Description
From the lands of Sumer and Babylon … lands that birthed writing, the first author, and the first epic story.
Mesopotamia, 2300 BC.
Sargon is reveling in a casual banquet days before he is to be crowned king of kings, when the court jester steps forward and recites a song (“Genesis” Sumerian style) that is fiercely denounced as blasphemy by a priest, and the cheerful feast turns into a gory scene.
It is a bad omen for Sargon who anticipated a smooth transition to power, only to be embroiled in a chain of bloody events that spiral out of control, inciting many of the city-states he rules to the verge of rebellion.
Adding to anarchy is a host of unsavory characters with deadly grudges and ambitions for power.
The paranoid king knows that this most ancient of civilizations, despite its cultural advances, also provided a fertile ground for savagery which always promised a most ugly fate for leaders who lose their battles.
My thoughts
This is difficult because I don’t like giving poor feedback. The premise intrigued me and although there was a warning that people with religious beliefs might not want to read it, what should also have been mentioned was the amount of sex, sexual violence, and sadism in the content.
Perhaps the ending was fabulous, but I don’t know because I was unable to finish the book.
Two stars for a clever premise but the story was completely overshadowed by the above.
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