- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (Mar 1 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0765303957
- ISBN-13: 978-0765303950
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 14.9 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 445 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,190,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In her latest stirring historical fantasy, Tarr (Pride of Kings, etc.) explores the tantalizing relationship between the macho Alexander the Great, hero of her 1993 novel, Lord of the Two Lands, and Hippolyta, the sensuous queen of the Amazons. When Hippolyta, ruler of the fabled female warriors of Greek lore, gives birth to her firstborn, the baby girl is soulless. The Amazon clan's children call the beautiful but empty infant "Etta" ("that thing"), because she can't be officially named until she has a soul. Hippolyta believes one will eventually possess her child's body and declares Etta royal heiress, outraging some of the tribe, especially her jealous cousin, Phaedra, who vows vengeance when she is exiled. The arrival of Alexander of Macedon in Persia leads Hippolyta, driven by the Goddess, to challenge him to a fateful fight that leaves her daughter in Alexander's world but with a higher destiny still in the cards. The soul that Etta receives through a magical transference after she grows to adulthood is unlikely to come as a surprise ("The soul has no gender"), though it provides a cool twist on the classical legend. Tarr's fluid plotting and careful research will keep readers intrigued despite her deceptively simplistic and, at times, workmanlike prose.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Tarr's gift for combining her own brand of magical fantasy with fully drawn, compelling characters acting within the framework of history bears fruit again in this novel set during the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian warrior who claimed divine patriarchal lineage. Drawing on the legend that Amazonian Queen Hippolyta traveled far to look upon the conqueror from the West when he came to Zadrakarta in Persia, Tarr creates an epic that sweeps readers from the camp of the Amazons with Selene, niece of a blind seer and guardian of Hippolyta's soulless daughter, into an action-packed, adventure-filled, sometimes bloody voyage to the court of the first conqueror of the known world. Tarr's meticulous research ensures the verisimilitude needed to realistically anchor her liberties with recorded history; so detailed are her descriptions of tools, weapons, clothing, and the stuff of everyday life, including such predators as wild boars, that readers effortlessly enter a fantasy world seamlessly constructed from anthropological and archeological verities. Sure to please established fans and win new ones. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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First Sentence
The queen's daughter lay in her cradle. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The queen's daughter lay in her cradle. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Seek out a copy of "Lord Of The Two Lands" instead!,
By
This review is from: Queen of the Amazons (Hardcover)
When I heard that Judith Tarr was writing another book involving Alexander the Great, I eagerly awaited its publication. Instead I found it a huge disappointment!! I enjoyed much of her first book about Alexander, "Lord Of The Two Lands", but her latest book is a sorry conclusion to her Alexander story. Her writing style comes across as forced and awkward, and the surprise twist that occurs two/thirds of the way through just made me groan and want to throw the book to the side. (Even though I saw that 'surprise' coming after the first few chapters, I had hoped I would be wrong and it would turn out to be a TRUE surprise, but no such luck!). I found this to be a ridiculous attempt at Alexander fiction, and such a great historical figure deserves better than to be such an insignificant character and no more than a goofy plot device. Skip this one and seek out her first Alexander novel for a much better read.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bleeecccch !,
By
This review is from: Queen of the Amazons (Hardcover)
Before buying consider your position on romance novels because my library has this appropriately categorized with other romance novels such as "kiss in the night". Awful, awful book.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Such a waste of time!!,
By Jay (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Queen of the Amazons (Hardcover)
If a new author had been trying to get this book published they would not have succeeded. It's only because Judith Tarr is firmly established in the biz that "Queen of the Amazons" made it to print. It's quite dreadful and tedious, and not up to her usual quality. I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never did. To fans of Alexander the Great, BEWARE! He is only a very minor character, and what Tarr does to his character just past mid-way is one of the silliest things I have read in fiction in many years. It had me rolling my eyes and groaning. I nearly didn't finish the book because of it, and I really wish I hadn't finished, as the ending was rushed and chopped off and not worth the journey there. I hate to think of all the talented new writers of Alexander fiction who just can't get a break from publishers because those publishers are content with churning out junk like this and unwilling to take a chance on someone untested.For much better Alexander the Great/historical fiction, check out Mary Renault's books. You won't be disappointed.
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