A thrillingly imaginative reinvention of imperial Rome that’s full of suspense and moral drama.
A work of historical fiction, set in the first century, dramatizes the life of Locusta of Gaul, a woman famed for being a skilled poisoner of thousands.
Locusta, whom her father calls the “most beautiful woman in Gaul,” is promised in marriage to the wealthy Faustinus—a prospect that initially delights her. But when she meets him in person, she discovers an ugly, coarse old man who’s capable of unspeakable cruelty; before they’re married, he brutally rapes her. Pricilla, Locusta’s servant and best friend, uses her knowledge of herbal poisons to murder Faustinus in revenge. Pricilla then becomes Locusta’s mentor, teaching her not only which flowers have “lethal seeds, and which deadly blooms,” but also the ways to prudently navigate a “poison-filled world.” The servant counsels and warns simultaneously: “Knowledge of deadly plants is the worst kind….It will end all innocence—shine a light on your soul—make you see the dark workings of your mind and heart—make you question the truths you cling to.” Locusta is sent to Rome to petition Emperor Claudius on behalf of her father, Quintus Metallus Parisii, a vintner who’s dangerously behind on his taxes. Once there, she’s drawn into the dangerous world of political intrigue and compelled to conspire against Claudius. Bardot (Dragon Lady, 2019, etc.) spins a grippingly dark tale about Locusta’s life as an “assassin and peddler of poison” in the service of Claudius’ successor, Emperor Nero, a truly twisted man. The author masterfully portrays the vicious contests for power that characterized Roman politics at the time and the lurid manner in which such political ambition combined with more carnal longings. As Locusta learns from Pricilla about the plight of women in a world dominated by men, readers get the remarkable perspective of a woman who’s vulnerable but resilient.
A thrillingly imaginative reinvention of imperial Rome that’s full of suspense and moral drama.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9882092-9-9
Page Count: 474
Publisher: Flores Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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