August Reads

The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo

Synopsis: Inspired by the 1917 Russian revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters, The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo is a beautifully crafted historical fantasy with elements of technology fueled by evil magic.

The Crescent Empire teeters on the edge of a revolution, and the Five Daughters of the Moon are the ones to determine its future.

My take:  I'm a sucker for the Russian Revolution even though I know it always ends badly. Take note: If you're looking for a literal retelling of the tale of the last Romanovs, this book will surely disappoint you. Some reviews crawl through the Romanov minutiae and enumerate the discrepancies, such as Daughters of the Moon makes no mention of the ailing son. There is an ailing youngest daughter. . . . so like I said, it's just not literal. If you want a good fantasy  that uses the Romanov story as a jumping off point, however, this novella will satisfy your longing.

As the description says, it is rather beautifully crafted, and the lore of both the Russian Revolution and the fantasy/magical elements  result in great world-building. Likalto does an excellent job of invoking Rasputin as an antagonist without making him a carbon copy of the mad monk. Each of the sisters have a couple of chapters that tell the story from their point of view, and the author does it nicely. I'm not so sure, however, that all five sisters were needed. The middle three sisters didn't seem unique enough, and I often confused them; that is often true of the historical Romanov sisters as well.

The novella has a rather nice steampunk ambiance with mechanical peacocks, lamps fueled by animal souls, and machines that require human souls to work. There is also magic, although that aspect is not a fleshed out as I might like it to be.

All in all, I liked this novella. It has a realistic ambivalence in which you can root both for those who need the revolution and those who suffer from its consequences. The elegiac tone reminded me of the non-fiction The Romanov Sisters, which I read a few years ago. I will definitely read the sequel.

Secondborn (Secondborn Series Book 1) by Amy A. Bartol

Synopsis: Firstborns rule society. Secondborns are the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live the Fates Republic.

On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.

Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.

My take: First off, let me say I loved this book. Some compared it to Hunger Games, and it's a fair comparison. Like Katniss, Roselle is a great kick-ass heroine in a genre where kick-ass heroines are becoming a dime a dozen. Like Katniss, we actually see what went into the making of the kick-ass part, whereas in many books we are just supposed to accept it when there is no reason to do so.  Unlike the tributes of the Hunger Games, however, these contestants aren't necessarily from the poor and downtrodden class, but often the ruling class itself, which causes its own set of problems. This book took what is becoming a rather tired trope and breathed some new life into it.

Clearly the book is dystopian, but in the vein of Red Rising instead of a completely shattered world. It certainly takes the whole idea of "the heir and the spare" to  new levels. It might even be an interesting treatise on what it's like psychologically to be the second born.

Above all, the story was engaging, well-paced, and had some good plot twists.

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Synopsis:Raised among New York’s high society, Lily Bart is beautiful, charming, and entirely without means. Determined to maintain the extravagant lifestyle to which she is accustomed, Lily embarks on a mission to marry a wealthy man who can secure her station. However, the businesslike proposals from her many suitors remain fruitless, and her thoughts keep returning to the one man she truly loves. Bedeviled by debt, betrayal, and vicious gossip, she is forced to confront the tragic cruelty just beneath the surface of the Gilded Age.

My take: I sometimes think of Edith Wharton as America's dark Jane Austen. The storys often start at the same place: woman from "good" society doesn't have the means (aka money) to maintain her position in that society.  While neither author spares  society their castigation for creating the problem, Austen heroines usually turn out just fine. Wharton heroines (and heroes for that matter) rarely do. Lily Bart may be one of the saddest and silliest protagonists ever. I read this novel every few years as a cautionary tale.

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe Book 1) by Neal Shusterman

Synopsis:Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

My take: So many books to love this month, and this one gets a big dose of love. The idea of this book made me shiver, and the execution (no pun intended) of the idea did as well.

I really admire the way Shusterman takes on social issues that no one wants to touch and makes a compelling story of them. Usually, such stories are fairly heavy-handed, but Shusterman has a light touch that  inspires a great deal of thought. I was a big fan of his Unwind series, and the Arc of a Scythe books promise to deliver as well.

The character development in this book is excellent; the idea is daring and original; and the pacing is right on point.

House of Names: A Novel by Colm Toibin

Synopsis:From the thrilling imagination of bestselling, award-winning Colm Tóibín comes a retelling of the story of Clytemnestra—spectacularly audacious, violent, vengeful, lustful, and instantly compelling—and her children.

“I have been acquainted with the smell of death.” So begins Clytemnestra’s tale of her own life in ancient Mycenae, the legendary Greek city from which her husband King Agamemnon left when he set sail with his army for Troy. Clytemnestra rules Mycenae now, along with her new lover Aegisthus, and together they plot the bloody murder of Agamemnon on the day of his return after nine years at war.

My take: I like novels based on the classics, but told from a different point of view. With a minor in mythology, I read plays and sat through the lectures on the mythos behind this story.

To the Greeks, Clytemnestra was a horror. Women murdering husbands for a wrongdoing was bad for the business of patriarchy--a system to which they were firmly attached. In the Oresteia, Aeschylus's telling of events, Orestes reestablishes order (i.e., male authority) but a resolve to kill one's own mother is hardly endearing. He's a conundrum for the modern reader: Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, and I'm not sure Toibon changes our mind on that, although he spends a lot of time trying.  I could have done with a whole lot less Orestes and a whole lot more Clytemnestra.

The Last Boleyn: A Novel by Karen Harper

Synopsis: She survived her own innocence, and the treachery of Europe’s royal courts; The Last Boleyn is the story of the rise and fall of the Boleyns, one of England’s most powerful families, through the eyes of the eldest daughter, Mary.

My take: I always tell myself I will not buy another book on the Tudors, and then I remember Wolf Hall and relent. I'm not sure what the decision making process that went into this one was. Probably it went something like this: I'm going to the airport; I need an easy read; this book is on sale. Buy on impulse; regret at leisure.

