An epic tale of ancient civilizations that, despite a slow start, proves thoroughly captivating.
Nixon’s debut historical novel follows warriors banding together against an empire in the midst of the Late Bronze Age’s collapse.
In Anatolia (modern day Turkey), circa 1195 B.C.E., the immensely powerful Hittite Empire has been “stealing” land. Not long after the fall of Troy, representatives from surrounding regions, including Lukka and Arzawa, gather troops and form an alliance. They plan to storm the Empire’s heavily fortified capital city of Hattusa. The diabolical king, Suppiluliuma II, gets wind of the attack and flees with his court and the queen; that’s not surprising, as earlier threats have twice forced the royals to relocate the capital. Several prisoners escape as well, most notably Diomedes, the former king of a major city in Hellas (Greece). He meets and befriends the “conglomerate forces,” most of whom head north, anticipating a conflict with not-exactly-trustworthy allies: the “war-loving” Kaska from northern Anatolia. Diomedes, instead, goes after Suppiluliuma, who killed his comrades and his childhood friend. He’s joined by Eruthros, another former Hellenic king, and Kabi, a highly skilled scout. As the king is surrounded by elite, much-feared bodyguards, Diomedes believes the best way to get at Suppiluliuma is to somehow make contact with Queen Lieia-Hepa. Diomedes and friends ultimately wind up in the company of a motley assortment of characters, including Shipibaal, an envoy hailing from the Syrian coast; Henti, a translator (of multiple languages) and “former harem girl”; and Mahhuzzi, Suppiluliuma’s advisor and cousin. To protect the people he’s grown close to, Diomedes is faced with a potential harrowing journey into the Underworld.
There’s no question that Nixon has done meticulous research in piecing together this epic, which is the first installment in a series. He seamlessly mingles fictional and historical characters who are, from the beginning, immersed in a world with a densely-packed backstory, and the dialogue is interwoven with clearly-marked passages that quote or paraphrase real-world (English-translated) ancient texts. But the massive cast initially bogs down the narrative, which references a surfeit of character and region names, varieties of languages spoken, and gods. This comes at the expense of action: When Eruthros tells of Troy’s destruction, Diomedes constantly interrupts to mention various dialects and Greek gods, leaving Eruthros’ description of the battle as little more than, “We attacked and they attacked.” The story does eventually pick up as seemingly minor characters become more integral to the plot, including Lieia-Hepa, who shocks the king when she publicly predicts the fall of the Hittite Empire. Not every character is easily defined; some, for example, side with villains but aren’t necessarily villainous. The pacing in the latter portions of the novel improves—there’s an exhilarating scene of combat, and several characters land in peril. There are even instances of romance that offer a welcome reprieve from the book’s generally darker tone (although couples fall for one another a bit too quickly). The engrossing final act leads to an ending that deftly sets the stage for a sequel. An epic tale of ancient civilizations that, despite a slow start, proves thoroughly captivating.Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 9781778297724
Page Count: 438
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Fans of Stockett’s bestselling debut will love this engaging follow-up.
Stockett heads to Mississippi for another historical novel about feisty women.
This time, perhaps recalling criticisms of cultural appropriation in The Help (2009), she sticks to feisty white women, with one exception. The setting is Oxford in 1933. For two miserable years, 11-year-old Meg has lived in “the Orphan,” a county asylum for parentless girls. Chairlady Garnett—a villain so one-note she’d twirl a mustache if she had one—makes it her mission to ostracize the older girls she deems unadoptable, stigmatizing them as offspring of the “feebleminded” mothers who abandoned them. She particularly has it in for smart, sassy Meg, who refuses to believe her mother’s mysterious disappearance was deliberate. Elsewhere in Oxford, Birdie Calhoun comes to visit her sister Frances, who married a wealthy banker, to ask for money on behalf of their mother and grandmother back in Footely. Frances isn’t thrilled by this reminder of her impoverished small-town origins. But she’s trying to climb up in Oxford society by volunteering at the Orphan, the asylum’s books need to be done before the state inspector shows up in a few weeks, and Birdie is a bookkeeper. Having neatly arranged to keep Birdie in town and draw these two storylines together, Stockett goes on to spin a compulsively readable yarn with enough plot for a half-dozen novels. Birdie and Meg become friends, Meg is adopted despite Garnett’s best efforts, Meg’s mother turns up at the Orphan demanding to know where her child is—and that’s less than a quarter of the way through a long, winding narrative that keeps piling on more dramatic developments until all loose ends are neatly, if hastily, wrapped up in the final pages. Stockett might be making a point about Southern women facing facts and standing up for themselves, but mostly this is just a satisfyingly twisty tale that should make a great miniseries.
Fans of Stockett’s bestselling debut will love this engaging follow-up.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9781954118812
Page Count: 656
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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