Judith Starkston has spent too much time exploring the remains of the ancient worlds of the Greeks and Hittites. Their myths and clashes inspire her fiction and open gates to magical realms. She has degrees in Classics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Cornell. She loves myths and telling stories, and her novels imbue fantasy with the richness of ancient worlds. The first book in her Trojan Threads Series, Hand of Fire was a semi-finalist for the M.M. Bennett’s Award for Historical Fiction. Priestess of Ishana, the first in her historical fantasy Tesha series, won the San Diego State University Conference Choice Award. Judith is represented by Richard Curtis.
You might remember my post about the Trojan War mosaic found in a Roman villa in England not so long ago. If you are a fan of mosaics, Roman Britain, the Iliad, or history and archaeology in general, you’ll love this update and its excellent video display of each of the mosaic’s panels.
With The Hidden Palace, follow-up to her historical fantasy The Golem and the Jinni, Wecker returned with a layered novel of many complex characters, including even richer developments of the golem and jinni, completely intriguing magical beings. Here’s my review of this enticing book.
The location of Cleopatra’s tomb is a longstanding mystery. Is a determined archaeologist narrowing in on uncovering this famed secret or should she appreciate a newly uncovered engineering marvel for its own sake?
In honor of Thanksgiving in the U.S. I’m sharing some very old recipes kept on clay tablets. Have fun watching the recreation of these Babylonian dishes.
In this 100th year since the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, here’s a good answer to that burning question, “Why did Tut have so much more treasure than any of the other Pharaohs?” It’s way beyond escaping the usual plundering.
A museum’s limestone stela, which functioned as an Egyptian sacred portal or false door, hides a more complicated history than it appears, quite beyond its unusual dedication to a woman. Artifacts have both the history of their origins and the tale of their passage through the ages.
I’m sharing the Bookseller’s interview with Natalie Haynes about her new novel Stone Blind. If you enjoy feminist tellings of Greek myth and sharp-witted humor, this is for you, I suspect. Check it out.
In Syria, archaeologists uncovered a magnificently detailed mosaic depicting the Trojan War, Neptune and Hercules. I’m less thrilled than those quoted in the press because–well, the artist’s choice of subject does matter. But Hercules has some gorgeous muscles. Here’s my view.
Here’s my review of a quirky time-slip novel set in Egypt. A modern tourist tumbles into the ancient world and along with a cat-headed girl assists a mummy–and herself–to find happiness.
On my blog, an interview with Simon Rose about Revenge of the Witchfinder, 3rd bk in his Stone of the Seer series, historical fantasy for young adults.