The writing feels amateurish -- turgid and overblown with inappropriate adjectives, such as 'lumbering castle'. Research is shallow. I noted several inconsistencies from one page to the next in descriptions of the same scene, errors which would have been caught by careful editing. The writing style is  exhausting. Sentences are elongated with too many adverbs and adjectives to keep my attention.

A Rebellion In Heaven: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by John-Philip Penny

Synopsis: Will an immortal god sacrifice eternity to find true love, and the meaning of life?

This lyrical and poetic tale is set in ancient Egypt, when Pharaohs and strange but divine beings ruled over the fates of all.

Enter Anubis -- a young god, powerful, introspective, and heir to the throne of the Afterlife. Within himself he harbours a dark secret, one that throws his immortal soul
into chaos, and drives him to the edge of despair. . .

This poignant new novel from the author of Blood of a Barbarian, and Panzerfaust, is a clever blend of historical fiction, myth, spiritual adventure, and fantasy. It is,
above all, a meditation upon the eternal questions that we all ask ourselves: What is the meaning of life? How can one be happy? And how does one learn to give, and to receive, true love?

My take: Penny gets a few things wrong. For example, you simply cannot see the Pyramids from Thebes (Luxor), and the story of Anubis's birth doesn't jive with the most common myths. However, this book is a nice little read in the vein of American Gods. Anubis, more popular in artwork than in myth, deserves his own quest, and this novel does him proud. If you're an Egyptomaniac, as I clearly am, this is a must read.

His Wicked Wish: A Cinderella Sisterhood Novel (Cinderella Sisterhood Series) by Olivia Drake

Synopsis: MARRIAGE TO A NOBLEMAN? NOT IN HER WILDEST DREAMS. . .

The daughter of a disgraced woman and a common actor, Madelyn Swann has been shunned by the nobility. No proper lady would traipse about on a Covent Garden stage, let alone sell herself at auction to the highest bidder. So why in heaven’s name would Nathan Atwood, Viscount Rowley, make a generous offer for her hand?

Turns out Maddy is exactly the type of woman Nathan wants as his wife. Finally, he can embarrass his snobbish and cruel father, the Earl of Gilmore—and scandalize London society—with his beautiful, unsuitable bride. Then he’ll depart England forever and leave his wife behind. Having secret plans of her own, Maddy is happy to play the role … only to find that enjoying her husband’s seduction requires no acting whatsoever. But as she falls madly in love with Nathan, can she persuade him to stay with her for always?

My take: I received this book directly from the hands of the author at a Romance Writers of America 2017 Conference party. It was fun and predictable. I read it in an evening. Sometimes, that's just what I want to do.

July Reads

Jane Austen at Home: A Biography by Lucy Worsley

Synopsis: Take a trip back to Jane Austen's world and the many places she lived as historian Lucy Worsley visits Austen's childhood home, her schools, her holiday accommodations, the houses--both grand and small--of the relations upon whom she was dependent, and the home she shared with her mother and sister towards the end of her life. In places like Steventon Parsonage, Godmersham Park, Chawton House and a small rented house in Winchester, Worsley discovers a Jane Austen very different from the one who famously lived a 'life without incident'.

My take: Jane Austen at Home is a must read for all Austen fans, particularly since this is the 200th anniversary of her death. If you're not a Jane Austen fan because you think all her novels are about finding a rich husband,  read this book and learn about the role of women in Georgian society; maybe you'll get a notion of why her characters were so revolutionary.

To be honest, I never delved deeply into Austen's life; I cruised along on the snippets I learned in English classes. All I had was my love of her words. And what a love it is: I still read at least one Austen novel a year. I'm up to about 10 read-throughs of some of them. So, this book seemed an obligatory read.

Speaking of English classes, OMG, was I asleep when they were talking about how the sea was a symbol for sexual pleasure in Austen? I mean, I know it is in general, but sex and Austen? So, Louisa Musgrove's fall from the sea wall was a warning about what flirtation leads to? And, well, I certainly get what it means for Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth to sail off to sea.  But, I also clearly remember an English friend of mine turning up her nose at American Jane Austen films and announcing "There is NO snogging in Austen." Apparently, she was wrong.

OK. That's out of my system. Now, back to do you really need to read this book? Yes, if  you're either a reader or a writer.

If you're a reader,  you'll come away with a richer understanding of the world in which Austen novels are set.

If  you're a writer, Jane's trials and tribulations of getting published will be familiar to you. (Hint: a form of self-publishing was the key.) Also, her work habits and how she processes her daily life into a novel are sure to be of interest.

One always hears about the family influence on Austen. As you read about her tortured/lovely interactions with her family and friends, you'll probably have a piece of paper where you keep track of real people versus characters. Mr. Knightly, check; Jane Bennet, check; Lady Catherine, check. You come away with a great appreciation for Austen's insight and ability to snark.

For me, the most interesting part was how Jane moved down in class circles as she grew older. (Think of Miss Bates in Emma.) Choosing not to marry (which Jane knowingly did several times) in Georgian England was bold, and  it pretty much put an end to any notion of comfortable, stress-free living as soon as your father died, unless you had inherited a lot of money, or as Emma Woodhouse says: a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable, and may be as sensible and pleasant as any body else.  But without a good fortune, you were in trouble. The book certainly informs you of how "gentry" in Georgian England (and the Austen's were no exception) scrabbled and plotted to obtain and maintain a good fortune.

The Austen women's scrabbling for a place to call home is sobering, and it informs many of the characters that Austen wrote. As the author said many times, the goal of getting married in an Austen novel is not so much finding love and happily ever after-ing, but finding a home. Or as Charlotte Lucas said in Pride and Prejudice, I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins' character, connection, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.

