Review of Mithra

[revathy sw]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Mithra" by John M. Rattenbury.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Mesmerizing, lively, and deeply evocative, John Rattenbury’s historical fiction novel, Mithra, tells the tale of its titular heroine as she tries to come to terms with the reality of being the last Ptolemy. The novel is gripping from start to finish. Rattenbury keeps readers on their toes by throwing Mithra into one peril after another. With bloodthirsty, power-hungry, and vengeful Romans at her heels, will she be able to claim her rightful place as the queen of Egypt? Or will she meet the same fate as her grandmother, Cleopatra? What is the mysterious and powerful gemstone her father gives her, and will it be the cause of her downfall?

Rattenbury makes sure these questions plague readers’ minds till the very end. The novel never once becomes predictable. We are never assured of Mithra’s victory. This is largely due to Rattenbury’s refusal to make his heroine perfect. Despite her royal lineage and the help she receives from people, gods, and objects alike, Mithra is never portrayed as infallible or undefeatable. Instead, we see her as the 14-year-old girl that she is. She is often in over her head as she struggles to understand and fight against the complex politics between Rome and Egypt. There are many moments when Mithra is at the mercy of enemy forces; however, this only makes the narrative more gripping. At times, she is even morally grey. Yet, Mithra remains an endearing protagonist throughout, and her moments of triumph seem deserved as she has to earn them. She is bold, free-spirited, unashamedly affectionate, and endlessly entertaining.

Mithra, however, is far from the only character that shines in the book. Inteb is adorable, Lucius is strong and capable, Dideros is wise and helpful, and Kiya is loving and loyal to a fault. Varus is the perfect villain, and I loved the resolution to his character arc. I love how the themes of the book — loyalty, freedom, forgiveness, family, justice, peace, greed, corruption, and faith, to name some — are strongly connected to the development of its characters. However, what makes the novel truly stand out is its language. Mithra is filled with delightful similes and metaphors. The novel is choke-full of all kinds of imagery that are so rich that you can’t help but be transported to the streets, deserts, libraries, temples, and rivers of ancient Egypt. Furthermore, Rattenbury has found a remarkable balance between action and narration. There is just the right amount of exposition to give readers an idea about the complex world of Rome-occupied Egypt, its gods and goddesses, architecture, customs, class system, languages, the importance it gave to astronomy, its political relations with other countries, and its royalty. The author also successfully captures the importance of agriculture and how nations and empires have gone to war over it.

This book was nearly flawless in my eyes. The only minor problem I have with it is the fair number of editing mistakes. However, these in no way lessened my appreciation for the strong piece of writing that is Mithra.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for its expressive language, well-written characters, and finely crafted and detail-oriented narrative.

The book does have instances of strong language, brutality, bloodshed, and a few vague suggestions of sexual violence. Keeping these in mind, I would suggest Mithra to any book lover over seventeen.

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Mithra
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[Julie Basil]

I enjoy reading historical fiction, but have yet to read a story that is set in this time period and setting. This sounds like a very interesting novel. I think I would take slightly greater issue with the grammatical issues than you do, as I often find them to be quite distracting, but overall this sounds like a very enthralling and engaging book to read. Keep up the good work!

[Gerry Steen]

Wow! This sounds like an amazing story. I love historical fiction. It is amazing how much responsibility was heaped on young royalty like 14-year-old Mithra. Back then children were forced to grow up faster. It boggles the mind. The fact that this story has several well-developed characters and vivid images has me interested. It is rich in historical information. What is there not to like? Nothing! Thank you for this thorough review. I want to read this book!