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Review: The Heretic Queen, by Michelle Moran


The Heretic Queen is Michelle Moran’s follow-up novel to Nefertiti. Fifteen years after Nefertiti leaves off, Nefertari, daughter to Mutnodjmet, has a hard legacy to live down: she’s the neice of Nefertiti and Akhenaten, and her reputation is tarnished by association. Thirteen-year-old Nerfertari nevertheless becomes the wife of Ramesses the Great, sometimes at odd with his other wife, Iset.

I thought the story was good; very good, in fact. But I felt that something was missing; the tension in this novel is sadly not as great as that which is in Nefertiti. There’s no real conflict here. Also, I had a bit of a problem with timeline issues: Nefertiti was actually set eighty years before The Heretic Queen, not fifteen or twenty.

Still, I was fascinated by Nefertari’s story—she and Ramesses had a very long, happy life together (and Ramesses lived into his nineties, almost unheard-of back then). I’d love to see sequel novel featuring the two of them. The Heretic Queen is a quick, easy read, and I was entertained overall by the story.

Also reviewed by: Becky's Book Reviews
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Comments

Passages to the Past said…
Nice review Katherine! I enjoy Michelle Moran's novels very much and am also excited about her new one! I do agree that Nefertiti was the better of the two, but they were both fantastic!
February 25, 2009 at 8:54 AM
Anonymous said…
I've been looking for an easy read (I've been having SUCH a hard time finding time to read lately...) and this looks like a great suggestion. Thanks for the review!
February 25, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Alaine said…
I have just finished Nefertiti and have Heretic Queen on my TBR. Will have to move it up a bit.
February 25, 2009 at 3:40 PM
Michelle said…
Glad to know you liked the books. I have both on reserve to read myself. Thanks for the review!di
February 25, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Passages to the Past said…
Stop on by my blog and pick up an award!
February 26, 2009 at 8:33 AM
Anna said…
I loved both books, and can't wait for Moran's upcoming novel. Thanks for the review!

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
February 28, 2009 at 8:48 AM
S. Krishna said…
Thanks for the review. I enjoyed this one as well.
February 28, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Danielle said…
I liked her first book and have this one to read as well. This is definitely a period I don't read much about, but it's really fascinating.
February 28, 2009 at 3:53 PM
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