After reading Jane Austen at home, I was once again putting her novels back on my to-be-read list, and I will look at them differently.

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist


Synopsis: One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty–single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries–are sequestered for their final few years; they are considered outsiders. In the Unit they are expected to contribute themselves for drug and psychological testing, and ultimately donate their organs, little by little, until the final donation.

THE UNIT is a gripping exploration of a society in the throes of an experiment, in which the “dispensable” ones are convinced under gentle coercion of the importance of sacrificing for the “necessary” ones. Ninni Holmqvist has created a debut novel of humor, sorrow, and rage about love, the close bonds of friendship, and about a cynical, utilitarian way of thinking disguised as care.

My take: THE UNIT is one of the best books I've read this year!

Part Handmaid's Tale and part Never Let Me Go, it grabs you by the throat and never lets you go. It was depressing, yes; but also beautifully written. I found myself underlining passage after passage. Some of the most beautiful passages were written about Dorrit and her dog, and tears came to my eyes. The dark tale of loss, love, loss, and love opens the door to many questions, not the least of which was  "What is the value of a life?"

The writing and the plotting was top notch. I was pleasantly (and emotionally) surprised by the ending, which I always count as a plus. I had predicted another ending entirely. I gobbled up this novel in one sitting at the airport and on the plane, but it haunts me. I will probably read it again to enjoy the deliciousness of the prose. And to contemplate the meaning of life.

The Family by Marissa Kennerson

Synopsis: Just like any average seventeen-year-old, Twig loves her family. She has a caring mother and a controlling father. Her brothers and sisters are committed to her family’s prosperity…

All one hundred eighty-three of them.

Twig lives in the Family, a collective society located in the rain forest of Costa Rica. Family members coexist with values of complete openness and honesty, and they share a fear of contagious infection in the outside world.

Adam—their Father, prophet, and savior—announces that Twig will be his new bride, and she is overjoyed and honored. But when an injury forces her to leave the Family compound, Twig finds that the world outside is not as toxic as she was made to believe. And then she meets Leo, an American boy with a killer smile, and begins to question everything about her life within the Family and the cult to which she belongs.

But when it comes to Family, you don’t get a choice.

My take: The Family is a good serviceable read for vacation. If you've read any novels about cults, you know from the get-go where this novel will end, and there are very few surprises along the way. Nonetheless, it is good journey, and you won't be disappointed. Kennerson is a competent writer, and she gives Twig an interesting character arc. The ending, although predictable, left a few hanging threads that should have been snipped.

Ramses: The Battle of Kadesh by Christian Jacq

Synopsis: The powerful Hittites have declared war on Egypt, and Ramses must do the impossible: seize their impregnable fortress at Kadesh with his ragged army, even as his powerful bodyguard and right-hand man has been arrested, suspected of treason.

My take: The series is finally moving into a phase of Ramses's life about which we know something. I am no scholar when it comes to this battle, out of which the first known peace treaty in history emerged, but Jacq hits a stride here. The battle to-and-froing is fairly compelling, and (at least) it feels like it could have happened. I'm still a little annoyed by the evil brother sub-plot and the fact that the love scenes between Ramses and Nefertari have the emotional depth and heat of a snow pea. For me, the real take-away from these books is getting a feel for the character of Ramses.

Do Not Become Alarmed: A Novel by Maile Meloy

Synopsis: The sun is shining, the sea is blue, the children have disappeared.

When Liv and Nora decide to take their husbands and children on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. The adults are lulled by the ship’s comfort and ease. The four children—ages six to eleven—love the nonstop buffet and their newfound independence. But when they all go ashore for an adventure in Central America, a series of minor misfortunes and miscalculations leads the families farther from the safety of the ship. One minute the children are there, and the next they’re gone.

The disintegration of the world the families knew—told from the perspectives of both the adults and the children—is both riveting and revealing. The parents, accustomed to security and control, turn on each other and blame themselves, while the seemingly helpless children discover resources they never knew they possessed.

Do Not Become Alarmed is a story about the protective force of innocence and the limits of parental power, and an insightful look at privileged illusions of safety. Celebrated for her spare and moving fiction, Maile Meloy has written a gripping novel about how quickly what we count on can fall away, and the way a crisis shifts our perceptions of what matters most.

My take: Right up front, I'll say I liked this book. It was both compelling and easy to read. I finished it in two nights.  I identified with the parental characters in the books and at various times with the different children. After reading some of the reviews, I came to the conclusion that I must be a privileged, first-world ninny to have that identification. So, be it. The book is still a good read. 

June Reads

The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky

Synopsis: Manhattan has many secrets. Some are older than the city itself. 

The city sleeps. Selene DiSilva walks her dog along the banks of the Hudson. She is alone -- just the way she likes it. She doesn't believe in friends, and she doesn't speak to her family. Most of them are simply too dangerous.

In the predawn calm, Selene finds the body of a young woman washed ashore, gruesomely mutilated and wreathed in laurel. Her ancient rage returns. And so does the memory of a promise she made long ago -- when her name was Artemis.

"The Immortals is a lively re-imagining of classical mythology with an engaging premise, a page-turning plot, and an eye for the arresting and uncanny in contemporary urban life."

My take: OMIGOD (no pun intended), this book is just flat out FUN to read. It was definitely my favorite book this month.  Brodsky takes all the elements of Greek mythology and weaves it into a classic who-done-it without missing a step.

Bravo for her scholarship and knowledge of Greek mythology that never becomes didactic. It's well paced, romantic without being schmaltzy, and wickedly funny when you read about how the gods try to adapt to modern day life in an attempt to get their waning power back. Unlike so many who-done-its, I didn't see the perpetrator coming; but in the reveal, I wanted to smack myself in the head because all the clues were there. After my disappointment with Starz's rendition of American Gods, this was the pick me up I needed for my "gods walk among us" obsession.

