of heretics, even though her parents never worshipped Aten like her aunt and uncle. As such, the prejudice against her is immense, and outside of her friends Asha and Ramesses, Nefertari feels very alone. The public hates her for being Nefertiti’s show more niece. When Ramesses is crowned Pharaoh alongside his father and takes a wife, Nefertari realizes how she feels about him, and that she must contest the emerging political schemes against her in order to secure her place in the Egyptian world - by Ramesses’s side, queen of the kingdom.

I loved this book! Nefertari was a wonderful character and it was very easy to feel for her and be on her side throughout. She is intelligent, determined, honest, and resourceful, character traits that many of us can identify with. The political scene was complicated in some respects, especially regarding the past, but I wasn’t confused and they served to heighten the tension throughout the story. Nefertari’s relationships with her friends, her tutor, her nurse, and even her feelings towards the family she never knew are drawn clearly and genuinely.

Furthermore, the author’s research is clearly extensive. She slips in so much historical detail without ever dragging down the story. As I’m reading, I can envision the outfits, the wide expanses of desert, the ships, the court, and people’s faces, right down to their eyeliner, and I am very bad at visualizing when I’m reading. I feel that I haven’t just read a great work of historical fiction, but that I’ve actually learned something and I’m inspired to go out and read more about ancient Egypt. Michelle Moran has really brought this culture to life for me with her splendid historical novels.

I would definitely, definitely recommend this one. It takes two books for an author to hit my favorites list, and I can say that Michelle is without question on the list; this book surpassed my expectations and I am anxiously awaiting her third novel!

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=304 show less

Oh, what a novel! I wish it had not come to an end. Every time I picked up the book to settle in for a read, I was swept into the world of Egypt with Pharaoh's and Warrior Queen's. I was impressed by [book:Nefertiti], [author: Michelle Moran]'s debut, but The Heretic Queen surpasses my admiration by far. Our story is told from a first person perspective straight from the mouth of Nefertari, beloved of Ramesses, and Warrior Queen of Egypt. From a child to a woman, as a reader you get to hold onto her tale. I giggled with her, and I became enraged at her enemies. I felt empathy for her situations and I praised her for her morality and decisions for love instead of revenge. Nefertari is one for the heart, she has gone in and is there to show more stay. I wish her story could continue, because I would just love to soak in more. Michelle has truly a winner on her hands here. It is one of those books that I doubt I will lend, because I just want to read it again (sorry, go buy your own!). It makes me think about so many things. Although, I do believe it is a fabulous novel and can be fully enjoyed on it's own, it does make me desire to go back and re-read [book:Nefertiti], because I have know realized things that I have missed. Nefertiti and her Pharaoh left a legacy that was difficult if not impossible to follow for our dear Nefertari, but in this novel she is shown as a masterful work of beauty. She overcomes the "sins of her fathers" and moves beyond. So many elements of historical value are found within these pages that I want to buy a textbook or book a plane trip to learn more. Michelle gives you just a taste and it is the teaser of the mind. She is an author to watch and look forward to for more, that can know go without having to be said. I cannot wait for [book:Cleopatra's Daughter] next year! show less

I really enjoyed Michelle Moran's writing style. The topic is one I truly enjoy reading about anyway, but Moran did an excellent job narrating a story. In the historical note, she describes which characters and events she let herself get carried away with and I'm glad she did. I found myself so caught up in the story at moments, I would get angry right along with Nefertari. Her emotions became my emotions. It's not very often that I get that carried away in a character's life. I'm happy to discover that this is a series because I will continue it.

Summary: Nefertari is a princess of Egypt, but her family all died when she was young, and she's grown up in the court of Pharoah Seti ever since. Although she's friends with the young prince Ramesses, her presence is only tolerated by everyone else: her aunt was the Queen Nefertiti, wife of the Heretic King, who only a generation before turned his back on Egypt's gods, and brought down plague and suffering upon the people. As Nefertari grows up, her place in court becomes even less secure, as she becomes a player in the power struggles of Ramesses's two aunts, both head priestesses of powerful temples. The only path that leads to success is for Nefertari to marry Ramesses and become first wife and Queen, but will the people ever accept show more her, knowing that the blood of heretics runs in her veins?

