THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR

by Rosemary Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1972

The series that began with such fresh promise in The Moon in the Cloud and proceeded disappointingly in The Shadow on the Sun (both 1970) becomes bogged down here in a ceremonious recitation of maternal devotion and palace intrigue. Thamar, wife of Reuben who is now Prince of Canaan, takes her ""afflicted son"" Sadhi (he is deaf, dumb and unmanageable) to be cured in Kemi (Egypt). There the Chief Royal Architect, also a physician, performs a Miracle Worker's feat on the child, but in the interval the good king Merenkere's power is briefly usurped by an evil priest who uses the vain Prince Sinuhe and psychically abuses the Princess Ta-Thata. The only echo of the initial volume's lightness of tone is provided by Reuben's posturing talking cat Cefalu, who it must be said has become rather tiresome with age. Even readers predisposed to total immersion in ancient solemnity will find some cracks in the illusion: Merenkere is as kind and scrupulous a ruler as any democracy dreamed of, and both royal couples are anachronistically if not superhumanly faithful and devoted. Toward the end Ta-Thata and Reuben's oldest son become romantically attached, suggesting that the whole chronicle could go on and on. . . but we have Ms. Harris's word that this is the last volume in a trilogy.

Pub Date: April 1, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1972

Categories: FICTION