I ordered the next one in the series, Winter of the Gods, and I hope Brodsky can keep up the good work.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by M. K. Jemisin

Synopsis: Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate - and gods and mortals - are bound inseparably together.

My take: All the potential for an interesting story was here: a flawed heroine investigating her mother's death, preventing genocide, fighting for her life with awesome matriarchal warrior skills, and discovering the role of the gods in the life of mortals. (Did I mention I like books with gods in them?) Then, there is this weird double soul thing (channeling The Host, maybe), which had potential but didn't work all that well for me, possibly because the reveals in the writing didn't exactly reveal it. Maybe someone more astute than me picked up on it a lot earlier. 

Jemisin's writing style is a little convoluted, and I often found myself a bit confused. (See the whole double soul thing.) Her world building with the gods is fantastic, and Yeine Darr's relationship with those gods are the best and  most evocative scenes. Although I agree with the reviewers who said the novel could have spent less time on sexy Lord of the Night and explored some of the other gods and goddesses a bit more. Jemisin's world building for the "political world" is dull, dull, dull even though that world is rather blood-thirsty. Yeine Darr's character development leaves a little to be desired as well. 

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I'm not tempted to read the next book in the trilogy.

The Dawn Girl by Leslie Wolf

Synopsis: Her blue eyes wide open, glossed over. A few specks of sand clung to her long, dark lashes. Her beautiful face, immobile, covered in sparkling flecks of sand. Her lips slightly parted as if to let a last breath escape.

Who is the beautiful girl found at dawn, on a deserted stretch of golden sand beach? What is her secret?

FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett searches for answers relentlessly. With each step, each new finding, she uncovers unsettling facts leading to a single possible conclusion: Dawn Girl is not the only victim. Her killer has killed before.

My take:  Ho-Hum. I'm sure there's at least one stereotype that Wolf didn't use in this novel, but I'd be hard-pressed to name it. The characters are flat (and did I mention stereotypical?). The plot is predictable. The writing is passable, but nothing to write home about. It was an okay read for a hot Sunday afternoon.

Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts) by Vic James

Synopsis:  MAGIC RULES. WE SERVE.

In a darkly fantastical debut set in modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power—and you. If you’re not one of the ultimate one-percenters—the magical elite—you owe them ten years of service. Do those years when you’re old, and you’ll never get through them. Do them young, and you’ll never get over them.

This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.

Have a quick ten years. . . .

Synopsis:  Want your Harry Potter dark and dystopic, a world in which Lucius Malfoy rules? This is the book for you. It held my interest, despite the constant change in POV and hopping from one place to another. I found myself more interested in the world of the Skilled than the world of the Unskilled, and I tended to skim the latter. I might read the next in the series.

When She Woke: A Novel by Hillary Jordan

Synopsis:  Bellwether Prize winner Hillary Jordan’s provocative new novel, When She Woke, tells the story of a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed—their skin color is genetically altered to match the class of their crimes—and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.

In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.

My take: I mostly liked this re-do of Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter with a dystopian worldview that is reminiscent of  Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. In fact, I found the book in an article that said, If you liked The Handmaid's Tale. . .  The novel covers sensitive topics head-on, which means some people will be totally offended by it. On the other hand, these topics need to be addressed in the age of Trump.

Let's get this out of the way right up front: Hannah's crime is not adultery, as in the Scarlet Letter, but abortion, and the role of the Church in the State, particularly in the state of Texas. Oh, and it touches on the hypocrisy of Christians who value life before birth, but not so much after birth. So, if these are topics that offend you, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.

Some parts of the book are quite well written, specifically the beginning and the late middle to the end. You can totally feel Hannah's horror when she wakes up and finds herself tinted red. The whole Chroming, or making a person wear the color of their sin, was creepy, yet realistically plausible in a world that already judges people by the color of their skin. Her experiences with a sort of half-way house, which seems like a take on some of the conversion therapy clinics I've read about, and escaping from Texas both have a gritty reality that made me shiver.

What didn't work for me was a long backstory that explained how Hannah decided to have the abortion. It felt a lot like reading a treatise rather than experiencing her emotions. The minister who seduces Hannah, who is just coincidentally the head of a megachurch and known for his good deeds, is about as cardboard as they come. Hard to believe anybody would make the sacrifices Hannah made for him. I also did not particularly enjoy what felt like a token, obligatory Lesbian encounter, which she then blows off about two seconds later and runs back to the minister who impregnated her. If I were a Lesbian, I would have felt both offended and violated.

Ramses: The Son of Light - Volume I and The Eternal Temple (Ramses, Volume II) by Christian Jacq

Synopsis 1:  Historical fiction meets mythology as ancient Egypt comes alive in this monumental epic with over 2 million copies sold around the world.

At fourteen, Ramses, the second son of the Pharaoh Seth, must begin to pass a series of royal tests designed to build his mental and physical prowess-or break him. Is Seth planning to leave the world's most powerful empire to Ramses, and not his corrupt brother, Shaanar? Before he knows it, the younger prince is surrounded by enemies and turning to his friends: Moses, the brilliant young Hebrew; Setau, the snake charmer and mage; Ahmeni; the frail scholar; and Set and Nefertari, the two beautiful women Ramses loves.

Synopsis 2:  The splendor and danger of ancient Egypt continues in the second volume of this magnificent saga. For Ramses, the Son of Light, the coronation has arrived. Now he will learn whether the friends of his youth--people such as Moses and the aging Greek poet, Homer--can truly be trusted. Shaanar, the young king's scheming older brother, still has designs on the crown, and in the shadows, the machinations of a mysterious sorcerer threaten the throne.

My take: I've started this series several times, and then I run out of steam. However, since Ramses II is a character  (although not the main character) in my latest work-in-progress, hear I am. Again.

