I love used book sales. Last summer, I discovered a real winner: BLACK SHIPS by Jo Graham. I just got to read it now, and discovered a surprise halfway through. Someone had tucked a postcard there. It proclaimed the book to be an advanced copy, and the reviewer was supposed to send the card back to Hachette Book Group with his/her comments. Well, they didn’t…so I will. Since I already review books for numerous publishers, I decided to do the same for BLACK SHIPS.
The novel takes place around 1200 B. C., and is a retelling of the Trojan Wars. Fantasy and history mingle for a tantalizing ride across the ancient world. A girl named Gull is born to a slave mother, but when a cart rolls over her foot, she becomes too crippled to work. To give her a place in life, her mother gives her to Pythia, the Lady of the Dead. Gull is renamed Linnea. Pythia realizes that Gull/Linnea has the sight, and so Gull becomes the new Pythia years later. When her mother’s people come to the lands seeking revenge for the wars that destroyed their home, Gull goes with them. The rest of the story involves her journey with Prince Aeneas.
I highly recommend this book to lovers of history, fantasy, and the ancient world.
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