Like Mayflies in a Stream [Hardcover]

Shauna Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2009

In the great city of Uruk, there is no peace when Gilgamesh is restless, and he is never at rest. Shamhat, a priestess of Inanna, goes into the wilderness to find and civilize a match for Uruk's violently active God-King. Like Mayflies in a Stream brings new life to the Epic of Gilgamesh, diving into one of the earliest conflicts between civilization and wilderness, civic order and freedom, romance and sexuality. A book of the Hadley Rille Books Archaeology Series.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Like Mayflies in a Stream is fast-paced, crisp and vivid from the outset, depicting events, characters and scenes (particularly battle scenes) with a visceral and almost cinematographic style. ... Despite the entertaining narrative, Like Mayflies in a Stream is based on historical scholarship that encompasses the greater cultural landscape of Sumer and its people's lifestyles. In particular, the novel addresses the difficulties facing women. ... it's a rattling good yarn with characters we care for in situations that make us feel for them." --HerStoria magazine

"I was caught in the flow of the narrative. Roberts realizes her players well, showing multiple sides to mythic characters, and the details she puts into this historical re-imagining of "The Epic of Gilgamesh" really bring the story to life. ... The emotional and political twists and turns are best experienced firsthand. I recommend this novel for both its fast pacing and insightfulness, as well as for its historical grounding, and I look forward to more from Hadley Rille Books' Archaeology Series." --GUD Magazine

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Hadley Rille Books (October 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982514018
• ISBN-13: 978-0982514016
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,557,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Shauna Roberts (1956-) was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in nearby Beavercreek. Since receiving degrees in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), she has been a science and medical writer and copyeditor. Currently a resident of California, she also writes historical fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. She is a 2009 graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop and was the 2011 winner of the Speculative Literature Foundation's Older Writer Grant.

Readers, please be aware that the fantasy novel Twisted Fate: Heather and Andon, published by the vanity press Publish America and credited to Shauna Roberts, is NOT by the multi-award-winning writer Shauna Roberts, whose author page this is.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Fiction at its Best November 4, 2009

By William Hammett

Format:Paperback

Shamhat is one the strongest female protagonists you will find in a book of fiction, but she isn't a child of the sixties or a modern feminist. She is a priestess and servant of the goddess Inanna, tending to her temple duties in Mesopotamia in 2800 BCE. In Shauna Roberts' LIKE MAYFLIES IN A STREAM, Shamhat struggles to preserve faithfulness to her goddess, a task that conflicts with the personality of King Gilgamesh, who focuses on lust and feats of strength rather than the good of his people.

Shamhat's conflict results from two dreams, one received by Inanna's chief priest, Nanna-Ur-Sag, and another, one received by Gilgamesh himself. From his dream, Nanna-Ur-Sag believes that a powerful man from the desert is destined to restore order, balance, and justice to Uruk. Gilgamesh, on the other hand, believes that a powerful man from the desert is destined to be the one companion strong enough to complete his restless and reckless personality.

A wild man, Enkidu, indeed lives in the desert, but to lure him into the city--Shamhat's mission as dictated by Gilgamesh--the priestess must lose the trappings of her holy office and use her highly advanced sexual artifice, usually used only on a sacredd feast day of Inanna, to humanize Enkidu and convince him to journey from the desert to the city. If she is successful, however, will Enkidu fulfill the vision of Gilgamesh's dream, or that of Nanna-Ur Sag's?

A lesser writer might well have lost the narrative structure of such a novel in trying to execute a plot faithful to ancient Sumerian customs and terminology. Roberts, a PhD in anthropology with a longstanding interest in the history of the Near East, smoothly incorporates her knowledge of ancient culture into the epic struggle of a swaggering king and a priestess attempting to keep her dignity and oaths while mediating a battle between the earth and the heavens.

The novel will appeal to those who love both adventure and historical fiction. At a deeper level, the book is a fascinating and detailed character study of Shamhat as she uses humility and resolve, not combat, to retain her inner strength and core values while trying to save an entire city. LIKE MAYFLIES IN A STREAM (Hadley Rille Books, 2009) is an archaeologically-accurate novel that frames contemporary questions and struggles within ancient Mesopotamia. Roberts' choice of time and place proves that the tension between integrity and power is a universal and ongoing conflict that lies at the heart of all human struggle, and, more importantly, human growth.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking Historical Fiction January 2, 2010

By Farrah Roybiskie

Format:Hardcover

Years ago, while in college, I was required to read The Epic of Gilgamesh for Freshmen World Civilization. I remembered liking the story, but the writing style made the book a chore to get through. If LIKE MAYFLIES IN A STREAM were available back then, it would have made all the difference in the world to that college freshmen.

Shauna Roberts writes with such detail that you feel as if you are in the ancient city of Uruk, seeing the sights, hearing the noise, and smelling the smells of the city and desert where the wild man, Enkidu, resides. Told from the perspective of Priestess Shamhat, a fascinatingly strong female character, LIKE MAYFLIES IN A STREAM makes you forget that you're getting a history lesson. This novel will suck you in and transport you back to a time and civilization that is still a mystery in many ways.

It is a entertaining read that should be required reading for today's World Civilization classes.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! September 20, 2010

By S. Malley

Format:Hardcover

Forget history. Forget accuracy and detail. This retelling of The Epic of Gilgamesh is a simply fantastic novel. The writing is clean and compelling, the storytelling brilliant. There's plenty of action, a kind and sensitive heart to the story and one of the best heroines I've ever encountered.

Okay, now the history. Now the accuracy and detail. Like Mayflies in a stream is one of the best historicals I've read, especially considering the period in which it's set. Shauna Roberts clearly knows her stuff. Better still, she manages not to dump her knowledge in our laps. Instead she creates a subtle, thorough and convincing portrait of this lost world, seamlessly bringing the modern reader into a culture very different from our own. It's an impressive feat of literary sleight-of-hand. Just beautifully done.

From start to finish, Like Mayflies in a Stream swept me up and refused to let me go...