As one reviewer suggests, Christian Jacq is no Pauline Gedge, my absolute favorite writer of Ancient Egyptian novels. Jacq is often historically inaccurate, mixes current Arabic names and places with ancient ones, and isn't much on character development in the first two books (at least).

As an Egyptologist, he must know that the truth he's omitting is often at least as (if not more) exciting than the falsehoods he tells. In the first two volumes, Ramses comes across as an arrogant ditherer who somehow always comes out on top; clearly, it must be the will of the gods. Oddly enough, Seti I, Ramses' father, turns out to be the most interesting character in Volume I, although the way he wanders in and out of the plot (more like Yoda than Pharaoh) is a bit disconcerting.

I am not a big fan of the brother who challenges Ramses for the throne, because no such brother or challenge ever existed.  Of course, the fake brother is supported by a sister who has a name that doesn't seem remotely Egyptian. Why not use the name of  one of his real sisters instead of making a name up? I suppose Jacq felt the whole challenger idea was necessary for an exciting plot line, but it's the kind of thing that gives historical fiction a dodgy reputation.

Perhaps the mistake was trying to fashion a complete novel around Ramses late boyhood about which we know very little. Still, I think he would have been better served to depict the struggles the boy-who-would-be-king might have had in coping with his very real non-royal bloodline and the confusion left behind in the wake of the 18th dynasty rather than cobbling together a fake fight for the throne with a non-existent brother. I would also have liked to see more conflict around his marriages to Nefertiti and Iset-Nofret, because surely there must have been some.

In Volume II, not a lot happens except that Ramses becomes king and a non-existent daughter of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten shows up to complicate the whole challenge to the crown thing. Oh, and he starts building his House of a Million years and mortuary temple.  Volume II also has some of the most boring sex scenes ever. Am I going to finish this series. Well, maybe.

In the end, the Ramses books are quick reads and  and I'm having some fun making lists of their inaccuracies. If you enjoy the television series Reign, Ramses will be right up your alley.

Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters

Synopsis: It is the present-day, and the world is as we know it: smartphones, social networking and Happy Meals. Save for one thing: the Civil War never occurred.

A gifted young black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshall Service. He's got plenty of work. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called "the Hard Four." On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor arrives in Indianapolis knowing that something isn't right--with the case file, with his work, and with the country itself.

A mystery to himself, Victor suppresses his memories of his childhood on a plantation, and works to infiltrate the local cell of a abolitionist movement called the Underground Airlines. Tracking Jackdaw through the back rooms of churches, empty parking garages, hotels, and medical offices, Victor believes he's hot on the trail. But his strange, increasingly uncanny pursuit is complicated by a boss who won't reveal the extraordinary stakes of Jackdaw's case, as well as by a heartbreaking young woman and her child who may be Victor's salvation. Victor himself may be the biggest obstacle of all--though his true self remains buried, it threatens to surface.

Victor believes himself to be a good man doing bad work, unwilling to give up the freedom he has worked so hard to earn. But in pursuing Jackdaw, Victor discovers secrets at the core of the country's arrangement with the Hard Four, secrets the government will preserve at any cost.

Underground Airlines is a ground-breaking novel, a wickedly imaginative thriller, and a story of an America that is more like our own than we'd like to believe.

My take: I give this book a good, solid B for effort. The premise is fantastic and, at its best forces, you to confront the hypocrisy around race in America today. Is it ground-breaking? Not so much. The whole time I was reading I kept wondering if it was this decade's Man in the High Castle, and I kind of missed the "thriller" part of it.

Winters clearly did some research to make the alt-history believable and incorporated slightly altered factoids at the right time.

Victor, the main character, is a black man and a former slave who is essentially forced  to become a bounty hunter of escaped slaves. He is both interesting and complex, and Winters captured the dichotomy of a good man who must do bad things. Did Winters capture the essence of the black slave experience? I thought so, but I can't be sure. Sadly, no other characters have Victor's richness; they were fairly cardboard caricatures of good and evil.  I sometimes had trouble remembering who the various characters were. Maybe that was the point, but it made the novel feel a little dead.

The first few chapters as Victor settles into his "current job" are the most compelling and kept me turning the page. Somewhere along the way, and I can't quite say when, the plot became episodic and full of plot holes. Although Victor is built up as being as skillful as James Bond, he escapes so many times from virtually escape-proof scenarios in an almost deus ex machina fashion  that I started muttering to myself "gimme a break." There are many other plot moments that also seem to hinge on the goodness of the universe for their resolution, which ultimately makes Victor's struggle less compelling.

I recommend reading the book, because it is a chilling allusion to what has happened in the America of today, and there is some fine writing. That said, some of the writing is problematic, and a number of reviewers cited that as a reason for not finishing the novel.

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May Reads

I had a lot of trouble finding books to read this month. Well, not so much finding books, but finishing books, perhaps. I started several, intrigued by both the premise and the first chapter, which I read via Amazon's Look Inside feature. Somewhere around the third chapter, however, I lost interest in about five different books. Maybe I was just persnickety this month, or maybe it was something else.

As a writer, I am aware of how much emphasis agents and publishers place on the first sentence, the first paragraph, and the first chapter. I've been to enough workshops and talked to enough writers to know that these items consume a huge chunk of the time we spend writing novels. Sometimes, it seems that the rest of the book takes a back to seat to the "firsts." Writers who know me have heard me complain that the end of many current novels are often underwhelming and unsatisfying, as though the writer was too exhausted by the all important firsts to make the ending just as good as the beginning. This month seemed to move the problem forward to the middle of the novels.

Nonetheless, I managed to finish three books. So even while I might be critical, the novels were all well-written enough to propel me to the finishing line. Unlike the five who left me stranded a few feet from the starting gate.

