Throne of Isis [Audio Cassette]

Judith Tarr (Author), Grace Conlin (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996

Passion and politics, Imperial Rome and Ptolemaic Egypt, meet and clash in an epic recreation of the story of Cleopatra, Egypt's last queen, and her lover, Anthony, as told by Cleopatra's priestess cousin Dione, who witnesses Cleopatra's romantic and military alliances.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of Lord of the Two Lands brings to her newest novel the potentially potent combination of doomed lovers, crafty politicians and exotic settings. But Tarr's lethargic handling of these ingredients, coupled with an inability to animate one of history's most famous couples, dooms much of this book to tedium. Antony and Cleopatra, whose dalliance spans a decade, meet in 41 B.C. and immediately merge passion with politics. Cleopatra wants land, Antony wants ships; both encounter complications. Antony is saddled with a vindictive wife and an ambitious co-ruler, Octavian, in Rome. Civil war looms. Although major characters remain one-dimensional (Antony, for example, is portrayed as merely a drunken lout), Cleopatra's prescient cousin, Dione, sparks the story with her exuberant personality and manages to present a unique perspective on background events. She is joined in her pessimistic reading of signs and portents by Roman augur Lucius Servilius, an engaging figure whose stiff Roman pride crumbles before Dione's charms, and the two visionaries embark on a sizzling romance. Unfortunately, however, some finely rendered details of Egyptian life and one spirited love affair are not enough to rescue this effort.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Tarr, the author of numerous fantasy novels, revisits the Egypt of The Lord of Two Lands (Tor, 1993) in this story of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Seduction, power, politics, and magic are the order of the day. The narrator is Dione, cousin to Cleopatra and high priestess of Isis. The historical facts of Cleopatra and Antony's liaison and their eventual defeat by Octavian are already well recorded, so it is Dione's circumstances and observations that are most interesting here. We learn of Dione's marriage to Lucius Servilius, a Roman senator and augur (i.e., priest); the pair's priestly duties and magical powers; Dione's son's upbringing; the clash of cultures Dione's life embodies; and the Hellenic, Roman, and ancient (even to them) Egyptian cultures. Despite these evocative details, Cleopatra is well represented in the historical fiction genre, so this is recommended only for large collections.
- Mary Ann Parker, California Dept. of Water Resources Law Lib., Sacramento
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786109378
• ISBN-13: 978-0786109371
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,898,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have a lot of academic credentials (PhD from Yale, MA from Cambridge University, AB from Mt. Holyoke) and taught writing and Latin at Wesleyan University in Connecticut--before I ran away from it all to live on a mesa in Arizona. I breed and ride Lipizzan horses, read and study history (and make up my own alternate and fantastical versions), and write--novels, short stories, articles. I teach writing online (details at http://capriole.smoe.org) and blog on the livejournals as dancinghorse. My alter ego is author Caitlin Brennan, who also has a plog on amazon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent for the reader with realistic expectations, July 25, 2000

By 

"arualeiram" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Throne of Isis (Mass Market Paperback)

Throne of Isis is an interesting book about Egypt during Cleopatra's reign. There are a lot of things the book can be faulted for, but it is neither a bad story nor is it poorly written. The key is to remember that it is not trying to tell Cleopatra's story, but about the time and circumstances surrounding when she lived.

The main character, Dione, is a remarkable woman, a priestess known for her ability to be the voice of the goddess Isis and her commitment to Egypt and its illustrious queen. Cleopatra's relationships with Caesar and Antony provide the background for the story: the ancient empires and their inner conflicts. These conflicts include the problems of expansionism, the values of the different societies, war, and the role of women (valued in Egypt and considered property in Rome).

With this in mind, Dione's story comes is that of a woman, mother, wife, and priestess who must reconcile all of these aspects as the historical events unfold around her. She is a daring feminist who breaks social rules when she marries a Roman, Lucius Sevillius.

Many aspects of this story are touching, and reveal Judith Tarr's understanding of human nature. Many of the situations and emotions the characters experience are just as vivid in the novel as they are today. Dione is as amazing as she is unusual for her time--with the exception of the strong, calculating Cleopatra. And to Tarr's credit, her descriptions of Antony's battles on land and by sea are well-researched and thoughtfully written.

This book deserves a chance. No, it is not THE defining book on Cleopatra. Rather, it is a story of hope, love, miscalculation, and beats with the heart and spirit of ancient Egypt. It is not a book that will appeal to all and probably not to Egyptologists, but it will appeal to anyone looking for a decent piece of feminist historical fiction. The book will not disappoint, but the reader cannot place too many expectations on the author to resurrect Cleopatra on paper.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating glimpse into a fascinating moment in history., April 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Throne of Isis (Mass Market Paperback)

I differ strongly with the negative reviews I have read in this column. I have read numerous books on Cleopatra and believe her to have been one of the most interesting, enigmatic and mysterious women of all time. I believe Judith Tarr did a fabulous job of showing the clash between the elegant (if not treacherous) Hellenistic world with that of the less civilized and more militant Roman world. She shows how Antony was caught between the two worlds and how he tried to be a Roman when his

Roman subordinates reviled him because of his love for Cleopatra.

Cleopatra was not a beautiful woman, but she knew how to be glamorous and seductive using her charm, intelligence and wit. That to me is more stimulating than a super model with nothing interesting to say....at least in the long run.

At any rate, this book is well worth reading and gives us just a glimpse at a fabulous world lost in a daring gamble for supreme dominance.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Throne of Isis, September 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Throne of Isis (Mass Market Paperback)

Judith Tarr writes well. Her language flows, and that's what keeps this book readable.

On the other hand, to me what keeps it from being a really good book is the fact that very little of interest (to me, anyway) happens. Romances and the upbringing of children take up a vast portion of the lengthy text. Battle scenes get only tantalizing hints. The portrayal of magic is intriguing but too often veers into the silly (as in the childbirth scene, which I found laughable).

I'm not an expert on the period; what I see here seems accurate enough to me. I think it's important to remember that even though characters portrayed in historical fiction are "real people", in the context of literature, they're still fictional characters--and Cleopatra's ugliness or beauty is a matter of great indifference to me. The characters as written here are sufficiently vivid; the problem is that they don't get more active roles to play.