Nicholas Guild

The Assyrian is the first of a two-part series about Tiglath Ashur, the son of Sennacherib, who ruled as king of Assyria from 705–681 BC, Assyria's Golden Age. This hefty book begins with Tiglath's birth to a Greek concubine in Nineveh, where as a child he narrowly escapes from castration (apparently Assyrian kings would thin their herd of sons by castrating a good number of male children). From this moment on, Tiglath becomes a favorite in the eyes of the king. He trains as a soldier and leads many military campaigns against various enemies of his father the king. The battle scenes are grisly and vividly written, but pale in comparison against the horrific torture scenes. The overthrown King of Babylon and his immediate family meets a gruesome end in the streets of Nineveh, where their executioners are cheered on by a bloodthirsty crowd. I remember from my high school history class that the Assyrians were a violent and warmongering people, but this novel really brought new meaning to those words.

During the time I spent reading this book, I took numerous breaks to research Assyria. As stated above, King Sennacherib was a real person who was succeeded by his son Esarhaddon after meeting his end in a mysterious assassination. While many of the details of this ancient kingdom have been lost to time, Nicholas Guild rises to the occasion and has written a beautiful book that uses what little we do know about the Assyrians to imagine an incredible adventure story. His attention to historical detail is impressive. For example, the nobles of Assyria studied Sumerian in the same way that educated elite study Latin. During Tiglath's time in school, he learns to read and write Sumerian. The Bronze Age truly comes to life under Guild's pen.

I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of the sequel, [b:The Blood Star|1539841|The Blood Star|Nicholas Guild|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1289952740s/1539841.jpg|1532017]!… (mehr)

The Blood Star begins exactly where its predecessor, The Assyrian ends (this is probably obvious, but if you have not read the first book in the series, you must read it first!). I ordered a copy of this book the day I finished The Assyrian as I was eager to continue reading about Tiglath Ashur, our hero. I was not disappointed. With an antiquated writing style, Nicholas Guild thrusts his reader back into the ancient world - it is the Golden Age of Assyria, but we do not return to Assyria until the end of the book. We follow Tiglath from the land where the Tigris and the Euphrates meet, around the Arabian peninsula, to the rich Phoenician cities and to a crumbling Egypt (how incredible to think that at this time, Egypt was already an ancient civilization with its glory days far in the past). We are taken to Greece and to Sicily, which is rugged and undeveloped, and finally back to Assyria, where the series comes to a thundering conclusion that does not disappoint.

Together, The Assyrian and The Blood Star are masterpieces of historical fiction. I will definitely be looking for more of Guild's work.… (mehr)