American War by Omar El Akkad

Synopsis:  An audacious and powerful debut novel: a second American Civil War, a devastating plague, and one family caught deep in the middle—a story that asks what might happen if America were to turn its most devastating policies and deadly weapons upon itself.

Sarat Chestnut, born in Louisiana, is only six when the Second American Civil War breaks out in 2074. But even she knows that oil is outlawed, that Louisiana is half underwater, and that unmanned drones fill the sky. When her father is killed and her family is forced into Camp Patience for displaced persons, she begins to grow up shaped by her particular time and place. But not everyone at Camp Patience is who they claim to be. Eventually Sarat is befriended by a mysterious functionary, under whose influence she is turned into a deadly instrument of war. The decisions that she makes will have tremendous consequences not just for Sarat but for her family and her country, rippling through generations of strangers and kin alike.

My take: When reviewers say this book reminds them of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, take them seriously. It has the same bleak, soul-chilling, worst-nightmare-you-ever-had about a dystopian future. If you ever stay up late talking with friends about climate change or wondering  about where the quest for oil will take our country, the results of the US leaving the Paris Accords, or how war creates terrorists, this book is for you.

The story of Sarat Chestnut is interpersed with reports and briefings on the Second American Civil War when four states secede. I suppose there might be a play on Mary Chestnut's Civil War Diary, but be assured this story is more brutal by far.  It starts with Sarat as a young girl in Louisiana, one of the states that seceded. A state you might not recognize on the map because climate change altered the eastern seaboard beyond recognition.

The first chapter covers the innocence that Sarat and her siblings lose with increasing brutality. It's nothing that is not already familiar, nothing you can't glean from the nightly news about how people learn to hate and kill one another. The main difference, of course, is this novel is set on American soil. 

The refugee camps and the wall that keeps the diseased citizens of Carolina in check are certainly reminiscent of what you read about Palestine and the Syrian refugee camps. El Akkad recreates the grim daily grind of regugees doing nothing as rumors of atrocities spread like wildfire. He exposes the hypocrisy of aid through the "gift ships" sent by the Red Crescent (yes, the Middle East has risen) filled with blankets that no one needs in the scorching climate of the new American South. It's the closest many of us have yet to come to the crisis that everyone is talking about.

As brutality after brutality  piles up, Sarat seemingly gives in to predestined hatred and revenge, and it's a journey that you might understand for the first time. This tale is a cautionary one, and I urge everyone to read it, think about it, and talk to your friends.

Everything You Want Me to Be: A Novel Mindy Mejia

Synopsis:  "Fans of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will devour this fast-paced story.”—InStyle 

"Readers drawn to this compelling psychological thriller because of its shared elements with Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl (2012) will be pleasantly surprised to discover that Mejia’s confident storytelling pulls those themes into an altogether different exploration of manipulation and identity.” —Booklist (starred review)

2017’s Best Fiction Books —Bustle

12 Books Gone Girl Fans Should Have on Their Wish List —BookBub
No one knows who she really is…

Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good girlfriend. But Hattie wants something more, something bigger, and ultimately something that turns out to be exceedingly dangerous. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death, the tragedy rips right through the fabric of her small-town community.

It soon comes to light that Hattie was engaged in a highly compromising and potentially explosive secret online relationship. The question is: Did anyone else know? And to what lengths might they have gone to end it? Hattie’s boyfriend seems distraught over her death, but had he fallen so deeply in love with her that she had become an obsession? Or did Hattie’s impulsive, daredevil nature simply put her in the wrong place at the wrong time, leading her to a violent death at the hands of a stranger?

Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town’s darkest secrets come to the forefront…and she inches closer and closer to death.

My take: OK, I get everyone wants the same success as Gone Girl, and  it's a recognizable title to reference.  But Hattie Hoffman is NO Amy Dunne. Not by a long shot. Yeah, she's a little bit scheming, but more in a teenage girl kind of way than a psychopathic kind of way. If I were to compare it to any recent book, I'd compare it Celeste's Ng's Everything I Never Told You, although it's not nearly as good. 

It's a fairly pedestrian crime novel with some of the worst characteristics of that genre, like unmitigated headhopping. It's hard to stifle my "willing suspension of disbelief" when the dead girl speaks as if she's still leaving during some of the head hops.  Although it might touch a little on teenage angst in the new age, Hattie's character has no real depth. In fact, there was no character arc for anyone, and the plot was fairly predictable.

It's an easy read, and you might want to grab it for the beach or the front porch when you have an afternoon to waste. 

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Synopsis:  Fans of Star Wars and Divergent will revel in internationally bestselling author Veronica Roth’s stunning new science-fiction fantasy series.

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuvhe, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive—or to destroy one another.

My take: I was a big fan of Divergent, also by Roth, and mildly enthusiastic about the other two books in that trilogy, so I knew I was going to read this book.  As with Divergent, Roth's world-building is top notch. Unlike Divergent, I don't feel compelled to read the second book because the world-building was the best thing about this book. It would have been great if Roth had put as much effort into character and plot development. Or any effort, really. Nor did it particularly remind of Divergent or Star Wars; it felt more like a YA version of Game of Thrones, just not as interesting.

To sum up my major issues: there are too many cardboard characters, and I kept having to think really hard about who these people were and why they were popping up in the story. Ditto, the places that are mentioned; the trip to the water planet seemed like filler or maybe an excuse to set up a scene that could have taken place anywhere. (Maybe I was just too bored at that point to see the significance of it all.) Finally, there were  some rather amateurish timeline issues and jumping between first and third person with no apparent reason.

However, the opening chapter was great, and that was what persuaded me to buy the book. If the remainder of the book had lived up to the first chapter, I would have been one happy camper.

