The Heretic Queen

Why Did it have to end???

Oh, what a novel! I wish it had not come to an end. Every time I picked up the book to settle in for a read, I was swept into the world of Egypt with Pharaoh's and Warrior Queen's. I was impressed by Nefertiti, Michelle Moran's debut, but The Heretic Queen surpasses my admiration by far. Our story is told from a first person perspective straight from the mouth of Nefertari, beloved of Ramesses, and Warrior Queen of Egypt. From a child to a woman, as a reader you get to hold onto her tale. I giggled with her, and I became enraged at her enemies. I felt empathy for her situations and I praised her for her morality and decisions for love instead of revenge. Nefertari is one for the heart, she has gone in and is there to stay. I wish her story could continue, because I would just love to soak in more. Michelle has truly a winner on her hands here. It is one of those books that I doubt I will lend, because I just want to read it again (sorry, go buy your own!). It makes me think about so many things. Although, I do believe it is a fabulous novel and can be fully enjoyed on it's own, it does make me desire to go back and re-read Nefertiti, because I have know realized things that I have missed. Nefertiti and her Pharaoh left a legacy that was difficult if not impossible to follow for our dear Nefertari, but in this novel she is shown as a masterful work of beauty. She overcomes the 'sins of her fathers' and moves beyond. So many elements of historical value are found within these pages that I want to buy a textbook or book a plane trip to learn more. Michelle gives you just a taste and it is the teaser of the mind. She is an author to watch and look forward to for more, that can know go without having to be said. I cannot wait for Cleopatra's Daughter next year!

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Best Love Story I have ever read!!

I read this book in one sitting! I have read all of Moran's books and this one is my favorite. It is the best love story by far, in my opinion. This is the first book that I have ever read again once it was over. I have now have read it over eight times; I will never grow tired of it. I'll admit the beginning is slow but it's a spectacular read. I recomended this book to just about everyone one of my friends.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BOOK!!!

This book was so wonderful I couldn't put it down!! Such a love story and a book that describes the Exodus on different terms. I loved this book and the love story of a Pharaoh and his Queen. This author is fast becoming one of my top favorites. Michelle Moran has me hooked!!! The Egyptian history that the author intertwines is fantastic. Any history buff like myself would get hooked by this book. Actually it was two different love stories happening at the same time. I was so impressed after I finished I wanted more and looked online to see what else this wonderful author had written.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Emotionally Gripping

This book was even better than Michelle Moran's first, Nefertiti. The relationship depicted between Ramesses and Nefertari is very beautiful and epic. Their love is filled with a sense of urgency and confusion as they attempt to navigate their feelings for one another in the midst of the important business of Ramesses declaring a Chief wife who will be politically viable for him. I found myself so wrapped up in Nefer's feelings that I was dying to be able to read faster almost the entire times. I felt the feelings of frustration and urgency that she felt. I also thought it was interesting how Moran briefly touched on the Hebrew people's request to leave Egypt, drawing on historical facts about a group called the Habiru who lived in Egypt around this time period.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

LOVED IT!

This book may easily be my favorite book! I couldn't put it down and finished it in three days! I was actually sad when this book was over, I wanted to keep reading it! Will definitely come back for more Michelle Moran books! Absolutely read this and Nefertiti!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran is just as good as her novel Nefertit! I love this book so much, and it has made it into my top ten favorite books list! I definitely reccommend this book to anyone who loves Egypt, but I suggest you read Nefertiti first so you understand the reasons behind Nefertari's struggles.

I love how Moran put together the whole Egyptian world of this book even though some of the events are not completely historically accurate. It is great how she put together the story from her own interpretations of Egyptian art and stories that she has heard, and from what I can tell, this book follows the time line of Egypt very well.

What I also liked about this book was all of the history that I learned! I did know some of it, but I learned a lot about the gods and the different roles at the Egyptian court.

The story flowed at a steady pace, and there was always something going on. There were never any boring parts! I suppose one event towards the end of the book was quite sudden, but I suppose that is the nature of such events. I won't tell you what happened so it doesn't ruin anything!

I immediately felt connected to the character Nefertari because Moran described everything so well. She gave Nefertari a definite voice just as she did with the characters in Nefertiti. She also did a wonderful job with depicting Ramesses. I did not always like him at times, but I can see why he is called Ramesses the Great. He seemed very charismatic and he was a great war leader. Everything that Moran wrote about Nefertari's and Ramesses's relationship seems to be very accurate, too. At the end of the Author's Note, Moran states that Ramesess really was truely in love with Nefertari, for in her tomb he had inscribed, "My love is unique and none can rival her... Just by passing she has stolen away my heart." How romantic! I love it.


