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meganbmooreSeventeen-year-old Mara is an Egyptian slave during the reign of Hatshepsut. Because she speaks several languages due to a past master requiring it so she could assist him in his work as a scribe, she catches the attention of two important men, both of whom want her to do the same thing: pretend to be the translator for Inanni, a Babylonian princess who is to marry the queen’s nephew, Thutmose III, while secretly using the job to pass on messages. The first man is Senmet, a devoted follower of the queen who seeks to root out and destroy a rebellion. The second is Sheftu, a member of the rebellion who wishes to put Thutmose III on the throne.
As a slave with no rights, property or future, Mara has no loyalty to either ruler, and doesn't believe it's owed to either one, but she wants the freedom and riches offered to her, so she decides to play both sides against each other. As she does so, however, she finds herself sympathizing with and becoming friends with Inanni, and slowly both being won over to Thutmose III’s side, and falling in love with Sheftu.
For the most part, I liked it. Mara’s voice felt a little modern (well, 1950s-modern) at times, but she was honest with herself and pragmatic, and thought fast. I especially liked that it was her friendship with Inanni, not her love for Sheftu, and their conversations that eventually lead to her choosing a side, and that she doesn’t change her mind about anything because she fell for the rich guy, he just happens to be on the side she eventually choose. (Which is not to say that the rich guy isn’t great and all, I’m just glad she didn’t go the “ruled by love” route.)
My only problem is that, given how strongly and determinedly neutral she was early on, it never really felt like there was a strong case made for why Thutmose III would win her loyalty. There were hints from the way other people talked to her about him, but I never felt like a strong enough case was being made for Mara choosing a side.
Mostly unrelated to the book, but thinking about Mara and her loyalties helped me realize why I so often have troubles with the whole “enemies as lovers” thing: very often, at some point, there has to be a betrayal. Unless it’s something like Zuko in Avatar or Sorcha in Willow, where the fact that they’re decent people underneath makes it clear they’ll eventually have to change sides (also because the good guys can’t really win if they don’t) or Basara, where they’re ultimately working to the same goal, it’s hard for me to buy it for a character I’m supposed to like. It’s not often that the canon can sell that to me as a positive thing or pull it off in a way that doesn’t make me inclined to stop liking characters, much less buy into it for fanon.
As a slave with no rights, property or future, Mara has no loyalty to either ruler, and doesn't believe it's owed to either one, but she wants the freedom and riches offered to her, so she decides to play both sides against each other. As she does so, however, she finds herself sympathizing with and becoming friends with Inanni, and slowly both being won over to Thutmose III’s side, and falling in love with Sheftu.
For the most part, I liked it. Mara’s voice felt a little modern (well, 1950s-modern) at times, but she was honest with herself and pragmatic, and thought fast. I especially liked that it was her friendship with Inanni, not her love for Sheftu, and their conversations that eventually lead to her choosing a side, and that she doesn’t change her mind about anything because she fell for the rich guy, he just happens to be on the side she eventually choose. (Which is not to say that the rich guy isn’t great and all, I’m just glad she didn’t go the “ruled by love” route.)
My only problem is that, given how strongly and determinedly neutral she was early on, it never really felt like there was a strong case made for why Thutmose III would win her loyalty. There were hints from the way other people talked to her about him, but I never felt like a strong enough case was being made for Mara choosing a side.
Mostly unrelated to the book, but thinking about Mara and her loyalties helped me realize why I so often have troubles with the whole “enemies as lovers” thing: very often, at some point, there has to be a betrayal. Unless it’s something like Zuko in Avatar or Sorcha in Willow, where the fact that they’re decent people underneath makes it clear they’ll eventually have to change sides (also because the good guys can’t really win if they don’t) or Basara, where they’re ultimately working to the same goal, it’s hard for me to buy it for a character I’m supposed to like. It’s not often that the canon can sell that to me as a positive thing or pull it off in a way that doesn’t make me inclined to stop liking characters, much less buy into it for fanon.