REVIEW: Babylonia (Costanza Casati)

Book: Babylonia

Author: Costanza Casati

Premise: Ancient Mesopotamia, ninth century BCE. Into the streets of the Assyrian capital steps an orphan, Semiramis, new wife to a fierce warrior. There she meets King Ninus - who soon wants her for himself. But Semiramis will bow to no man. And in this world, kings fall while queens rise.

This is a fictionalised account of the rise of Semiramis, Queen of the Assyrian Empire. I enjoyed reading about a period of history and a location I'm not familiar with. I learnt about the Assyrian Empire and the wars of that went on during this period.

Semiramis is a survivor. I loved seeing her navigate the politics of the royal court and also go to war. An absolute badass! However, the story has a lot of tragedy and her rise is a bittersweet one. You can't help but wish somethings went differently and some characters got their happily ever after. But it's an interesting story and I want to read more about this particular queen.