Chasing Magic: A review

Having spent a fair amount of time researching magical systems for my own books, Queen of Heka and Reeds of Times, the topic holds genuine interest for me. Moreover, I'm always interested in how other writers incorporate it in their works without resorting to the heavy-handed, gee-whiz kind of writing that curls my hair. So, when I was offered the opportunity to review an ARC of Chasing Magic. the fourth anthology by CW Publishing House and the first in the Fantasy genre, I jumped at it.

Synopsis:  CWPH presents twenty-two Fantasy stories by international authors, both established and new to the trade. This collection features some of the familiar elements with a twist—from elves and unicorns to witches, talking trees, and dragons—mixed with reworkings of some classics from previously unexplored perspectives and new fantastical tales with their own distinct flavor.

Delve into these extraordinary worlds and experience the magic, mayhem, mystery, and wonder of Chasing Magic.

My take: This collection's approach to magic is eclectic; in some cases, magic only lightly touches a story and veers  toward classical fantasy in a realm where magic is possible. This approach worked for me, because immersing myself in pure magic for extended periods of time makes my head swim. Both fantasy and magic aficionados will enjoy the variety of stories in the Chasing Magic collection, because each one takes you to a different world, as this small sampling of the stories indicates.

Honor by Jennifer Della’Zanna begins with what might be an ordinary tale of  sword and sorcery and a warrior, albeit a woman with some characteristics of an amazon. As you learn about how she became a hero as she awaits her Confirmation, you think you know where this story is going. You would be wrong.

Morríghan by Stacey Jaine McIntosh retells the King Arthur story from Morgan le Fey's POV and is reminiscent of Mists of Avalon, one of my all-time favorite books.

Aomedus Fell by Kathrin Hutson is wonderfully sardonic.  I mean, you have to love this kind of writing:

 Aomedus—goddess of independent thought and strength. She was only a replacement deity, having been created just a handful of centuries before. The Olympian gods had returned to their Mount long ago, when the fall of Greece had become an imminent tragedy.

April Reads

For the Most Beautiful: A Novel of the Trojan War by Emily Hauser

Synopsis:  The hidden tale of the Trojan War: a novel full of passion and revenge, bravery and sacrifice, now is the time for the women of Troy to tell their story.

Three thousand years ago a war took place where legends were born: Achilles, the greatest of the Greeks, and Hector, prince of Troy. Both men were made and destroyed by the war that shook the foundations of the ancient world.

But what if there was more to the tale of these heroes than we know? How would the Trojan War have looked as seen through the eyes of its women? Krisayis, the ambitious, determined daughter of the High Priest of Troy, and Briseis, loyal and passionate princess of Pedasus, interweave their tales alongside Homer’s classic story of the rage of Achilles and the gods of Olympus. What follows is a breathtaking tale of love and revenge, destiny and the determination, as these two brave women, the heroes of the Trojan War, and the gods themselves come face to face in an epic battle that will decide the fate of Troy.

A glorious debut full of passion and revenge, loyalty and betrayal, Emily Hauser breathes exhilarating new life into one of history's greatest legends.

My take: While I'm not sure this novel breathed new life into the legend as it claims, it was a fun read after I got over the anachronisms in writing style and a less than faithful interpretation of The Iliad.

I understand and admire the whole idea of giving voice to the Trojan women, particularly these two women upon whom many of the events of The Iliad turn, but about whom we have little insight in the original work. Hauser didn't need to do it, however, at the expense of changing things that didn't need to be changed to make the novel work. Like making Aeneas one of Priam's sons instead of the son of Aphrodite and Anchises, which sort of throws off the whole founding of Rome by escaping from Troy with his elderly father on his back. Nor were Patroclus and Paris the simpering fools she made them out to be, and Achilles was certainly not the sensitive new, age guy with a major character flaw. If you're not familiar with The Iliad, it might not bother you; if you are, it takes you out of the story as you scratch your head and wonder why. Taking the reader out of the story is never a good thing.

I thought Hauser did best when she stayed in Krisayis and Briseis's points of view. They lived and breathed .their world, and then they grew and moved beyond it. I also enjoyed how she slyly slipped Homer into the novel with the implication he might have changed the ending of the story to cover up his lover's escape from the doomed city.

I also liked the chapters told from the gods' point of view, because the Greek gods often were silly, vain, and petty. However as much as I liked those chapters, they didn't feel well-integrated into the book and I often interrupted the flow of the Krisayis/Briseis narrative.

Overall, it was a fun, fast read. It  prompted me to reread Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand, about Cassandra of Troy, which was not a bad thing.

Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life  by Sally Bedell Smith

Synopsis:  Prince Charles brings to life the real man, with all of his ambitions, insecurities, and convictions. It begins with his lonely childhood, in which he struggled to live up to his father’s expectations and sought companionship from the Queen Mother and his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten. It follows him through difficult years at school, his early love affairs, his intellectual quests, his entrepreneurial pursuits, and his intense search for spiritual meaning. It tells of the tragedy of his marriage to Diana; his eventual reunion with his true love, Camilla; and his relationships with William, Kate, Harry, and his grandchildren.

My take: Indulging myself with biographies of royals is a guilty pleasure. Moreover, I've always liked Prince Charles; probably because when I was a teenager, he was close enough to my age to be a poster boy. Later, I rather liked his devotion to Camilla, famously called the Rottweiler, even though he was married to a woman considered uber beautiful by the rest of the world. Yeah, he was a cheat, but you knew he couldn't be turned by a pretty face. So, I was pretty excited when this biography became available; because, admiration aside, most of my knowledge of PC came from reading biographies of other members of the royal family.

It says something that I ripped through the book in two days. Like it was interesting, maybe? I knew lots of bits and pieces, and this biography put them in a chronological order that provided a comprehensive and sympathetic portrayal of Prince Charles without trying to paper over his very obvious flaws.

