I actually had this review written and scheduled for later in the month, but in the spirit of talking about anything but a certain man in a certain part of the country, here have another installment of my book review series! This story is one of my faves and deals with strong, badass women supporting each other above all else and taking over the world because why the hell not? They might not have gotten a happy ending, but they lived on their own terms in a time when was almost impossible to do so. Something about that really resonates for me today of all days.
(BTW, ths is not a part of my Goodreads challenge since I read it last year LOL)
So I’ve read and loved several of Jo Graham’s Numinous Worlds books (I’ve just started working my way through her Order of the Air series, and I somehow missed that she co-wrote the Stargate Atlantis Legacy series so I’ll be diving into those too LOL), but I recently realized I’ve somehow missed reviewing them. Obviously this is an epic fail on my part, so I’ll be trying to rectify that mistake during 2017. In any case, I decided to start with HAND OF ISIS partly because Egyptian history and mythology has long been one of my favorite subjects to read and learn about, and because I lucked out and have a signed copy to show off/share with you LOL (Thanks to being one of her Patreon supporters: https://www.patreon.com/JoGraham which I definitely recommend!).
This story was chock full of a ton of glorious historical details, transporting me fully into this time period. There were a ton of political elements I enjoyed the hell out of, and I have to say I loved the way the time around Cleopatra and her rise was framed within what was really a story of three sisters, all born to different castes, but all so clearly devoted to each other.
I won’t say that this was a happy story (I mean, most folks reading a story set in Egypt know that Cleopatra dies right? I don’t think it counts as a spoiler if it’s historical fact LOL), but it was a lovely one. Jo Graham has such a gift for lyrical writing, just shy of poetry, and the settings she builds around the reader are just fabulous.
I’m also a huge fan of the idea of reincarnation, so the way the Numinous Worlds books all have the slightest nods to the characters that came before just makes me smile like crazy.
So yeah, HAND OF ISIS in particular and Jo Graham’s books in general are just stunning. Do yourself a favor & check them out. BLACK SHIPS is actually the first book if you want to see the Numinous Worlds in historical order, but all of them stand on their own easily too!