Five stars out of five!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another winner from Michelle Moran

Moran has done it again. Another glorious trip to Egypt. Another fictional sneak peak into an ancient dynasty. And this time, she has created a lovely character in Nefertari. Unlike Nefertiti and Mutny, who grew up with respect as daughters of one of the most powerful families in Egypt, Nefertari now finds that same lineage to be a source of unspeakable shame. Nefertiti's memory is reviled by the people of Egypt for her heretical ways. Her family's names and images have been wiped from the record. We learn at the outset that many of the characters we came to love in Nefertiti met with a tragic end, and now young Nefertari is orphaned and alone. an unwanted princess in a usurper's court. We also quickly come to realize that Nefertari is as guileless as Nefertiti was pretentious. Nefertari is one of the most thoroughly sympathetic characters I've encountered in quite some time. Readers can't help but cheer for her victories, ache for her defeats and respect her unselfish decisions. This time however, Moran's other characters are not quite so well-developed or diverse as they were in Nefertiti. For instance, Asha is set forth in chapter one as one of both Ramesses' and Nefertari's closest friends. and while he remains present and relevant to the story throughout, we never really learn anything about him. He represents one in a handful of characters that just wasn't fleshed out as satisfyingly as I would have hoped.

The plot, likewise, fell just a little short of the standard set in Nefertiti. While full again of love, loss and court intrigue, it somehow doesn't feel quite as thorough and sweeping as Nefertiti. That said, The Heretic Queen is still compulsively readable and takes readers everywhere from ancient birthing pavilions to battles with pirates on the banks of the Nile to the inner sanctum of ancient temples. The love story between Nefertari and Ramesses is touching.

Even Moses turns up in fictional form in the character of Ahmoses. and it is Nefertari who hears his petitions for the freedom of his people in what amounts to an interesting historical sidebar. You just can't help but be swept up in this book almost as completely as in Nefertiti. And while it stands alone on it's own story-telling merit, there are just enough references to Moran's first book to delight fans. (For instance, those of you have read both will understand when I say that I almost cheered aloud when I found out why Rahotep's eye was perpetually red.) These references, however, are not so heavy-handed as to put readers who haven't read Nefertiti at a disadvantage. Another tantalizing aspect of this novel is that it ends with so much of Pharaoh Ramesses' long reign as yet untouched. The Heretic Queen only takes us to the point when Ramesses makes Nefertari his chief wife. There is a whole lifetime that comes after that! Will Moran revisit Ramesses and Nefertari's life together in future books? We'll just have to wait and see.

It goes without saying that the setting is just as glorious in The Heretic Queen as it was in Nefertiti. Moran's talent for bringing ancient Egypt to life is nothing short of spectacular. The writing style is just a rich and readable as that of Moran's first book and she has proven here her ability to come up with equally complex but completely fresh characters.

The Bottom Line: Another must-read for historical fiction lovers from an immensely talented writer.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved it!!!

I absolutely loved this book! I read Nefertiti and couldn't put it down and this one was the same way. Even though it is a fiction piece you can tell Michelle Moran went to great lengths to capture a part of history that has been painted and sculpted across Egypt. I love how it has a lot of factual elements that I've learned about but still has the intriguing elements of creativity that draw the reader in with each page turn. I really enjoyed the explanation at the end of what is fact and what in creative conjecture. The glossary was also very helpful while reading. I can't wait to read Cleopatra's Daughter next!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Phenomenal

Michelle Moran is a recent addition to my ever-growing arsenal of historical fiction. I have always had a fascination for ancient Egyptian culture, so this novel comes as a welcome breeze amongst the Tudor-histories that are becoming the overwhelming majority for this genre. While I'm a big Gregory fan, Moran's writing style suits even the most non-academic reader while still doing the historical truths behind her narrative justice. While most historical fiction authors choose to narrate the lives of well known monarchs and world leaders, Moran narrates through the eyes of those around the mighty and powerful. Truthfully, Moran's knowledge of ancient cultures and the research done in preparation for these novels make all three novels exceptional. Start with "Nefertiti", then "The Heretic Queen", and finally "Cleopatra's Daughter." My only regret is that there are as of yet only three novels. I assure you that they're quite addicting. Enjoy!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Enjoyable read.