Yes, Charles was the whinger everyone accused him of being.  Sometimes.  But by the end of the book, I found him to be an admirable person, someone I might want to know. He's pretty damn interesting, and he's accomplished a lot.  For example, 825,000 underprivileged students got their start in life via the Prince's Trust, including Idris Elba. Charles brought poetry and Shakespeare back into the English school system. He sounded the alarm on climate change before most people knew the word (and was considered a bit loony for doing so.) His organic gardens and farms are ahead of their time. Yes, he has had a fair number of losing projects as well. But you know, he could have just stayed in the palace eating bon-bons, so let's give the man a little credit. If that isn't enough, he looks down on Trump, and Trump doesn't want to meet with him when he goes to England to meet the Queen. So, two thumbs up for Prince Charles.

I recommend this book if you're looking for a biography of a complex man in a complex time.

The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Synopsis:  Blending archaeological fact and legend, the myths of the gods and the feats of heroes, Marion Zimmer Bradley breathes new life into the classic tale of the Trojan War-reinventing larger-than-life figures as living people engaged in a desperate struggle that dooms both the victors and the vanquished, their fate seen through the eyes of Kassandra-priestess, princess, and passionate woman with the spirit of a warrior.

My take:  An Iliad for women! This novel does what For the Most Beautiful does, but with gravitas.

I read this book when it first appeared in the 1980s, and it was a pleasure to read it again. So often books that engaged my younger self no longer satisfy my older incarnations. (Lookin' at almost every D.H. Lawrence novel.) This one remained interesting and engaging. I liked and still like the idea of re-interpreting the story through the eyes of the priestess Kassandra (Cassandra),

The story was inspired by and deviated substantially from the Kassandra mythos of The Illiad.  Unlike  For the Most Beautiful, the deviations moved the story forward in a way that could not have happened by close adherence to the original. It  maintained a ring of "truth" that  brought a Greek fable to life  and dispelled some of misogyny that is characteristic of Greek epics. Moreover, Bradley's take on the Amazons, Centaurs, and Achilles go a long way toward making myth seem more like history. With Firebrand and Mists of Avalon, MZB created some of the first kick-ass heroines who now dominate fantasy and dystopian literature today.

Be forewarned, however, both books celebrate the worship of the Divine Mother and are not overly tolerant of male gods, whether they be pagan (Firebrand) or Christian (Mists).

Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess Sally Bedell Smith

Synopsis:  For all that has been written about Diana--the books, the commemorative magazines, the thousands of newspaper articles--we have lacked a sophisticated understanding of the woman, her motivations, and her extreme needs. Most books have been exercises in hagiography or character assassination, sometimes both in the same volume. Sally Bedell Smith, the acclaimed biographer, former New York Times reporter, and Vanity Fair contributing editor, has written the first truly balanced and nuanced portrait of the Princess of Wales, in all her emotional complexity.

My take:  The hard-core Diana fans will not like this book as it opens some rather ugly doors about their beloved Princess. I felt compelled to read this book after reading the Prince Charles biography. Unlike many reviewers, I don't think Smith hated Diana; I think she felt sorry for her.

Having read a number of biographies about the late princess, I've come away with the idea of a woman who DID do many admirable things, but was seriously troubled. The interesting thing about this book for me was that it put together, in a very orderly fashion, both sides of Diana.

Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign by Jonathan Allen

Synopsis:  It was never supposed to be this close. And of course she was supposed to win. How Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump is the tragic story of a sure thing gone off the rails. For every Comey revelation or hindsight acknowledgment about the electorate, no explanation of defeat can begin with anything other than the core problem of Hillary's campaign--the candidate herself. . .

Moving blow-by-blow from the campaign's difficult birth through the bewildering terror of election night, Shattered tells an unforgettable story with urgent lessons both political and personal, filled with revelations that will change the way readers understand just what happened to America on November 8, 2016.

My take:  I, for one, sure wanted to know what happened. Although not a huge Hillary fan, she was more acceptable to me than the alternatives (as in Trump, most of the Republican candidates, and Bernie). Acceptable, but not a great generator of enthusiasm in moi or, it appears, a great many other people.

First of all, it's a fascinating read, although it lacks the insight and drama of Game Change, the book about the 2008 campaign. Nonetheless, I read the entire book on two flights between St. Louis and New York City (and while hanging around the airports lounges in both places.) The reviews, much like Hillary herself, are almost entirely on either end of the spectrum. You either loved it (33%) or hated it (34%). All the other reviews were kind of MEH!

At some point, after repeated statements that her speech writers never knew Hillary well enough to put inspiring words in her mouth, I started looking at her as a character in a novel. A protagonist, if you will. And what do we expect of a protagonist?

A memorable protagonist must touch on something a reader can identify with or be transfixed by.  A reader doesn't have to necessarily want to meet your main character or even like them, but they must want to read about them.

So,  I hearkened back to a dialog between me and my writing coach that occurred after the first draft of almost every scene. If Hillary was my protagonist, the conversation might go like this.

Coach: What does your character want?
Me: Easy. To be President.
Coach: That's her external goal. What's the deeper goal? Why does she want/need to be president?
Me: She never says. In fact, she goes to great lengths to hide that from everybody, except maybe Huma Abedin and Bill.
Coach: Does her short term goals conflict with her long term goals?
Me. Definitely. Can you say email scandal, Clinton foundation, and Wall Street speeches?
Coach: So is there conflict between what your character needs and what your character wants?
Me: Oh, yes, see the above.
Coach: So what is the deeper goal that she can't reach because of that conflict? And what is she going to do to change that?
Me: I got nothin', man!

And there you have it, Hillary Clinton is a protagonist that we don't know anything about except that she wants to be president and has some conflicts. That appears to be the way the campaign went as well. And to paraphrase agents rejecting manuscripts with ciphers as main characters, "the country couldn't summon sufficient enthusiasm . . ."

We might have the makings of a tragedy here.