The God's Wife by Lynn Voedisch

From the back cover:
Up until recently, Egyptians were the freest civilized women on Earth.  They were free to own land, marry, divorce, and live independent lives.  Of these emancipated souls, one woman in several dynasties, the God's Wife of Amun, was the freest of all.  Ceremonially married to the highest god of the time, Amun, she stood second to Pharaoh in power.

Sixteen-year-old Neferet has been thrust into the role of God's Wife by her bossy mother, the Pharaoh's wife.  Unprepared for such a high office, Neferet is not skilled in the diplomacy the job needs, nor does she know anything about "pleasing" the god's icon.  Political vipers assail her head on and sexual approaches surround her.

In the 21st century, a young dancer stretches to create the perfect shapes that recall the mood of ancient Egypt.  Rebecca Kirk, chosen to play a woman in a dance production of Aida, is so immersed in he role that she often falls into trances, smelling the breeze off the Nile, feeling the desert sun on her cheeks, hearing the call of priests at Karnak temple.  It isn't long before she begins to sense that in these trances she's communicating with an Egyptian woman from the distant past.

As their worlds, separated by thousands of years, begin to grow together, Neferet starts to see Rebecca's face in the dark of the night.  When someone evil begins to plot against her reign as God's Wife, she draws on Rebecca's strength.  Rebecca, in turn, hears Neferet's voice and sees her eyes in a theater mirror when her own world is at risk of falling apart.

What is pulling their worlds together?  Is it magic or science?  And, more important, what does it mean to these two remarkable women?


As she wrote The God's Wife, Lynn Voedisch did lots of research into ancient Egypt and the practice of electing a God's Wife.  Then she took the places where there were unknowns or some ambiguity and created a story within that space. 


I'm always drawn to and intrigued by the idea of parallel universes and that was probably my favorite part of this book -- thinking about the Egypt of 4,000 years ago existing parallel to Chicago in the 21st century. 


I was surprised by the ending of the book, by the way Rebecca chose to solve Neferet's problem.  I'm not sure what I think of her decision and I'm curious about how her friends and family would've interpreted it.  I imagine this book would especially appeal to readers with an interest in dance.



3.5/5 stars

The Bronze and the Brimstone by Lory S. Kaufman

In The Bronze and the Brimstone, the second in the Verona Trilogy by Lory S. Kaufman, we return to 14th century Italy where Hansum, Shamira, and Lincoln are continuing to figure out how to survive in a world that is very different from their homes and lives in the 24th century. 

It is always interesting to see how an author will handle (or ignore) the need to orient new readers to what is happening in a given series.  I won't give away how Kaufman chooses to do this in The Bronze and the Brimstone, but I thought it worked well. 


I continue to be intrigued with Kaufman's idea of what a post-apocalyptic utopia would look like and how society would choose to educate their children about what came before.  All children go to History Camp, where they experience life as their ancestors did (think colonial Williamsburg but less touristy and more mildly boot camp-ish).  In The Lens & the Looker (Book 1 in the Verona Trilogy), History Camp doesn't seem to be having its intended effect on Hansum, Shamira, and Lincoln but when they are kipnapped and taken to the real 14th century Verona, it's a different story.   

And now, in The Bronze and the Brimstone, the adventures continue.  Hansum continues his work with the ruler of Verona, introducing gunpowder and cannons before their time with all of the danger that comes along with them.  Meanwhile, the Black Plague has begun its deadly tour of Europe and Pan, the a.i. who was with them from the beginning, is suddenly no longer around to help. 

I've found it difficult to place these books in a certain age category.  The reading level is very accessible yet there are certain things that seem meant for an older audience.  My guess is that Kaufman is writing for a high school age audience.

3.5/5 stars

Teaser Tuesdays -- The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!

Image by justjason via Flickr

As the battles dragged on, Undershaw languished in disrepair.  Penelope lived close by and was one of the most vocal preservationists in the cause.  She kept an extensive collection of photographs, plans, and other records of Undershaw's history.

~page 298 The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

This has been a fun book to read.  Set at the turn of both the 20th and the 21st century, The Sherlockian is based on many historical events, though of course Moore has added much to his novel about Arthur Conan Doyle's missing journal, the reason Conan Doyle resurrected Sherlock Holmes after sending him to his death at the Reichenbach Falls, and the Sherlock Holmes societies around the world.

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 -- Time and Again by Jack Finney

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

In shirt-sleeves, the way I generally worked, I sat sketching a bar of soap taped to an upper corner of my drawing board.   

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

 I stared out at the uncountable thousands of windows in the sooty sides of hundreds of buildings, and down at the streets nearly solid with car tops.  I tried to turn it back into a rural scene, imagining a man down there with buckles on his shoes and wearing a pigtailed white wig, walking along a dusty country road called the broad way.  It was impossible.


I enjoyed Finney's take on time travel to the past, specifically from late 60s New York City to NYC in 1882.  I was thinking, as I read, that I would probably give it four out of five stars.  But in the last 60-100 pages I started feeling desperate to know how it would all play out and turning page as quickly as I could read them (or vice versa . . . I'm not really sure).  That makes me think that perhaps it deserves five stars after all. 

Teaser Tuesdays -- The School of Night by Louis Bayard

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!

She was standing near the window. Her hair was sleep-mashed, but her posture was erect and attentive.  

"Clarissa?"

~p.221, The School of Night by Louis Bayard

Secret societies, England, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., the years 2009 and 1603, Shakespeare, Marlowe, alchemy -- lots of intrigue and a pace that somehow seems both fast and leisurely.  4/5 stars.