Review: All of the things that I knew Michelle Moran was good at - creating believable, sympathetic characters; bringing historical time periods and locations to life; writing clear, accessible prose - is all very much on display in The Heretic Queen. I can easily see why it's some people's favorite book of hers, and although I'd personally put Madame Tussaud in the top spot, I definitely enjoyed this one. There were a few elements that kept me from totally loving it, however.

My primary issues with The Heretic Queen may have been one of timing; specifically, that I read it too close in time to Nefertiti. I thought I'd given it enough space between the two, but the maneuvering for the position of first wife and the race to produce an heir that make up the bulk of the plot of The Heretic Queen felt pretty repetitive, since it was a major part of Nefertiti as well. It wasn't uninteresting, but it had a definite sense of something that had been done before, and Iset (Ramesses's other wife) wasn't a strong enough character to make a super-compelling opponent for our protagonist. I also thought in the early chapters that Moran was setting up a subplot involving Nefertari's childhood friend Asha, possibly a love triangle, and so was disappointed when nothing of the sort materialized; I thought that was a wasted opportunity.

(I also spent a fair bit of this book trying to mentally reconcile Moran's Ramesses with Anne Rice's Ramses the Damned, and giggling at the results.)

In short, although this book wasn't a barn-burner for me, it definitely taught me some history I didn't know, wrapped it in an entertaining story, and was overall a solidly enjoyable read. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Although it's technically a sequel to Nefertiti, it could stand on its own just fine. Recommended for anyone interested in losing themselves in Ancient Egypt for an evening or two. show less

The Heretic Queen is the story of Nefertari, the daughter of Mutny, therefore making her the niece of Heretic Queen Nefertiti. The book picks up years after Nefertiti ends. Nefertari is the last of her line, but her family’s history is never forgotten from Egyptian memories and they are not afraid to throw it in her face. Although this book can be read as a standalone, in my opinion it’s best to read [b:Nefertiti|481446|Nefertiti|Michelle Moran|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175116839s/481446.jpg|2897082] first to really understand the sentiments of the Egyptian people and the events told in this book. Like Nefertiti, this story needs to be taken with a grain of salt as far as history is concerned. It seems like it was well show more researched, but the fiction in historical fiction plays a huge part in the story. I do have to give the author props though for adding an author’s note explaining what real historical accounts were changed. It explained what where her influences and the reasons for the discrepancies. I wish more historical fiction authors did this.

I loved this one more than Nefertiti simply because I liked more of the characters in this one and I genuinely cared for Nefertari’s fate. I felt like I could really sympathize with Nefertari and I really wanted her to win the love of Ramses and the people. The characters in this one are very likeable and are more multi-dimensional, even when they are vying for power. This was a big difference compared to her aunt’s story, where Mutny and her husband were the only standout characters.

I also highly enjoyed the plot line. We see Nefertari grow from a sometimes awkward and spontaneous young girl to a composed and cunning woman. I loved reading about her journey. The Egyptian history and customs explained in the story really made it a better than average coming of age story. show less

Nefertari has a shadow hanging over her wherever she goes - she is the niece of the hated heretic Nefertiti, the spare princess allowed to live in the palace but mistrusted by almost everybody. If she wants to marry the love of her life, Ramesses, become queen and ensure her family is eternally remembered she must make the people of Egypt embrace her for who she is and forgive her family's past. But will Nefertari's enemies let that happen?