Nefertari born a princess, was cursed by the blood of her ancestors. Nefertiti, Mutnodjmet, and a long list of her family were all killed in a mysterious fire, but within the pages of The Heretic Queen, the mystery will be uncovered. Nefertari was the wild child, not suitable enough to be Chief Wife, plus another woman has taken the title of princess from the man she has loved since she was a child. A sabbatical to the priestess temple for a year would change everything. With the help of very strong allies, Nefertari would soon become a young woman that will capture the Pharaoh, Ramsesses¿s heart. She must continually fight for her position in the palace, and she must contend with women that want her gone. A battle between Ramsesses¿s other wife Iset, and the High Priestess of Isis seems that it will never end. Nefertari must rise above all of this childish behavior and show Ramsesses that she can be the Queen of all Egypt. But the people are not so welcoming, the still believe the blood of her heretic family runs in her veins and that they¿re all doomed to death. Nefertari is blamed for the death of the first son born to Ramsesses, blamed for the four year drought, and for anything else that is ¿rumored¿ about her. She must be strong, and in the end, the truth will prevail. A love triangle, deceit, betrayal, and romance are woven into the novel, The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran. This is the second book by Ms. Moran and where I felt like the first was lacking, this one more than made up for it. I still have issues with the dialect, but this was a much more interesting and exciting read for me. I would consider this a great read for those out there that like the historical type romances, but don¿t think that it is a novel that will transport you back into that time period with the spoken words, but the details and events are meticulously planned out and that made it very enjoyable. 4.5 Hearts

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another great read

This was just as great of a read as Nefertiti. Moran did a great job of combining fact with fiction in this book.

Fantastic book. I couldn't put it down! I found myself staying u

Fantastic book. I couldn't put it down! I found myself staying up much later than I needed to reading this book.

Great book

I love Michelle Moran's writing. So much drama. I got hooked on this entire Egyptian series of novels. You need to read all three.

Loved it.

Loved it.

Great!!

Great read. Historical fiction at its best. Easy to follow and hadd me hooked from the first paragrapgh. Great story line.

Amazing book!!!!!!!!

It was a really good story and i loved how everything came together at the end.

Such an amazing book!

This book easily makes my top ten favorite books. It never stopped being exciting, and Moran made me wish I was Nefertari. I read it almost from start to finish I loved it so much. Those who love histoical fiction, romance, or strong female characters should read this!

Excellent historical novel set in ancient Egypt

Beginning Moran's second novel I wondered if she would be able to repeat the magic of Nefertiti and give us a different book at the same time. I hoped she would and fortunately she did. Reading the first chapter of this book is like stepping through a gateway between time and place and ending up in ancient Egypt, not a foreigner to whom everything is explained but an observer who doesn't require any special treatment. This is one of the reasons I like Moran's books - there's no explaining. She knows that the readers will make intuitive leaps, they'll understand things from context and there's no need to document every breath.
Nefertati is a very interesting character in that her struggle for a place in the royal dynasty happens when she's not even 17 years old but she is no longer a child. She is intelligent, honest, hard-working, loyal and admirably courageous. She makes difficult decisions and she doesn't complain when things are hard. It would be so easy for her to become bitter and angry when everybody seems to be against her, when her enemies are too strong and dangerous and when the people won't accept her but she retains her kindness and compassion and keeps going, becoming only more determined as she moves towards her goals.
The secondary characters are very interesting as well and I grew fond of Nefertari's friends and teachers. They are kind but don't let things go to her head and they complement her very nicely. One might argue that the characters are too one-dimensional in their being either good or evil but somehow they never feel that way. There's always humanity in Iset, Rahotep and even Henuttawi while Merit, Paser and Woserit have their own demons to fight. You just know that things aren't all that simple.
I really enjoyed watching the relationship between Nefertari and Ramesses unfold. They started out as friends, then fell in love and married and theirs was a true partnership of two like minds working to achieve the same goals. Things weren't easy for them but they were in it together and reading about them was so pleasant, especially when outside of their chambers the court was so full of intrigue and deceit. The court intrigues are really the only thing that soured the experience for me (I don't like the politics that come with life at the very top) but without it all the story wouldn't have been realistic so I suppose we couldn't have done without them.
One of my favorite messages in this book is that intelligence is more valuable than the most dazzling good looks. As Nefertari said "Her beauty might fascinate men, but it was difficult to charm them when she stood mute..." I think that in today's culture that's all about beauty and youth we often forget that a pretty face isn't everything.
If you like a well-written historical novel that's told in a clear, simple and warm voice but is never dull I think you'll enjoy this book.

Did not fulfill my expectations.

Preview on back of book made it sound like "the most famous exodus in history" would be covered but was not. That was why I bought the book and was greatly disapointed. It was almost like false advertisment. I did enjoyed 'Nefertiti' and 'Cleopatra's Daughter'

Good Book

If you enjoy historical fiction you will like this book.