Beginning Moran's second novel I wondered if she would be able to repeat the magic of Nefertiti and give us a different book at the same time. I hoped she would and fortunately she did. Reading the first chapter of this book is like stepping through a gateway between time and place and ending up in show more ancient Egypt, not a foreigner to whom everything is explained but an observer who doesn't require any special treatment. This is one of the reasons I like Moran's books - there's no explaining. She knows that the readers will make intuitive leaps, they'll understand things from context and there's no need to document every breath.
Nefertati is a very interesting character in that her struggle for a place in the royal dynasty happens when she's not even 17 years old but she is no longer a child. She is intelligent, honest, hard-working, loyal and admirably courageous. She makes difficult decisions and she doesn't complain when things are hard. It would be so easy for her to become bitter and angry when everybody seems to be against her, when her enemies are too strong and dangerous and when the people won't accept her but she retains her kindness and compassion and keeps going, becoming only more determined as she moves towards her goals.
The secondary characters are very interesting as well and I grew fond of Nefertari's friends and teachers. They are kind but don't let things go to her head and they complement her very nicely. One might argue that the characters are too one-dimensional in their being either good or evil but somehow they never feel that way. There's always humanity in Iset, Rahotep and even Henuttawi while Merit, Paser and Woserit have their own demons to fight. You just know that things aren't all that simple.
I really enjoyed watching the relationship between Nefertari and Ramesses unfold. They started out as friends, then fell in love and married and theirs was a true partnership of two like minds working to achieve the same goals. Things weren't easy for them but they were in it together and reading about them was so pleasant, especially when outside of their chambers the court was so full of intrigue and deceit. The court intrigues are really the only thing that soured the experience for me (I don't like the politics that come with life at the very top) but without it all the story wouldn't have been realistic so I suppose we couldn't have done without them.
One of my favorite messages in this book is that intelligence is more valuable than the most dazzling good looks. As Nefertari said "Her beauty might fascinate men, but it was difficult to charm them when she stood mute..." I think that in today's culture that's all about beauty and youth we often forget that a pretty face isn't everything.
If you like a well-written historical novel that's told in a clear, simple and warm voice but is never dull I think you'll enjoy this book. show less

I have been reading all over about how great Michelle Moran's books are and what a great writer she is. Well, I have finally experienced Moran's writing and storytelling and I have to agree with the crowd- I love her!

The Heretic Queen is Moran's second book (after Nefertiti) and is about Nefertari, the niece of Nefertiti (at least she is the niece in the book, historians are not sure how they are related, just that they are and could be aunt/niece.) Nefertari's family was the Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt. But her family has been branded as heretical and Nefertari, the only surviving member, is discarded as an unimportant princess.

However, Nefertari and Ramesses II are childhood friends and after Ramesses becomes the Crown Prince, show more Nefertari catches his eye and he makes her his second wife. But all of Egypt is against the union and there are those who will conspire and plot to keep Nefertari from becoming Chief Wife and the Queen.

Moran's storytelling sucked me in immediately. I cared about Nefertari from the first paragraph. I rooted for her throughout the entire book and despised her enemies. I grieved with her losses and cheered for her triumphs. Moran stays as true to history as she can and some of the most fantastical parts of the book are actually true events!
I loved the way Nefertari was such a strong female and how she used her talent for languages to become useful to Ramesses. She intercepts spies, decodes letters that are intercepted, and on top of that she is the practicality and level-headedness that the rash Ramesses needs to balance him. I loved the story of Nefertari and Ramesses love. I loved the way Moran writes that he called her "Nefer" and how he would beam with pride at the way Nefertari proves herself to be useful and deserving of the title of Queen.

I liked learning about ancient Egyptian rituals, rules, laws, and etiquette. I liked learning about the tombs, the Feast of Wag, the temples, the people. I loved the character of Merit, who is Nefertari's nurse/assistant. She has spunk and loyalty. I liked knowing Ramesses had red hair. I didn't realize Egypt had people with red hair. I liked learning about the birthing pavilion and the funeral rites and how the Audience Chamber routines went (the Audience Chamber is where they would give audience to people with petitions and make decisions on those petitions.)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Heretic Queen and will no doubt read it again. show less